Thomas Zander

Thomas Zander ( born August 25, 1967 in Aalen- Sandberg ) is a former German wrestler.

Career

Thomas Zander grew up in Aalen, a Swabian town with a great wrestler tradition on. At the age of six, he started at the local giants KSV Aalen with the rings. Already at the age of 14 he had his first appearance in the Bundesliga Season of KSV Aalen. He wrestled back in paper weight to 48 kg body weight. In the field of youth ( up to age 18 ) initially remained of greater success than at the regional level. His former coach in Aalen were Walter and Helmut Maier Westphal. At 17 he began in the state of Baden -Württemberg with the training for the police profession. Since 1989, his employment as a police officer is Wasseralfingen. In the struggle in 1986, the first major successes came one at the federal level, because he was in 1986 and 1987 German junior middleweight champion, Greco- Roman style, the style that he wrestled exclusively. His first international assignment was Thomas. At the Junior World Championships in Vancouver, Canada, where he was later vice- world champion Lee Jae -Young of South Korea defeated after a controversial defeat by the Bulgarians Christo Christov, finishing in 6th place From now on, began a steep climb, the Thomas Zander led to world and European champion and Olympic silver medalist. For this climb wore his Aalen club coach Ahmet Cakici and the German national coach Lothar Ruch at much.

The 1988 Olympics were early for Thomas Zander for another year. At the German Championships this year, the Vice World Champion 1987 Roger Gössner had taken second place behind. But in 1989 he then had his first appearance at a World Cup. After a loss to the multiple -Soviet world champion Mikhail Mamiaschwili he finished doing the 7th Place.

In 1990 he took, however, from his first big hit. In Poznan, he was European champion at middleweight. In the final he beat while the Soviet rising star Sergei Petrovich Wet superior on points. For the 1990 World Cup, Thomas Zander was, oddly enough, does not nominated. After German reunification him the training partner of world champion Maik Bull man Olaf Koschnitzke from Frankfurt (Oder ) was preferred.

Ahead of the European Championships in 1991 in Aschaffenburg he had an injury-related training deficit, yet he won the bronze medal in the middleweight division.

At the 1991 World Championships in Varna Thomas surprisingly defeated the Italians Ernesto Razzino, so even his victory over the world champion of 1990 and 1991 Péter Farkas from Hungary only the 6th place enough.

1992 Thomas was European champion again, without even having to leave a single Wertungsspunkt in his six victorious battles. At the Olympic Games in Barcelona the same year it did not work particularly well for Thomas. He lost time against Farkas and finished only 7th place.

In 1993, he was, however, at the European Championships in Istanbul again fully there and was the third time European champions. In the final he edged the 17 -year-old Hamza Yerlikaya Turks, who still had a great career ahead of him and with the Thomas Zander had to discharge many battles.

1994 was the best year in the career of Thomas Zander. He was first in Athens and European Champion in the autumn of the year in Tampere also world champion. In the respective finals, he defeated this Gotcha Ziziaschwili from Israel or Karila Tuomo from Finland.

In 1995 he was in Prague to defend his world title. His 3rd place but was worthy of all honor. In the semifinals, he had thereby suffer a loss to Yerlikaya. At the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996, Thomas won the silver medal. Weakened by an injury that stemmed from a rough foul of the Russian Sergei Żwir, he lost the final again against Hamza Yerlikaya.

In 1997 was again a very good year for Thomas Zander. In spring was in Kouvola Vice European Champion and in the fall he took at the World Championships in Wroclaw after a defeat against Żwir third place.

In the following years, Thomas Zander until 2000, when international championships was active, he missed, with the exception of 1999, the medal ranks. He was again runner-up in the middleweight division in 1999.

Thomas Zander was often thrown back in his career by severe knee or shoulder injuries. Admirable order it, and with what energy he fought again and again to the front is. It must not be overlooked that after the collapse of the Soviet Union in international championships no longer just a participant of the USSR per weight class started, but gradually took part in world-class athletes at these championships from all successor states. It happened that up to ten participants were from the successor states of the USSR in a weight class at the start.

All fights of Thomas Zander at the international championships and his placings at the German championships can be found in the following sections.

International success

(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, EM = European Championships, all competitions in the Greco-Roman style, medium weight until 1996-82 kg body weight from 1997 kg and 85 kg body weight, light heavyweight, up to 90 kg body weight)

German Championships

Notes

  • OS = The Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, European Championship EM =
  • Middleweight, then until 82 kg, light heavyweight, then to 90 kg body weight

Swell

  • Journal The Ringer
  • Website of the German Federal Ringer
  • Website of the American Association Ringer
  • Database of the Institute for Applied Trainingswussenschaften the University of Leipzig
774104
de