W.A.K.O. European Championships 2006 (Skopje)

There were around 31 nations from across Europe participating at the 2006 W.A.K.O. European Championships in Skopje including:[3]

Similar to Full-Contact kickboxing, contestants in Low-Kick are allowed to kick and punch one another with full force, with the primary difference being that in Low-Kick they are also allowed to kick one another's legs, with matches typically won by decision or stoppage. As with other forms of amateur kickboxing, various head and body protection must be worn. More information on the style can be found at the W.A.K.O. website.[4] Both men and women took part in Low-Kick at Skopje, with the men having twelve weight divisions ranging from 51 kg/112.2 lbs to over 91 kg/+200.2 lbs, and then women having six ranging from 48 kg/105.6 lbs to 70 kg/154 lbs and unlike more recent W.A.K.O. championships (aside from Lisbon) some countries were allowed more than one athlete per weight division.

Notable winners in the category included Zurab Faroyan picking up his 4th gold medal in a row, which included winning in Full-Contact at the other European championships in Lisbon a month or so previously, while countryman Konstantin Sbytov picked up his 3rd gold medal. Other winners included multiple world champion Eduard Mammadov and Ibragim Tamazaev who had won at the last world championships in Agadir. Also in medal positions and more recognisable to western and international audiences were Michał Głogowski, Ludovic Millet and Mickael Lallemand who all won bronze medals. Russia continued her tradition of being the strongest nation in Low-Kick, easily dominating the medal positions with twelve gold, four silver and eight bronze.[5]

Men's Low-Kick Kickboxing Medals Table

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Light Bantamweight -51 kg	Aleksandar Aleksandrov	Nijat Huseynov	Rasim Aliti Afanasiev Klimeni
Bantamweight -54 kg	Jordan Vasilev	Emil Karimov	Boban Marinkovic Mokhmad Betmirzaev
Featherweight -57 kg	Zurab Faroyan	Milos Anic	Gabor Kiss Mariusz Cieśliński
Lightweight -60 kg	Eduard Mammadov	Dzianis Tselitsa	Alikhan Chumaev Grigory Gorokhov
Light Welterweight -63.5 kg	Artur Magadov	Ayoub Saidi	Gleb Bozko Kurbanali Akaev
Welterweight -67 kg	Nikolai Shtakhanov	Evgeny Grechishkin	Venelin Iankov Mickael Lallemand
Light Middleweight -71 kg	Konstantin Sbytov	Milan Dragojlovic	Michał Głogowski Ludovic Millet
Middleweight -75 kg	Ibragim Tamazaev	Dragan Mićić	Leszek Koltun Stelian Angelov
Light Heavyweight -81 kg	Nenad Pagonis	Drazenko Ninic	Rail Rajabov Teppo Laine
Cruiserweight -86 kg	Kirill Ivanov	Stipe Stipetic	Dilian Slavov Vladimir Djordjevic
Heavyweight -91 kg	Dimitri Antonenko	Dejan Milosavljevic	Sasa Cirovic Ivan Stanić
Super Heavyweight +91 kg	Dragan Jovanović	Hafiz Bakhshaliyev	Goran Radonjic Jan Antoska

Women's Low-Kick Kickboxing Medals Table

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Bantamweight -48 kg	Anabyeva Svetlana	Ekateruba Verzhbitskaya	Corina Carlescu Zeljana Pitesa
Featherweight -52 kg	Maria Krivoshapkina	Ekaterina Dumbrava	Vira Makresova Eva Ott
Lightweight -56 kg	Milena Dincic	Maryna Batsman	Arsalane Ahlam Lidia Andreeva
Middleweight -60 kg	Barbara Plazzoli	Milijanka Cenic	Olga Zyk Fatima Bokova
Light Heavyweight -65 kg	Vera Avdeeva	Mimma Mandolini	Jelena Juric Maja Djukanovic
Heavyweight -70 kg	Svetlana Kulakova	Elena Kondratyeva	Olivera Milanovic Nataša Ivetić
Super Heavyweight +70 kg	Natalija Simac	Daniela Lazarevska	No bronze medallists recorded

Thai-Boxing, more commonly known as Muay Thai, is a type of kickboxing that allows the participants to throw punches, kicks, elbows and knees at full force to legal targets on the opponents body. Due to the physical nature of the sport, stoppages are not uncommon, although in amateur Thai-Boxing head and body protection must be worn. At Skopje both men and women took part in the style with the men having twelve weight divisions ranging from 51 kg/112.2 lbs to over 91 kg/+200.2 lbs and the women six, ranging from 52 kg/114.4 lbs to over 70 kg/154 lbs and unlike more recent W.A.K.O. championships (aside from Lisbon) some countries were allowed more than one athlete per weight division.

