Mikhail Mamiashvili (born 1963 in

Konotop Konotop ( uk, Конотоп ) is a city in Sumy Oblast in northeastern Ukraine. Konotop serves as the administrative center of Konotop Raion. Konotop is located about 129 km from Sumy, the oblast administrative center. It is host to Ko ...

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

) is a Russian

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

origin. He won an Olympic gold medal in

Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling (Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mod ...

in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea, competing for the Soviet Union.

Career

In 1978 along with his parents Mamiashvili moved to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

. He won gold medals at the 1983, 1985 and 1986 World Wrestling Championships and won the European championship in 1986. He also won two silver medal at the World Wrestling Championships in 1989, 1990. He was USSR National Champion in 1984, 1987, and 1988. He is currently the President of Russian Wrestling Federation and one of the most powerful men in International Olympic wrestling serving as a FILA Bureau Member (Federation of Associated Wrestling Style)(www.fila-wrestling.com).Mamiashvili was inducted in the FILA Hall of Fame in 2008 for his many accomplishments as an athlete and administrator for Soviet/Russian wrestling. He is the current chairperson and president of the Wrestling Federation of Russia^[:ru].

Controversy

At the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, Mamiashvili was accused by a Swedish board member of wrestling's international governing body for giving signs to a referee of a gold medal match involving a Russian wrestler. When the board member informed Mamiashvili of the accusation, Mamiashvili purportedly told him: "You should know that this may lead to your death," despite evidence found by the board member that the referee had been bribed. In 2015, Mamiashvili was denied a United States visa to attend the UWW World Championships in Las Vegas. At the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

, Mamiashvili was accused of punching Russia's 63 kg female wrestler

Inna Trazhukova Inna Vyacheslavovna Trazhukova (russian: Инна Вячеславовна Тражукова; born 11 September 1990) is a Russian wrestler, World champion 2019. She represented her country at the 2016 Summer Olympics where she lost the bronze m ...

in the face twice following her loss to Poland's

Monika Michalik Monika Ewa Michalik (Polish pronunciation: ; born 2 May 1980 in Międzyrzecz) is a freestyle wrestler from Poland. She participated in Women's freestyle 63 kg at 2008 Summer Olympics. In the last 16, she beat Volha Khilko from Belarus. In the qu ...

in the bronze medal match. Mamiashvili does not deny punching Trazhukova, claiming he wanted to punish her for a lack of effort. He is currently the Vice President of

United World Wrestling United World Wrestling (UWW) is the international governing body for the sport of amateur wrestling; its duties include overseeing wrestling at the Olympics. It presides over international competitions for various forms of wrestling, including ...

and head of the Wrestling Federation of Russia.

References

External links

Mamiashvili's Gangster Ways
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mamiashvili, Mikhail 1963 births Living people People from Konotop Soviet male sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers for the Soviet Union Wrestlers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Ukrainian male sport wrestlers Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in wrestling Ukrainian people of Georgian descent World Wrestling Championships medalists Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics European Wrestling Championships medalists Sportspeople from Sumy Oblast Russian male sport wrestlers Russian sportspeople of Georgian descent Friendship Games medalists Russian sports executives and administrators Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"