Xenofon Koutsioumpas ( gr, Ξενοφών Κουτσιούμπας; born May 1, 1980, in Trikala) is an amateur Greek Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's super heavyweight category. Koutsioumpas has claimed two medals at the

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fir ...

(2001 and 2005), a bronze in the 120-kg division at the

2001 World Wrestling Championships The following is the final results of the 2001 World Wrestling Championships. Freestyle competition were held in Sofia, Bulgaria and Greco-Roman competition were held in Patras, Greece. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle ...

Patras ) , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 = , demographics1_info2 = , timezone1 = EET , utc_offset1 = +2 , ...

, and has been selected to the nation's Olympic wrestling team when

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

hosted 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), ...

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 ...

. Throughout his sporting career, Koutsioumpas, along with his younger brother

Georgios Georgios (, , ) is a Greek name derived from the word ''georgos'' (, , "farmer" lit. "earth-worker"). The word ''georgos'' (, ) is a compound of ''ge'' (, , "earth", "soil") and ''ergon'' (, , "task", "undertaking", "work"). It is one of the most ...

, trained as a member of the Greco-Roman wrestling team for

Olympiacos F.C. Olympiacos Club of Fans of Piraeus ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σ.Φ.Π. ), known simply as Olympiacos or Olympiacos Piraeus, is a Greek professional football club based in Piraeus, Attica. Part of the major multi-sport club Olympiacos CFP ('' ...

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...

, with whom he won the European CELA Cup in 2006. Since 2012 they have been training at Atlas Mytilenes under their head coach Sotirios Petrakis. Koutsioumpas emerged himself into the international scene at the

2001 Mediterranean Games The XIV Mediterranean Games ( ar, ألعاب البحر الأبيض المتوسط 2001), commonly known as the 2001 Mediterranean Games, were the 14th Mediterranean Games held in Tunis, Tunisia, from 2-15 September 2001, where 2,991 athletes ( ...

in Tunis, Tunisia, where he took home the silver medal in the men's 130-kg division. When Greece hosted the World Championships in

later that year, Koutsioumpas enchanted the home crowd in a spectacular fashion, as he beat Bulgaria's

Sergei Mureiko Sergei Mureiko (born 2 July 1970) is a retired heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler, who until 1996 represented Moldova and then Bulgaria. He competed in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics and won a bronze medal in 1996. Between 1993 and 2004 he won 1 ...

at 8–0, and ran off the mat with a bronze medal. His sporting success continued to flourish at the next two World Championships, but he left both tournaments empty-handed with fourth- and fifth-place finishes. When

welcomed the

, Koutsioumpas qualified as a member of the Greek squad in the men's 120 kg class, by placing fifth and receiving an automatic spot for his home nation from the

2003 World Wrestling Championships The following is the final results of the 2003 World Wrestling Championships. The Freestyle Competition was held in New York City, United States, while the Greco-Roman Competition was held in Créteil, France. Medal table Team ranking Medal su ...

in Créteil,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Koutsioumpas suddenly lost a 2–2 draw to Kazakh wrestler and 2003 world bronze medalist Georgiy Tsurtsumia on his opening match, but quickly rallied with and delighted the home crowd inside the Ano Liossa Olympic Hall, as he prevailed two straight matches over Sweden's

Eddy Bengtsson Eddy Bengtsson (born April 30, 1979, in Gothenburg) is a Swedish retired wrestler who competed in the Men's Greco-Roman 120 kg at the 2004 Summer Olympics and 2000 Summer Olympics. Bengtsson retired from wrestling and competed in many grapplin ...

and Georgia's

Mirian Giorgadze Mirian Giorgadze ( ka, მირიან გიორგაძე; born March 25, 1976 in Terjola) is a retired amateur Georgian Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's super heavyweight category. He represented his nation Georgia in tw ...

(both at 5–0). Finishing second in the prelim pool and rounding out the top seven, Koutsioumpas missed a chance to compete for his home nation in the quarterfinal rounds. At the

2005 Mediterranean Games The XVth Mediterranean Games Almería 2005 (XV Juegos del Mediterráneo 2005 in Spanish), commonly known as the 2005 Mediterranean Games, were the 15th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Almería, Spain over 10 days, from 24 June to 3 Ju ...

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city gr ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, Koutsioumpas scored a stunning 7–5 to climb the summit of the podium and snatch the men's super heavyweight title in his final match against Turkish wrestler and defending champion

Yekta Yılmaz Gül Yekta Yılmaz Gül (born December 1, 1978 in Tirebolu, Giresun Province) is a Turkish professional Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed for the men's 120 kg division. He is a member of the İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi S.K. Gül studied at ...

References

External links

* * * * 1980 births Living people Olympiacos wrestlers Greek male sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers for Greece Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Trikala World Wrestling Championships medalists Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Greece Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Greece Competitors at the 2001 Mediterranean Games Competitors at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in wrestling 21st-century Greek people {{Greece-wrestling-bio-stub