Ivan Yarygin

Ivan Yarygin

Ivan Yarygin in 1976
Personal information
Native name	Иван Сергеевич Ярыгин
Full name	Ivan Sergeyevich Yarygin
Born	(1948-11-07)7 November 1948 Ust-Kamzas, Kemerovo Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died	11 October 1997(1997-10-11) (aged 48) Neftekumsk, Stavropol Krai, Russia
Height	188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	100 kg (220 lb)
Sport
Sport	Freestyle wrestling
Club	Mindiashvili wrestling academy Trud Krasnoyarsk
Coached by	Dmitry Mindiashvili [1] [2]
Medal record Representing   Soviet Union Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 2 0 0 World Championship 1 0 0 World Cup 5 0 0 Universiade 1 0 0 European Championship 3 2 0 Total 12 2 0 Olympic Games 1972 Munich 100 kg 1976 Montreal 100 kg World Championships 1973 Tehran 100 kg World Cup 1973 Toledo 100 kg 1976 Toledo 100 kg 1977 Toledo 100 kg 1979 Toledo 100 kg 1980 Toledo 100 kg European Championships 1972 Katowice 100 kg 1975 Ludwigshafen 100 kg 1976 Leningrad 100 kg 1970 Berlin 100 kg 1974 Madrid 100 kg Universiades 1973 Moscow 100 kg

Ivan Sergeyevich Yarygin (‹The template Lang-rus is being considered for deletion.› Russian:Иван Сергеевич Ярыгин,IPA: [ɪˈvansʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕjɪˈrɨɡʲɪn] ; 7 November 1948 – 11 October 1997) was a Soviet and Russian heavyweight freestyle wrestler. Between 1970 and 1980 he won all his major international competitions, except for the 1970 and 1974 European championships where he placed second. Yarygin was an Olympic champion in 1972 and 1976, being the first wrestler to go through an Olympic competition with straight pin victories and no foul points, ^[3] a world champion in 1973, a World Cup winner five times, has never lost a single match in World Cup competition, ^[4] and a European champion in 1972 and 1975–76, and won a world cup in 1973, 1976–77 and 1979–80. ^[1] He also set a record for the fastest pin victory in the World Cup history at 27 seconds. ^[5] After retiring in 1980, he headed the Soviet freestyle wrestling team from 1982 to 1992 and the Russian Wrestling Federation from 1993 until his untimely death in a car crash in 1997. ^[6] An exceptional upper-body wrestler, ^[7] Yarygin was widely regarded for his tremendous physique and high-strength aggressive style, always aiming to pin down his opponents, with most of his stoppage wins came by way of fall achieved through rapid fireman's lift and slamming the opponent to the mat. ^[8] One of the most prestigious tournaments in the World was put together in his honor - The Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin Tournament is held annually in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, and has the reputation of being one of the hardest tournaments in the World. The Yarygin Memorial annually sees the world's best wrestlers come to Siberia, with the added element that Russia's autonomous oblasts and republics such as Dagestan and Chechnya field independent teams alongside an All-Russia selection.

Biography

Childhood and early career

Yarygin was born as the sixth child in a family of ten siblings. Most members of his family were heavily built and physically active people. Since early age Yarygin helped his father at his blacksmith workshop. ^[2] As a teenager he wanted to become a football goalkeeper, and took up wrestling only in 1966, aged 18. He then was drafted and went on to win the Soviet Armed Forces heavyweight championships in Sambo wrestling, gaining the Master of Sports degree in Sambo. He then switched to freestyle wrestling, and won 1968 Russian SFSR national youth championships and 1969 Soviet youth championships.

