Ilya Mate
 Mate receiving an arm massage in-between the periods of his Olympic match, 25 July 1980 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 6 October 1956 (age 65) Starohnativka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Makiivka Civil Engineering Institute | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 100 kg (220 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Freestyle wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Kolos Donetsk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Illya Fedorovych Mate (spelled Maté, Russian: Илья Фёдорович Мате, IPA: [ɪˈlʲjæ maˈtɛ], born 6 October 1956) is a retired Soviet Ukrainian freestyle wrestler. He won gold medals at the 1980 Olympics and 1979 and 1982 world championships, finishing third in 1981.[1][2] Mate was reputed for his deceitfully flabby appearance, which misled his opponents into thinking of him as of an "easy prey," as well as for his springy sudden movements and the mat generalship, avoiding flukes, and providing no "chinks in the armor" for his opponents.
Biography[]
Early years[]
Mate was born to a Greek father and Ukrainian mother. He began training in kuresh wrestling while studying in a secondary school.
Prime years[]
He took up freestyle wrestling in 1970 and won the Soviet heavyweight title in 1978–80 and 1982.
Retirement and later years[]
After retiring from competitions he worked as a private entrepreneur in Donetsk, and remained involved with the Donetsk Wrestling Federation. Since 2003, an annual junior freestyle wrestling tournament has been held in Donetsk Oblast in his honor.[1]
International competition record[]
References[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ilya Mate. |
- ^ a b "Ilia Mate". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 30 August 2011.
- ^ Mate, Ilja (URS). iat.uni-leipzig.de
- ^ Details of Ilja Mate profile available at the United World Wrestling Database.
External links[]
- Ilya Mate at United World Wrestling
- Ilya Mate at Munzinger Sports Archives (in German)
- Ilya Mate at Olympedia
 Olympic Champions in freestyle heavyweight | |
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- 1956 births
- Living people
- People from Telmanove Raion
- Soviet male sport wrestlers
- Soviet people of Greek descent
- Ukrainian people of Greek descent
- Olympic wrestlers of the Soviet Union
- Wrestlers at the 1980 Summer Olympics
- Ukrainian male sport wrestlers
- Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union
- Olympic medalists in wrestling
- Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics
- Universiade medalists in wrestling
- World Wrestling Championships medalists
- Universiade gold medalists for the Soviet Union
- Medalists at the 1981 Summer Universiade
- Soviet Olympic medalist stubs
- Soviet sport wrestler stubs
- Ukrainian sport wrestler stubs