Vincenzo Maenza

Vincenzo Maenza ( born 2 May 1962 in Faenza ) is a retired Italian wrestler. He was two-time Olympic champion in Greco-Roman. Style in the paper weight ( up to 48 kg body weight).

Career

Vincenzo Maenza grew up in his home town of Faenza, has always been a stronghold of the Italian sports Ringer on. It is not surprising that the small Vincenzo, who had the nickname " Pollicino ", at the age of 12 years began with the rings at the local CISA Ringer Audax Club. His first major competitions denied Maenza, who was employed by a bank, in 1976. It was not long and he was in the top class of Italian wrestler in the lightest weight class, paper weight, so to 48 kg body weight, into fighting. Maenza started with a few exceptions until the end of his international career in 1992 getting in this weight class.

His debut at an international championship was Maenza at the age of 17 years at the Mediterranean Games in Split, as in Greek and Roman he. Style, the style that he wrestled exclusively, behind the strong Turkish Salih Bora and took 2nd place. In 1980 he occupied at the Junior World Championship ( Cadets = up to age 18 ) in Colorado Springs took second place and at the Junior European Championship espoir ( to age 20 ) in Bursa 3rd place. He could then start at the European Senior Championships in Prievidza and the Olympic Games in Moscow and was both times on the 7th Place.

Even in the years 1981-1983 Maenza was regularly at the World and European championships at the start, but never made a better position than the 5th Place. The great leap forward he made in 1984. Initially, he won the European Championship in Jonkoping in the paper weight, the bronze medal, which he defeated in the battle for this medal Bernd Scherer from the Federal Republic of Germany and he was in Los Angeles Olympic champions in this weight class. In the final battle he defeated while the German champion Markus Scherer, the brother of Bernd Scherer, with whom it fought after 1.59 minutes with 12:0 points, which according to the then rules of the fight in favor of Vincenzo Maenza was canceled.

1985 Vincenzo Maenza paused at the World and European Championships but was third in the 1986 European Championships in Athens and 1987 in Tampere European champion and in Clermont-Ferrand vice world champion in paper weight. At the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul then confirmed Maenza his Olympic victory of 1984, where indeed the strong Eastern Bloc wrestler had missed because of the Olympic boycott the Games of Los Angeles, because he was in Seoul in convincing style Olympic champion. In the final Maenza defeated while the Poles Andrzej Głąb 3-0 points.

In the following years Maenza stepped a little shorter, but started out in 1990 at the World Championships in Rome. There, however, he lost in the semifinals against the Soviet athletes Oleg Kucherenko who took German citizenship later and could no longer take up the fight for 3rd place, because he first time in his career, missed the weight limit of 48 kg.

At the end of his career Maenza yet started then at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. Maenza fought there in an outstanding manner in the final. However, the jump to the third Olympic victory built him again Oleg Kucherenko, the Maenza 3-0 points safe on points defeated.

After the 1992 Olympics Maenza ended his international career Ringer. He was with two gold and a silver medal from the successful Italian wrestler who ever stood on the mat. Vincenzo Maenza now works as a manager of an Italian football club, is committed to the Italian Olympic Committee for the support of athletes that need to be incorporated into civilian life after their racing career again and is also president of NICO, an association of Italian medal winner at the Olympic Games. In September 2005 Maenza was inducted into the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame.

International success

(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, European Championship EM =, GR = Greek and Roman. Styles, Pa = paper weight, Fl = Flyweight, then gk to 48 and 52 kg body weight)

Swell

• Div. Issues of the journal " Athletics " from the years 1979-1992,
• Database of the Institute for Applied Training Science at the University of Leipzig,
• Website of the European Hapkido Organization ( in Italian)