Štefan Fernyák (born June 2, 1973 in

Dunajská Streda Dunajská Streda (; ; ) is a town located in southern Slovakia ( Trnavský kraj). Dunajská Streda is the most culturally significant town in the Žitný ostrov area. The town has a population of 22,730, with ethnic Hungarians forming the 72% maj ...

) is a retired amateur Slovak freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's lightweight and welterweight category. Fernyak claimed a bronze medal for the newly Slovak team in the 62-kg division at the 1993 European Wrestling Championships in

Istanbul, Turkey Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With a population over , it is home to 18% of the population of Turkey. Istanbul is among the largest cities in Europe and in th ...

, and later represented his nation

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

in two editions of the Olympic Games (2000 and 2004). Throughout his sporting career, Fernyak trained as part of the freestyle wrestling team for Dunajplavba Sports Club in

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, under his longtime coach and mentor Ľubomir Lohyňa. Fernyak made his official debut at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, where he competed in the men's lightweight division (63 kg). He lost the prelim pool matches twice to Azerbaijan's Shamil Afandiyev and South Korea's Jang Jae-sung, who outclassed him with a technical superiority score, but offered a chance to receive a free triumph as the Turkish-born Australian wrestler Musa Ilhan suffered an injury from his match against Afandiyev. Finishing third in the elimination round and eighth overall, Fernyak's performance was not enough to put him further into the quarterfinals. At the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Fernyak qualified for the Slovak squad, as a 31-year-old, in the men's welterweight class (66 kg) by rounding out the top 10 spots from the

2003 World Wrestling Championships The following is the final results of the 2003 World Wrestling Championships. The Freestyle Competition was held in New York City, New York (state), New York, while the Greco-Roman Competition was held in Créteil, France. Medal table Team ranki ...

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He was placed by a random draw into a three-man preliminary pool against Turkey's

Ömer Çubukçu Ömer Çubukçu (born May 10, 1980 in Pasinler, Erzurum) is a retired amateur Turkish freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's welterweight category. He won a bronze medal in the 63-kg division at the 2001 Mediterranean Games in Tunis, Tunis ...

and Hungary's

Gábor Hatos Gábor Hatos (born October 3, 1983 in Eger) is a male freestyle wrestler from Hungary. He originally placed fifth at the 2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known ...

. At the end of the pool, Fernyak could not generate a blistering record from Sydney with two straight losses each to Cubukcu (1–5) and Hatos (1–3) on two technical points, finishing only in third place and sixteenth overall in the final standings.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernyak, Stefan 1973 births Living people Olympic wrestlers for Slovakia Wrestlers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Slovak male sport wrestlers Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Dunajská Streda European Wrestling Championships medalists 20th-century Slovak people 21st-century Slovak sportsmen