David Vála

David Vála (born April 17, 1978 in Liberec) is an amateur Czech Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's heavyweight category.[1][2] He won a silver medal in his division at the 2007 European Wrestling Championships in Moscow, Russia, losing out to Russian wrestler and former Olympic champion Khasan Baroyev.[3] Vala is also a three-time Olympian (2000, 2004 and 2012), and a member of the wrestling team for PSK Olymp Praha under his personal coach Ervin Varga.[1]

David Vála
Personal information
Full nameDavid Vála
Nationality Czech Republic
Born (1978-04-17) 17 April 1978
Liberec, Czechoslovakia
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight115 kg (254 lb)
Sport
SportWrestling
StyleGreco-Roman
ClubPSK Olymp Praha[1]
CoachErvin Varga[1]
Medal record
Men's Greco-Roman wrestling
Representing  Czech Republic
European Championships
Silver medal – second place2007 Moscow120 kg

Vala made his debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he competed in the men's super heavyweight division (130 kg). He placed third in a four-person preliminary pool against Israel's Yuri Evseitchik, Turkey's Fatih Bakir, and Poland's Marek Sitnik, accumulating a score of five technical and four classification points.[4]

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Vala finished second in the preliminary pool round of the men's 120 kg class, against Baroyev and Belarus' Andrei Chekhauskoi, with a total score of three technical and classification points each.[5][6]

Eight years after competing in his last Olympics, Vala qualified for his third Czech team, at the age of 34, for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, by placing second in the men's heavyweight division in the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Helsinki, Finland.[7][8] He received a bye for the preliminary round of sixteen match in the men's 96 kg class, before losing out to Cuban wrestler and Pan American Games champion Yunior Estrada, with a three-set technical score (0–1, 1–0, 0–1), and a classification point score of 1–3.[9]

References
  1. "David Vála". London 2012. Archived from the original on 2 April 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  2. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "David Vála". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  3. "Marcel Ewald holt Silber bei den Europameisterschaften in Sofia! Auch David Vala und Arpad Ritter auf dem Treppchen" [Marcel Ewald wins silver at the European Championships in Sofia! Even David Vala and Arpad Ritter on the podium] (in German). SV 04 Germania Weingarten. 22 April 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  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. "Athens 2004: Men's Greco-Roman 120kg" (PDF). Athens 2004. LA84 Foundation. pp. 61–63. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  6. "Wrestling: Men's Greco-Roman 120kg". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  7. Abbott, Gary (6 May 2012). "Ruiz loses, fails to qualify GR 96kg class". USA Wrestling. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  8. "Zápasník Vála si vybojoval olympijskou účast v Londýně" [Wrestler Vála fights for his participation in London] (in Czech). Idnes Cesky. 6 May 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  9. "Men's 96kg Greco-Roman Round of 16 Finals". London 2012. Archived from the original on 2 April 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
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