Mélonin Noumonvi (born 10 October 1982 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

) is a French Greco-Roman (under 84 kg) wrestler. At the

Beijing 2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

, he lost to the eventual champion

Andrea Minguzzi Andrea Minguzzi (born 1 February 1982) is an Italian Greco-Roman wrestler. He won a gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics. Biography Minguzzi was born on 1 February 1982 in Castel San Pietro Terme. His father was also a wrestler in the 1970s. ...

of Italy in the round of 16 and lost the bronze medal bout to Sweden's

Ara Abrahamian Ara Abrahamian ( hy , Արա Աբրահամյան; born 27 July 1975) is an Armenian-Swedish wrestler in Greco-Roman wrestling. He has won two World Championships in the 76 kg and 84 kg weight classes and a silver medal at the 2004 S ...

. However, after Abrahamian refused to take home the bronze medal, he decided to take it. However, the IOC would not allow him that medal, as it was not affected by Abrahamian's tantrum. Furious, Noumonvi began to attack the IOC, but was stopped by security. He was eventually banned from wrestling for a year, but as of 2010, his ban has been lifted. At the

London 2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, he controversially lost his quarter-final bout to Egypt's

Karam Gaber Karam Ibrahim Gaber ( ar, كرم إبراهيم جابر, born 1 September 1979 in Alexandria) is an Egyptian Greco-Roman wrestler. He won the gold medal in the Men's Greco-Roman 96 kg at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and won the ...

. Two seconds from the end of the third period of that bout, he appeared to manage to take down his opponent. The referees validated the takedown but the judge overruled it. He subsequently lost the bronze medal bout to Poland's

Damian Janikowski Damian Janikowski (born June 27, 1989 in Wrocław) is a Polish mixed martial artist and former wrestler who won the Bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics in the Greco-Roman 84 kg category. He is currently ranked #8 in the KSW Middleweight ra ...

References

External links

* Living people 1982 births French male sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers for France Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Paris European Games bronze medalists for France European Games medalists in wrestling Wrestlers at the 2015 European Games {{France-wrestling-bio-stub World Wrestling Championships medalists Mediterranean Games gold medalists for France Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for France Competitors at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Competitors at the 2009 Mediterranean Games Competitors at the 2013 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in wrestling Wrestlers at the 2019 European Games European Wrestling Championships medalists 21st-century French people