Yuri Evseichik

Yuri Evseichik
Personal information
Full nameYuri Evseichik
Nationality Israel
Born (1971-01-23) 23 January 1971 (age 53)
Donetsk, Ukrainian SSR
Soviet Union
Height1.89 m (6 ft 2+1⁄2 in)
Weight120 kg (265 lb)
Sport
SportWrestling
StyleGreco-Roman
ClubMaccabi Eilat
CoachBoris Tabachnik (1999–2003)
Leonid Shulman (2003–2004)
Medal record
Men's Greco-Roman wrestling
Representing  Israel
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Gävle 130 kg

Yuri Evseichik (Hebrew: יורי יבסייצ'יק, Russian: Юрий Евсейчик; born 23 January 1971 in Donetsk, Ukrainian SSR) is a retired amateur Israeli Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's super heavyweight category.[1]

Wrestling career

Considered one of the world's top Greco-Roman wrestlers in his decade, Evseitchik emerged into the international scene with his blistering bronze medal effort at the 1998 World Wrestling Championships, and later represented as part of the Israeli team in two editions of the Olympic Games (2000 and 2004). Since he emigrated to Israel at the age of 20, Evseitchik became a member of the Maccabi Eilat Club under his personal coaches Boris Tabachnik and Leonid Shulman.

Evseichik did not compete internationally until 1998, when he became the bronze medalist in the 130 kg division at the World Championships in Gävle, Sweden as part of Israel's Greco-Roman wrestling team.[2]

Two years later, Evseichik made his official debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he competed in the men's super heavyweight division (130 kg). He managed to score a total of 11 technical points and a powerful set of three triumphs to defeat Czech Republic's David Vála, Turkey's Fatih Bakir, and Poland's Marek Sitnik to earn a spot in the knockout rounds. When Evseitchik reached the semifinals, he led U.S. wrestler Rulon Gardner in the opening bout, but began to exasperate during the match and lost his fight in overtime with a default score of 3–2.[3] Evseitchik ended his Olympic campaign with a disheartening defeat in the bronze medal match against Belarus' Dmitry Debelka, and a fourth-place finish.[4]

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Evseichik qualified for the men's 120 kg class by receiving a berth and beating Sweden's Eddy Bengtsson in the third round of the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Novi Sad, Serbia and Montenegro.[5][6] Unlike his previous Games, Evseitchik suffered through a surprisingly vulnerable game plan as he was haplessly pinned by Cuba's Mijaín López three times, and could not recover his form after losing out to Turkey's Yekta Yılmaz Gül on his second bout, finishing third in the prelim pool and nineteenth in the overall rankings without acquiring a single point.[7]

References

  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Yuri Evseitchik". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  2. ^ Abbott, Gary (30 August 1998). "Karelin pins Ghaffari in Greco-Roman World finals; USA places 11th as team". USA Wrestling. The Mat. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  3. ^ "Rulon Gardner has been named the 2000 Greco-Roman Wrestler of the Year by USA Wrestling". Team USA. 9 April 2001. Archived from the original on May 22, 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  4. ^ "Sydney 2000: Wrestling – Super Heavyweight Greco-Roman (130kg)" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. pp. 111–112. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  5. ^ Abbott, Gary (28 July 2004). "Olympic Games preview at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. in men's Greco-Roman". USA Wrestling. The Mat. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  6. ^ Borovitz, Yoav (1 March 2004). "Greco-Roman Wrestling / Yevseichik grabs a berth at Athens". Haaretz. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  7. ^ "Wrestling: Men's Greco-Roman 120kg". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 23 September 2013.