Vakhtang "Vaho" Iagorashvili (born April 5, 1964 in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

) is a Soviet

modern pentathlete The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the anci ...

, who has been a member of three different Olympic teams during his sporting career. Iagorashvili emerged as the top favorite to win the men's individual and team

modern pentathlon The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the anci ...

in the late 1980s. As a competitor for the Soviet Union, he had won the bronze medal at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, and gold at the

1990 Goodwill Games The 1990 Goodwill Games was the second edition of the international multi-sport event created by Ted Turner, which was held between July 20 and August 5, 1990. Following an inaugural edition in Moscow, the second games took place in Seattle, United ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, became a three-time national champion for the team, and claimed multiple titles at the world championships. He also won three European titles (two golds and one bronze for the individual and team events). After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Iagorashvili retired from his sport, and emigrated to the United States to work as a physical education instructor at the

Austin Community College The Austin Community College District (ACC) is a public community college system serving the Austin, Texas, metropolitan area and surrounding Central Texas communities. The college maintains numerous campuses, centers, and distance learning opt ...

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Iagorashvili eventually came out of retirement in 1995, and qualify for the men's modern pentathlon at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, representing his birth nation

. Vaho gained his U.S. citizenship in 2002 making him eligible to compete 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), ...

in Athens. Between 1999 and 2004, Iagorashvili was appointed to be the coach of the U.S. Olympic Pentathlon Team. Iagorashvili finally represented the

United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics The United States competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. 533 competitors, 279 men and 254 women, took part in 254 events in 31 sports. Medalists , style="text-align:left; width:78%; vertical-align:top;", , style="text-al ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, after receiving an automatic qualifying place from the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America. Al ...

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

, where he won the gold medal. At the Olympics, he bettered his performance in the men's modern pentathlon event, finishing only in ninth place with a score of 5,276 points. Iagorashvili received a master's degree in physical education from Georgia Institute of Physical Cultures and Sport in Tbilisi, in 1985. Iagorashvili is currently coaching both men's and women's fencing teams at

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

University Park, Pennsylvania University Park (also referred to as Penn State University Park) is the name given to the Pennsylvania State University's main campus located in both State College and College Township, Pennsylvania, United States. The campus post office was de ...

. He is married to American modern pentathlete,

Mary Beth Iagorashvili Mary Beth Iagorashvili ( née Larsen) (born July 28, 1974 in Waukesha, Wisconsin) is a retired American modern pentathlete. She is also the first U.S. female modern pentathlete and one of the twenty-four athletes to participate in the first-eve ...

References

External links

Profile – Penn State Athletic Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iagorashvili, Vakhtang 1964 births Living people Soviet male modern pentathletes Male modern pentathletes from Georgia (country) American male modern pentathletes Olympic modern pentathletes for the Soviet Union Olympic modern pentathletes for Georgia (country) Olympic modern pentathletes for the United States Olympic bronze medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in modern pentathlon Modern pentathletes at the 1988 Summer Olympics Modern pentathletes at the 1996 Summer Olympics Modern pentathletes at the 2004 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Tbilisi Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in modern pentathlon Modern pentathletes at the 2003 Pan American Games Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games