There were not too many recognisable winners in Thai-Boxing at Skopje although Vitaly Gurkov had won a number of amateur world championships with various organizations prior to this event and would go on to win a K-1 regional tournament as a pro. By the end of the championships Russia finally overhauled the dominance of Belarus in the style, coming out top with six gold, seven silver and seven bronze medals.[6]

Men's Thai-Boxing Medals Table

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Light Bantamweight -51 kg	Giampiero Marceddu	Siarhei Skiba	Andrey Mikhaylov
Bantamweight -54 kg	Maksym Glubochenko	Goran Mimica	Andrea Molon
Featherweight -57 kg	Aleksandar Gogic	Ruben Almedia	Ramil Novruzov Ilya Mordvinov
Lightweight -60 kg	Pashik Tatoyan	Bahtiyar Iskanderzade	Gor Shavelyan Aleksandar Jankovic
Light Welterweight -63.5 kg	Yury Zhvokovski	Sergey Solomennokov	Stanislav Ushakov Michele Iezzi
Welterweight -67 kg	Vitaly Gurkov	Nikolay Bubnov	Mikhail Mishin Nebojsa Denic
Light Middleweight -71 kg	Denis Dikusar	Rizvan Isaev	Ile Risteski Milos Mihaljevic
Middleweight -75 kg	Yury Harbachov	Mikhail Chalykh	Kamel Mezatni Aleksandre Stajkovski
Light Heavyweight -81 kg	Dzianis Hancharonak	Ivan Damianov	Dmytro Kirpan Arpad Forgon
Cruiserweight -86 kg	Maxim Vinogradov	Aly Staubmann	Siarhei Krauchanka Zaur Alekporov
Heavyweight -91 kg	Kiril Pendjurov	Atanas Stojkovski	Alexey Shevtsov Igor Jurković
Super Heavyweight +91 kg	Alexey Kudin	Valentino Venturini	Mirko Vlahović Mladen Bozic

Women's Thai-Boxing Medals Table

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Bantamweight -48 kg	Anna Kozelkova	Viktoria Ageeva	Anett Urban
Featherweight -52 kg	Petra Buchenberger	Alisa Chukhnina	Kristina Karamatic Adi Rotem
Lightweight -56 kg	Irma Balijagic	Barbara Vlahov	No bronze medallists recorded
Middleweight -60 kg	Natalya Kamenskikh	Ana Mandic	Panu Donatella Sanja Samardzic
Light Heavyweight -65 kg	Elena Solareva	Lejla Osmani	No bronze medallists recorded
Heavyweight -70 kg	Nives Radic	Ekaterina Rokunova	Tatiana Ovchinnikova

Light-Contact is a form of kickboxing that is less physical than Full-Contact but more so than Semi-Contact and is often seen as a transition between the two. Contestants score points on the basis of speed and technique over brute force although stoppages can occur, although as with other amateur forms head and body protection must be worn - more detail on Light-Contact rules can be found on the official W.A.K.O. website.[7] The men had nine weight divisions ranging from 57 kg/125.4 lbs to over 94 kg/+206.8 lbs while the women had six ranging from 50 kg/110 lbs to over 70 kg/154 lbs and unlike more recent W.A.K.O. championships (aside from Lisbon) some countries were allowed more than one athlete per weight division.

As it is often in the shadow of the full contact styles there were not many familiar faces in Light-Contact although Dezső Debreczeni, who is a regular winner in Light and Semi-Contact, won another gold medal. By the end of the championships Hungary prevented Russia from being top in all three styles at Skopje by winning three golds, two silvers and three bronze.[8]

Men's Light-Contact Kickboxing Medals Table

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
-57 kg	Dezső Debreczeni	Maxim Aysin	Fabien Saby Artur Novikov
-63 kg	Konstyantyn Demoretskyy	Mikhail Gerasimov	Kamel Bacha Stanislav Petrov
-69 kg	Przemysław Ziemnicki	Danir Yusupov	Zsolt Nagy Juraj Hoppan
-74 kg	Toby Bemuller	Sergey Faretov	Artem Noskov Attila Olasz
-79 kg	Stefan Bücker	Zoltan Dancso	Christophe Touzeau Bernhard Sussitz
-84 kg	Duane Reid	Murat Pukhaev	Rainer Gerdenitsch David Nagode
-89 kg	Gavin Williamson	Mattia Bezzon	Artem Vasylenko Berislav Budiscak
-94 kg	Giovanni Nurchi	Mikael Bäckström	Tibor Wappel Emin Panyan
+94 kg	Michal Wszelak	Merlin Gehrt	Konstantin Kuleshov Cristian Lubrano

Women's Light-Contact Kickboxing Medals Table

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
-50 kg	Fatima Zaaboula	Reka Krempf	Therese Gunnarsson Alexandra Kibanova
-55 kg	Maria Kushtanova	Zaneta Ciesla	Andriana Tricoli Roxana Lasak
-60 kg	Julie McHale	Katarina Ilicic	Tamara Radkovic Maria Antonietta Lovicu
-65 kg	Marta Fenyvesi	Katarzyna Furmaniak	Sabina Sehic Nicole Trimmel
-70 kg	Ivett Pruzsinszky	Lariza Brezenko	Annalisa Ghilardi Kate Kearney
+70 kg	Oxana Kinakh	Paulina Biec	Zeliha Doğrugüneş Sabine Schnell

• List of WAKO Amateur European Championships
• List of WAKO Amateur World Championships

• WAKO World Association of Kickboxing Organizations Official Site