Ilya Mate

Illya Fedorovych Mate (spelled Maté, Russian: Илья Фёдорович Мате, IPA: [ɪˈlʲjæ maˈtɛ], born 6 October 1956) is a retired Soviet and 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.

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming conventions, the patronymic is Fedorovych and the family name is Mate.
Ilya Mate
Mate receiving an arm massage in-between the periods of his Olympic match, 25 July 1980
Personal information
Born6 October 1956 (1956-10-06) (age 67)
Starohnativka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Alma materMakiivka Civil Engineering Institute
Height187 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight100 kg (220 lb)
Sport
SportFreestyle wrestling
ClubKolos Donetsk
Medal record
Representing the  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1980 Moscow 100 kg
World Championships
Gold medal – first place1979 San Diego100 kg
Bronze medal – third place1981 Skopje100 kg
Gold medal – first place1982 Edmonton100 kg
European Championships
Gold medal – first place1979 Bucharest100 kg

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
Mate (in red) goes for a double leg takedown on Július Strnisko

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]

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ilya Mate.
  1. "Ilia Mate". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 30 August 2011.
  2. Mate, Ilja (URS). iat.uni-leipzig.de
  3. Details of Ilja Mate profile available at the United World Wrestling Database.


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