Prime years

In 1970, he won the Soviet title competing in senior division, beating his main rival Vladimir Gulyutkin; he lost to Gulyutkin in 1971, but beat him again at the 1972 Olympic Trials and was selected for the Munich Olympics. At the Olympics he won all five bouts by fall, spending on the mat a little more than 7 minutes instead of 45. ^[6] Three months prior to the Olympics, he won the 1972 European Championships, winning all bouts by fall. When first appeared in the United States for the 1973 World Cup and the subsequent wrestling tour, the U.S.—Soviet Olympic freestyle wrestling exhibition, where he and the USSR National Wrestling Team met the United States National Team (composed of both National AAU, Athletes in Action and NCAA Wrestling Team Championship winners,) the American press described him as "a blue-eyed, red-haired, 24-year-old wrestler from the Soviet Union who spreads 220 pounds over an awesome, statuesque frame that might have been hammered and chiseled out of a granite block cornerstone from the Tomb of Lenin." ^{[9] [8]} He was a flagbearer for the Soviet wrestling team while on the U.S. tour. ^[10] When Yarygin wrestled Russell Hellickson (whom he had his shoulder dislocated at their previous match-up at the Olympics) at Hellickson's hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, Yarygin let him up to prevent further injury, ^[10] and wrestled just hard enough to protect himself until Hellickson finally fainted to pain. ^[11]

After the Olympics, he won the 1973 World Championships, again all bouts by fall. Thus Yarygin became the only wrestler to win three consecutive major competitions, scoring only fall victories. He then lost several minor contests, and decided to retire from competition, settled in his native village of Sizaya, where he worked as a lumberjack in Taiga forest. Outdoor activity helped him to regain his strength and confidence, and he came back in 1974 to continue his victorious streak. His next Olympic victory in 1976 was less spectacular because he wrestled the whole tournament with two broken ribs. After that Yarygin was selected as the Soviet Olympic flag bearer at the closing ceremony. ^[12]

Coming to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania for the match-up versus the American National Wrestling Team, Soviet wrestlers were welcomed officially by Mayor Walter Lisman, and were given a key to Wilkes-Barre by the mayor. ^[13]

Retirement

While preparing for the Moscow Olympics Yarygin realized that the young Soviet wrestler Ilya Mate has a better chance for the gold medal (which he indeed won). Yarygin retired from competition permanently in 1980 and became a wrestling coach. In 1982–92, he trained the Soviet freestyle wrestling team, and in 1993–1997 headed the Russian Wrestling Federation. ^[6] He was a key organizer of the 1997 World Wrestling Championships in Krasnoyarsk. ^[12]

