Yannick Szczepaniak (born 29 January 1980 in

Sarreguemines Sarreguemines (; German: ''Saargemünd'' , Lorraine Franconian: ''Saargemìnn'') is a commune in the Moselle department of the Grand Est administrative region in north-eastern France. It is the seat of an arrondissement and a canton. As of t ...

) is an amateur French Greco-Roman wrestler, who played for the men's super heavyweight category. He is also a two-time Olympian, a ten-time national wrestling champion, and a member of ASSO Sarreguemines Lutte, being coached and trained by Patrice Mourier. Szczepaniak made his official debut for 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 ...

, where he reached the knock-out stage of the men's 120 kg, by winning the preliminary pool round against Armenia's Haykaz Galtsyan and Venezuela's Rafael Barreno. He lost the quarterfinal match to Iran's Sajjad Barzi, with a final score of 0–3. At the

2008 Summer 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 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, Szczepaniak competed for the second time in the men's 120 kg class. He defeated Bulgaria's Ivan Ivanov, and three-time Olympian

Mihály Deák-Bárdos Mihály Deák-Bárdos (born 30 January 1975) is a Hungarian amateur Greco-Roman wrestler, who played for the men's super heavyweight category. He is a four-time Olympian, and a six-time medalist at the European Championships. Deák-Bárdos had ...

of Hungary in the preliminary rounds, before losing out the semi-final match to defending Olympic champion

Khasan Baroev Khasan Makharbekovich Baroyev, os, Бæройты Махарбеджы фырт Хасан, Bærojty Maxarbedžy fyrt Xasan (born December 1, 1982) is a Russian Greco-Roman wrestler of Ossetian origin, who competes in the 120 kg weightclas ...

of Russia, with a score of 2–3. Because his opponent advanced further into the final match, Szczepaniak automatically qualified for the bronze medal bout, where he was defeated by Lithuania's Mindaugas Mizgaitis, with a technical score of 2–4. Following the disqualification of

Khasan Baroyev Khasan Makharbekovich Baroyev, os, Бæройты Махарбеджы фырт Хасан, Bærojty Maxarbedžy fyrt Xasan (born December 1, 1982) is a Russian Greco-Roman wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling- ...

, he was reinstated as bronze medalist in November 2016.

References

External links

Profile – International Wrestling Database

{{DEFAULTSORT:Szczepaniak, Yannick French male sport wrestlers 1980 births Living people Olympic wrestlers of France Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for France French people of Polish descent People from Sarreguemines Sportspeople from Moselle (department) Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite