Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov

Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov (Kazakh: Жақсылық Әмірәліұлы Үшкемпіров; 6 May 1951 – 2 August 2020) was a light-flyweight Greco-Roman wrestler from Kazakhstan. He won an Olympic gold medal in 1980 and a world title in 1981.[1]

Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov
Üshkempirov (left) at the 1980 Olympics
Personal information
Born6 May 1951
Tegistik, Bayzak District, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union
Died2 August 2020 (aged 69)
Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
Height156 cm (5 ft 1 in)
Weight48 kg (106 lb)
Sport
SportGreco-Roman wrestling
Medal record
Men's Greco-Roman wrestling
Representing the  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1980 Moscow 48 kg
World Championships
Gold medal – first place1981 Oslo48 kg
European Championships
Silver medal – second place1980 Prievidza48 kg

Ushkempirov took up wrestling in 1969 and won the Soviet title in 1975 and 1980. After retiring from competitions he worked as director of a sports school in Almaty in 1984–1993. In 1993 he founded the sports club Zhaksylyk and served as its president. Since 2001, an annual junior wrestling tournament has been held in Almaty in his honor.[1]

Memory

In 2019, a feature film "Zhaksylyk" (Kazakhstan) was shot about the life of Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov. Ushkempirov was played by Elnar Nazarkul and Sanurzhan Suleimenov in his youth and adolescence, and the role of a 60-year-old athlete was played by Doszhan Zhanbotaev.[2]

On December 2, 2020, the Martial Arts Palace in Nur-Sultan was renamed in honor of Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov.[3]

On September 8, 2021, a monument was unveiled next to him[4]

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zhaqsylyq Üshkempirov.
  1. "Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
  2. "В Алматы прошёл премьерный показ фильма "Жаксылык" об олимпийском чемпионе Ушкемпирове". informburo.kz. 22 December 2019.
  3. "Спортивный дворец в Нур-Султане назвали в честь Жаксылыка Ушкемпирова". tengrinews.kz. 2 December 2020.
  4. "Памятник борцу Жаксылыку Ушкемпирову открыли в Нур-Султане". www.inform.kz/ru. 8 September 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.