Simeon Shterev (wrestler)

Simeon Atanasov Schterew ( Bulgarian Симеон Щерев; born February 8, 1959 in Mikrewo, Oblast Blagoevgrad ) is a former Bulgarian wrestler. He was world champion in 1981 and 1982, 1983 and 1984 European champion in free style at featherweight.

Career

Simeon Schterew, which began as a teenager with the rings, was according to the first major successes delegated at junior level for Bulgarian top club Levski Spartak Sofia and there trained by experienced trainers at an outstanding freestyle wrestler. Already in 1979 he gave a victory in the Balkan Games in Yambol in his featherweight debut at international championships. In the same year he was in Ulaanbaatar vice-champion of the junior featherweight behind the Soviet athletes Magomedgasan Abuschew, but before Raúl Cascaret, Cuba & Kazuhito Sakae from Japan.

In 1980, he was also employed at the European Championships in Prievidza with the seniors. He reached there with four wins and one defeat against Magomedgasan Abuschew in the finals 2nd place. At the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980 by the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation but not he, but the more experienced Miho Dukow was sent.

At the European Championships 1981 in Łódź then came back Simeon Schterew used. He landed in Łódź five wins, beating, among others the two German representatives Erhard Pocher from Jena and Michael Kuhn from Witten. In the semifinals, but he was defeated by Soviet athletes Busei Ibragimov on points and got away with it to 3rd place. At the World Championships the same year in Skopje Simeon Schterew then celebrated the biggest success of his career. He was charged with seven wins world featherweight champion. His closest competitors were there Kokichi Sugino from Japan, Jozsef Orban of Hungary and Marian Skubacz from Poland.

In 1982 Simeon Schterew in Varna for the first time European champions, with him this time also managed a victory over Busei Ibragimov, but could not defend his title at the World Championships in Edmonton. Reason for this was that the Olympic champion and multiple world champion bantamweight Sergei Beloglasow had risen in the featherweight and Simeon Schterew defeated in the final battle on points.

1983 brought Simeon Schterew in Budapest his second European title in front of the new Soviet starter Ivan Grigoriev and his old rival Jozsef Orban and Marian Skubacz. At the World Championship 1983 in Kiev, he reached after a defeat in the pool final against Viktor Alexeyev of the USSR by a victory over Kazuhito Sakae from Japan to third place.

In 1984, only start at the European Championships in Jönköping Simeon because of the boycott of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles by the socialist states. He was there again in excellent shape and was the third time European champions. In the final battle, he defeated while Viktor Alexeyev, against whom he had lost in the World Cup last year, but nearly earned 8-6 points.

In 1985 Simeon Schterew at the European Championships in Leipzig for the first time in the lightweight to the grueling detraining out of the way to to. In this new weight class, he reached the 3rd place right away. At the World Championships the same year in Budapest, he then won for the first time at an international championship medal no. After a defeat against arsenic Fadsajew from the USSR in the pool - final he was defeated in the battle for the bronze medal, surprisingly, the Canadian Pat Sullivan and had to be content with fourth place.

But in the years 1986 and 1987 he won in four starts, which he completed, three more medals. At the European Championships in 1986 in Athens, he was Vice-European Champion after a final defeat by Abdollah Magomedov from the USSR and in the World Championships the same year in Budapest, he finished with a victory over Andre Metzger from the U.S. 3rd place. He took this place also at the European Championships in 1987 in the local Veliko Tarnovo, while he finished only 5th place in the lightweight at the 1987 World Championships in Clermont -Ferrand.

In 1988, Simeon Schterew then in Seoul finally have the chance to fight for an Olympic medal. He had to back abtrainiert in the featherweight because he figured bigger chances for a medal in this weight class. His expectations were met, even though he did not win the gold medal. The way to do this built him the preeminent American John Smith, who defeated him in the pool finale. In the battle for the bronze medal he then suggested the Iranians Ali Akbar Fallah.

After a long pause on the international wrestling mat, which lasted from 1989 to 1994, Simeon Schterew tried at the World Cup in 1995 in Atlanta with regard to the 1996 Olympic Games in the same city in which he wanted to start again, making a comeback. However, this was a problem, because he retired in Atlanta from an early stage and finished only 14th place, which his comeback attempt was stopped.

Simeon Schterew is now coach of the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation.

International success

Note: all matches in free style, OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, EM = European Championship, Featherweight, up to 62 kg, light weight, up to 68 kg body weight

Swell

• Journal The wrestler, numbers: 5/ 1980 page 10, 5/ 1981 page 7, 10/1981, page 5, 05.06.1982, pages 5/6, 9/ 1982, 5, 9/ 1983, page 9, 10/ 1983, page 6, 5/1984, page 11, 5/ 1985, page 12, 11/ 1985, pages 5/6, 5/ 1986, pages 5/6, 11/ 1986, 10, 6 / 1987, 9, 5/ 1988, pages 4/5, 10/ 1988, 12, 9/ 1987, page 10, 9/ 1995, 8
• Database of the Institute for Applied Training Science at the University of Leipzig
• Website of the Bulgarian National Olympic Committee ( in English)