Aleksandr Shemarov (also Aliaksandr Shamarau, Belarusian: Аляксандр Шамараў; born April 9, 1975) is a retired amateur Belarusian freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's heavyweight category.[1] He won a bronze medal in the 97-kg division at the 2001 European Championships in Budapest, Hungary, and also achieved a seventh-place finish each in two editions of the Olympic Games (2000 and 2004). Throughout his sporting career, Shemarov trained as a member of the freestyle wrestling team for Minsk Trade Union Sports Club, under his father and coach Nikolai Shemarov.[2]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Aleksandr Shemarov | ||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  Belarus | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 9 April 1975 Kaliningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 96 kg (212 lb) | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wrestling | ||||||||||||||
| Style | Freestyle | ||||||||||||||
| Club | Trade Union Sports Club (BLR) | ||||||||||||||
| Coach | Nikolai Shemarov Valentin Murzinkov | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Shemarov made his official debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he competed in the men's heavyweight division (97 kg). He scored a set of two triumphs to defeat Canada's Dean Schmeichel and Slovak-born Australian wrestler Gabriel Szerda in the opening matches, but suffered a formidable 2–3 overtime defeat against Poland's three-time Olympian Marek Garmulewicz. Finishing second in the prelim pool and seventh overall, Shemarov's performance fell short to put him further into the quarterfinals.[3]
At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Shemarov qualified for his second Belarusian squad, as a 29-year-old, in the men's heavyweight class (96 kg) by rounding out the top ten spot and receiving a berth from the 2003 World Wrestling Championships in New York City, New York, United States.[4] Shemarov delivered a more powerful effort from his previous Games by thrashing Turkey's Fatih Çakıroğlu and Mongolia's Tüvshintöriin Enkhtuyaa to secure a spot for the next round. Fighting against Russian wrestler and European champion Khadzhimurat Gatsalov in the quarterfinal match, Shemarov could not score a single point to push him off the mat, and instead, matched his final standing from Sydney in the process.[5]
Shortly after the Games, Shemarov officially retired from his sporting career, and became a personal coach for his younger brother Alexei, who later competed in the men's super heavyweight division at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[2]
References
edit- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Aleksandr Shemarov". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
- ^ a b Александр Шемаров переехал в Минск, но регулярно приезжает в Калининград [Alexander Shemarov moved to Minsk, but regularly comes to Kaliningrad] (in Russian). Strana Kaliningrad. 26 December 2013. Archived from the original on 8 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
- ^ "Sydney 2000: Wrestling – Heavyweight Freestyle (97kg)" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. pp. 132–133. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
- ^ Abbott, Gary (18 July 2004). "Olympic Games preview at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. in men's freestyle". USA Wrestling. The Mat. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
- ^ "Wrestling: Men's Freestyle 96kg". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
External links
edit- Aleksandr Shemarov at the International Wrestling Database
- Aleksandr Shemarov at Olympedia