Ion Cernea

Ion Cernea ( born October 21, 1936 in Râu Alb, Hunedoara County ) is a former Romanian wrestler. He was two-time medalist at the Olympic Games.

Career

Ion Cernea began at the age of 15 years in Bucharest with the rings. He learned as a teenager, the profession of a rotator and, after he showed great talent as a wrestler, a member of a Romanian security organ and a member of the Sport Club Dinamo Bucharest. There he was trained by coach Ion Corneanu an outstanding wrestler in the Greco - Roman style. In 1954 he became Romanian Junior Champion in Greco -Roman style flyweight first time. In 1958 he won the Balkan flyweight championship. After a further good results in strong international tournaments occupied ion was first used at the World Cup 1958 in Budapest at an international championship. After a victory in the first round he met in the next two rounds on Olympic champion Hódos Imre from Hungary and the Soviet champion Oleg Karavayev against which he lost. A 7th place in the bantamweight was the result.

Two years later Ion landed at the Olympic Games in Rome by winning the silver medal in his first major international success. In the battle for the gold medal he lost it again Oleg Karavayev.

1961 Ion was also runner- bantamweight in Yokohama. In the final, he again failed to Oleg Karavayev. 1962 and 1963, he first won at the world championships in Toledo / Ohio and Helsingborg three fights, but lost each of the fourth fight and therefore twice finished fifth.

1964 Ion won his second Olympic medal in Tokyo. He wrung it, inter alia, draw against former World Champion János Varga from Hungary, but was defeated again a Soviet wrestler Vladimir Trostjanski.

In 1965, then Ion sealed the biggest success of his career at the World Championships in Tampere. He was charged with four wins and a draw against the Japanese Koji Sakurama world champion.

After he finished his career as an active wrestler, was coach of the Romanian Wrestling Federation and was for many years head coach of the team in Greco- Roman style.

International success

OS = The Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, GR = Greek and Roman. Style, Fl = Flyweight, Ba = bantamweight, then 52 kg and 57 kg body weight.

Swell

• Various editions of the journal " Athletics " from the years 1954 to 1965
• Documentation of International Wrestling Championships FILA, 1976
• International Wrestling Database of the University of Leipzig