International competition record

International competition record (incomplete) [14]
Res.	Opponent	Method	Time/ Score	Date	Event	Location	Venue
1980 World Cup Winner at 100kg
Win	Larry Bielenberg	Fall	1:14	1980-03-30	1980 World Cup	Toledo, Ohio	Centennial Hall
Win	Wyatt Wishart	—	—	1980-03-28
Win	Hiroaki Obayashi	—	—	1980-03-28
Win	Bárbaro Morgan	—	—	1980-03-28
Win	Ibrahima Sarr	—	—	1980-03-28
Loss	Howard Harris	Decision	7–8	1980-03-26	U.S.—Soviet all-star dual meet	Glens Falls, New York	Glens Falls Civic Center
Win	Fred Bohna	Fall	1:07	1979-04-07	Athletes in Action challenge	Anaheim, California	Anaheim Convention Center
Win				1979-04	U.S.—Soviet all-star series Olympic freestyle wrestling four-city tour	Phoenix, Arizona
—	Larry Bielenberg	Decision	3–10	1979-04-02		Rapid City, South Dakota	Rushmore Plaza Civic Center
1979 World Cup Winner at 100kg
Win	Fred Bohna	Inactivity		1979-04-01	1979 World Cup	Toledo, Ohio	Centennial Hall
Win	Bárbaro Morgan		—	1979-03-31
Win	Ahmed Hamida	Fall	—	1979-03-31
Win	Hiroaki Yamamoto	Fall	—	1979-03-31
Win	Larry Bielenberg		—	1979-03-31
Win	John Setter [15]	Fall	8:07	1979-03-28	U.S.—Soviet all-star series Olympic freestyle wrestling four-city tour	Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania	King's College Gym
Win				1979-03-26		New York City	Felt Forum
1977 World Cup Winner at 100kg
Win	Harold Smith	Fall	0:27	1977-03-27	1977 World Cup	Toledo, Ohio	Centennial Hall
Win	Steve Daniar	Fall		1977-03-26
Win	Yoshiaki Yatsu	Fall		1977-03-26
1976 Olympic Gold Medalist at 100kg
Win	Russell Hellickson	Decision	19–13	1976-07-27	1976 Summer Olympics	Montreal	Maurice Richard Arena
Win	Petr Drozda	Tech Fall	5:30	1976-07-27
Win	Dimo Kostov	Decision	16–5	1976-07-27
Win	Daniel Verník	Tech Fall	1:26	1976-07-27
Win	Harald Büttner	Decision	13–5	1976-07-27
1976 European Champion at 100kg
Win	Dimo Kostov	—	—	1976-04-18	1976 European Championship	Leningrad	Yubileyny Sports Palace
Win	Mehmet Güçlü	—	—	1976-04-18
Win	Petr Drozda	—	—	1976-04-18
Win				1976-03-	U.S.—Soviet all-star series Olympic freestyle wrestling tour	Miami, Florida
Win	Jeff Smith	Fall	0:23	1976-03-04		East Lansing, Michigan	Jenison Fieldhouse
1976 World Cup Winner at 100kg
Win	Greg Wojciechowski			1976-03-01	1976 World Cup	Toledo, Ohio	Toledo Field House
Win	R. Sookhtsarat	Decision	4–2	1976-02-29
Win	Steve Daniar	—	—	1976-02-29
1975 European Champion at 100kg
Loss	Harald Büttner	—	—	1975-05-01	1975 European Championship	Ludwigshafen
Win	Dimo Kostov	—	—	1975-05-01
Win	Edward Żmudziejewski	—	—	1975-05-01
Win	Petr Drozda	—	—	1975-05-01
1974 European Silver Medalist at 100kg
Loss	Harald Büttner	—	—	1974-06-24	1974 European Championship	Madrid	Palacio de Deportes
Win				1974-04-05	U.S.—Soviet all-star series Olympic freestyle wrestling six-city tour	Alexandria, Virginia
Win	Jim Duschen	Fall	>3:00	1974-04-02		Chattanooga, Tennessee	University of Tennessee Arena
Win	Buck Deadrich	Fall	8:41	1974-03-30		Berkeley, California	Harmon Gym
Win	Larry Amundson	Fall	2:48	1974-03-27		San Diego, California	Peterson Gym
Guest	Soviet wrestling clinic demonstration			1974-03-23		Long Beach, California	Long Beach State Gym
Win	Buck Deadrich	Fall	>3:00	1974-03-22			Long Beach Arena
Win	Buck Deadrich	Fall	2:34	1974-03-19		New York City	Felt Forum
1973 World Champion at 100kg
Win	Buck Deadrich	Fall	>6:00	1973-09-06	1973 World Championship	Tehran	Aryamehr Indoor Stadium
Win	József Csatári	Fall		1973-09-09
Win	Dimitar Nekov	Fall	—	1973-09-06
1973 World University Games Champion at 100kg
Win	Buck Deadrich	—	—	1973-08-15	1973 World University Games	Moscow	Lenin Palace of Sports
Win	Dimitar Stankov	—	—	1973-08-15
Win	Henk Schenk	Decision	6–3	1973-06-01	U.S.—Soviet all-star series Olympic freestyle wrestling four-city tour	New York City	Felt Forum
Win	Nick Curollo	Fall	1:04	1973-05-30		Brockport, New York	Brockport State Gym
Win	Greg Wojciechowski	Decision	3–1	1973-05-26		Columbus, Ohio	St. John Arena
Win	Russell Hellickson	Default (9–0)	>6:00	1973-05-23		Madison, Wisconsin	Wisconsin Field House
1973 World Cup Winner at 100kg
Win	Russell Hellickson	Fall	1:56	1973-05-20	1973 World Cup	Toledo, Ohio	Toledo Field House
Win	Claude Pilon	Fall	0:17	1973-05-19
Win	Shizuo Yada	Fall		1973-05-19
1972 Olympic Gold Medalist at 100kg
Win	József Csatári	Fall	2:04	1972-08-31	1972 Summer Olympics	Munich	Messe München
Win	Khorloo Bayanmunkh	Fall	5:21	1972-08-31
Win	Enache Panait	Fall	1:47	1972-08
Win	Abolfazl Anvari	Fall	2:58	1972-08
Win	Harry Geris	Fall	2:20	1972-08
Win	Gerd Bachmann	Fall	2:11	1972-08
Win	Bruno Jutzeler	Fall	0:27	1972-08-27
1972 European Champion at 100kg
Win	Vasil Todorov	Fall	—	1972-04-24	1972 European Championship	Katowice	Spodek Arena
Win	Gerd Bachmann	Fall	—	1972-04-24
Win	Enache Panait	Fall	—	1972-04-24
1970 European Silver Medalist at 100kg
Loss	Ahmet Ayık	—	—	1970-06-09	1970 European Championship	East Berlin
Win	Vasil Todorov	Fall	—	1970-06-09
Win	Gerd Bachmann	Fall	—	1970-06-09
Win	Enache Panait	Fall	—	1970-06-09
Win	Karel Engel	Fall	—	1970-06-09

