Eldar Kurtanidze
Eldari Luka Kurtanidse (Georgian ელდარ ( ლუკა ) კურტანიძე; born April 16, 1972 in Kvemo Pshavi at Gulripschi, Abkhazia, USSR ) is a Georgian wrestler. Between 1992 and 2006 Eldari won a total of 19 medals at international championships.
Life
He started nine years in Tbilisi with the rings. His first coach was Shota Kekabidse. In 1988 he was supervised by the Olympic champion and multiple world champion North Ossetian Leri Chabelow. The coaches formed the squat, only 1.70m but between 90 and 100 kg in weight and very powerful athletes, one of the best freestyle wrestler in the world.
With 20 years Kurtanidse was at the Junior European Championships in Székesfehérvár / Hungary to debut on the international wrestling mat, won the middleweight title. After a transfer to the seniors Kurtanidse took there foot immediately and in 1993 both Vice - Europe and Vice World Champion in the light heavyweight division.
At the European Championships in Istanbul, he was defeated while the North Ossetians Dzhambulat Tedejew, who competed for Ukraine. At the World Championships in Edmonton Kurtanidse was originally by defeating Macharbek Chadarzew to become a starting for Russia North Ossetians, Third, but since the winner, Abbas Jadidi was disqualified from Iran because of a grossly unsportsmanlike conduct at the award ceremony, he moved up to the silver medal winner.
A setback suffered Kurtanidse 1994 when he won the 6th place and only finished 10th at the European Championships in Rome at the World Championship in Istanbul. The next medal at an international championship won Kurtanidse but already at the European Championships in 1995 in Fribourg / Switzerland. He was defeated here only in the final against Macharbek Chadarzew. At the World Championship in Atlanta in the same year he got along so well and not only finished the 8th Place.
In April 1996 Kurtanidse won with the victory at the European Championships in Budapest, Heavyweight his first title with the seniors. He defeated the Germans while Heiko Balz from Luckenwalde in the final battle. Winning the European Championship was a success, the Eldari in 1997 in Warsaw, 1998 in Bratislava, Budapest 2001 and 2005 repeated in Varna. World Champion was Eldari in 2002 in Tehran and 2003 in New York. Finally Eldari still won bronze medals in the heavyweight at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and 2000 in Sydney.
Between 1992 and 2006 Kurtanidse won a total of 19 medals at international championships, included the Junior European Championship title from 1992. He defeated in this time most of the world's elite wrestlers in freestyle light-heavyweight at least once. These included Kenan Simsek (Turkey ), Josef Lohyna (CSSR ), Heiko Balz ( Germany ), Islam Bajranmuk (Kazakhstan ), Giorgi Gogschelidse (Russia), Alireza Heidari (Iran), Vincent Aka (France), Ahmet Dogu (Turkey) and Krassimir Kotchew (Bulgaria).
Kurtanidse is now coach of the Georgian national team freestyle wrestler. He is still active, participated in the 2006 World Cup, where he defeated from Greece in the heavyweight Ioannidis Papadopoulos, but had to retire prior to the U.S. after a defeat against Preston " Tolly " Thompsson. He wants to participate in the 2008 Olympics.
In Georgia, he was voted the best athlete of 2003. In Germany he wrestled since 1999 at KSV Witten 07, 1 Luckenwalder SC and the KSV Germania Aalen several years in the German Bundesliga.
In 2009, Eldari Luka Kurtanidse in Obzor, Bulgaria, at the 1st World Beach Championships, which were held under the official auspices of the FILA part. He came here in the class over 85 kg body weight with wins over Hussein Mehmed, Bulgaria and Artilheiro Rodriguez, Brazil and a defeat against Dimitar Kumtschew, Bulgaria, on the 2nd place.
Since the end of 2012 Eldari Luka Kurtanidse is president of the Georgian wrestler Association.
International success
(all competitions in free style, OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, EM = European Championship, middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight, then up to 82 kg, 90 and 96 kg ( from 1997) and between 96 kg and 120 kg body weight)
Sources
- International Wrestling Database of the University of Leipzig
- Journal " The Ringer ", numbers 05/ 93, 09/ 93, 04/ 94, 09/ 94, 06/ 95, 10/95, 04/ 96, 09/ 96, 05/ 97, 09/ 97, 05 / 06 /98, 10/ 98, 05/06/99, 10/99, 09/ 04