Death and legacy

The Russian Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bomber named after Yarygin

Yarygin was killed in a car crash in 1997, crashing his car into a roadside-parked heavy truck. ^[12] Earlier in 1990, an annual wrestling tournament in his honor has been initiated in Krasnoyarsk, the city where he lived since 1966; in 1998 a sports venue in Krasnoyarsk has been renamed into the Ivan Yarygin Sports Palace, and in March 2002 his monument was opened in the city. His other monuments were installed in Moscow in 1998, in Stavropol Krai (near the place of his death) in 2012, and in Abakan in 2013. ^[16] A secondary school ^[17] and a wrestling complex in Moscow are named after Yarygin. In 2010 Yarygin was inducted into the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame. ^[6]

Books

• Yarygin I. S. (1989) Ты выходишь на ковер. Moscow. ISBN   5-900845-02-8
• Yarygin I. S. (1995) Суровые мужские игры. Krasnoyarsk. ISBN   5-7479-0642-9

References

1. "Yarygin, Ivan (URS)". International Wrestling Database. University of Leipzig. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015.
2. Сизую я считаю своей малой родиной [I consider Sizuyu my small homeland]. Yarygin Museum (in Russian). Archived from the original on 24 April 2015.
3. "U.S. wrestlers meet Soviets in Long Beach". Progress Bulletin. United Press International. 21 March 1974. p. 19.
4. "Soviet Coach Is Optimistic". Fayetteville Northwest Arkansas Times. Associated Press. 26 March 1980. p. 22.
5. The record later was beaten by Jim Jackson, who pinned Japanese heavyweight Yasuori Ominato in 17 seconds, April 1, 1978. See: "U.S. Leads Cup Wrestling". Cumberland Sunday Times. United Press International. 2 April 1978. p. 47.
6. "Ivan Yarygin". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
7. "Notes". The Post-Crescent. 16 (31): 36. 1 August 1976.
8. Lucas, Mike (23 May 1973). "Soviet Matmen Land Improvement of U.S. Team". The Capital Times. 112 (138): 24.
9. Hillstrom, Eric (23 May 1973). "Soviet Matmen Laud Improvement of US Team". Madison Capital Times: 22.
10. Lucas, Mike (24 May 1973). "Mighty Soviet Matmen Whip U.S. Team, 17 to 3". The Capital Times. 112 (139): 20.
11. "Scaling a crazy mountain". Sports Illustrated. Vol. 38, no. 23. 11 June 1973. pp. 94–98.
12. Иван Ярыгин. Yarygin Wrestling Museum
13. Cater, Dave (27 March 1979). "MRussian wrestlers arrive". The Times Leader: 1.
14. Details of Ivan Yarygin profile available at the United World Wrestling Database.
15. Setter was an alternate for Jeff Blatnick, who withdrew due to health issues.
16. Памятник Ивану Ярыгину в Абакане Archived 22 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine . Yarygin Museum
17. МБОУ Московская средняя школа им. Ивана Ярыгина. Yarygin Museum

External links

• Ivan Yarygin at the International Wrestling Database
• Ivan Yarygin at Olympedia

Olympic Games
Preceded by Aleksandr Medved	Flagbearer for   Soviet Union (closing ceremony) Montreal 1976 (with Vasily Alekseyev)	Succeeded by Nikolay Balboshin