Alexander Mikhailovich Pushnitsa (; 1 November 1949 – 27 January 2023)
was the most competitively successful sambist in history of sambo,

Merited Master of Sports of the USSR Unified All-Russian Sports Classification () is a system which regulates the Russian physical education system requirements for both athletes and coaches. History In the Soviet period Unified Sports Classification System of the USSR () exist ...

(1980), nine-time champion of the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

,Результаты чемпионатов СССР и России по борьбе самбо (Results of the USSR championships and Russian sambo)
/ref> two-time

European champion A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers to a ...

and three-time

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

. He was a permanent captain of the Soviet Union Sambo team for 15 years. In 1997, in

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he won the European Championship for

sambo Sambo may refer to: Places * Sambo, Angola, a commune in Tchicala Tcholohanga, Huambo Province, Angola * Sambo Creek, a village in Honduras People * Ferdy Sambo (born 1973), former Indonesian police general * Khem Sambo (1961–2011), Cambodi ...

veterans. He was a graduate of the

Omsk Omsk (; , ) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia and has a population of over one million. Omsk is the third List of cities and tow ...

State Institute of Physical Culture (1987).Александр Михайлович Пушница
/ref> Honorary Citizen of the city of Omsk, Deputy Chairman of Sambo Federation of the Omsk region, and head of the sports school Sambo 2000. An annual sambo tournament has been held in Omsk since 2000 in his honour.

Biography

Alexander's father and mother were rural teachers. Alexander grew up in a village. He liked to fight since childhood. Boys usually fought on the ground, not observing any rules. Most often Alexander struggled with his twin brother Vladimir ubsequently International Master of Sports in Sambo and three-time bronze medalist (1977, 1978, 1982) of the USSR Championships There was no television in that village, and the brothers knew nothing about

Sambo Sambo may refer to: Places * Sambo, Angola, a commune in Tchicala Tcholohanga, Huambo Province, Angola * Sambo Creek, a village in Honduras People * Ferdy Sambo (born 1973), former Indonesian police general * Khem Sambo (1961–2011), Cambodi ...

.Евгений Гаврилов. Интервью с Александром Пушницей
/ref> Father of Alexander and Vladimir, a veteran of World War II, instilled in them a love of peasant labor and sports. Brothers loved not only to fight, but also cross-country skiing, playing soccer and hockey. Alexander was endowed with agility, endurance, speed, tenacity, determination and patience. His desire to win competitions began to manifest itself in early childhood. When he was fifteen, Alexander began to win in the village self-made championships. Adult men participated in those competitions. In the final fight Alexander usually met with his brother Vladimir.

Labor way

*1964–1968 — A

Mechanic A mechanic is a skilled tradesperson who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially engines. Formerly, the term meant any member of the handicraft trades, but by the early 20th century, it had come to mean one who works w ...

(

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); *1968–1970 — Served in the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

; *1970–1971 — Concrete Worker ( Frunze); *1971–1973 — Inspector of Investigation Group (Frunze); *1973–1993 — Inspector of Combat and Physical Training (

); *1993–2023 — Sambo coach, head of the sports club Sambo 2000 (Omsk). Source:

Sports path

Alexander started training Sambo while serving in the Soviet Army (1968).
In 1971 he became

Master of Sports of the USSR Unified All-Russian Sports Classification () is a system which regulates the Russian physical education system requirements for both athletes and coaches. History In the Soviet period Unified Sports Classification System of the USSR () exist ...

.
In 1980 he was awarded the title of

.
Results of competitions
1973 — Champion of sports society

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(USSR).
1974 — World Champion and Champion of the USSR.
1975 — Champion of the USSR.
1976 — European Champion and Champion of the USSR.
1977 — Champion of the USSR.
1978 — Champion of the USSR.
1979 — World Champion and Champion of the USSR.
1980 — Champion of the USSR.
1981 — Bronze Medalist of the USSR Championship.
1982 — Silver Medalist of the USSR Championship.
1983 — World Champion and Champion of the USSR.
1984 — European Champion and Champion of the USSR, Friendship Games silver medalist.
1986 — Silver Medalist of the USSR Championship.
1987 — Silver Medalist of the USSR Championship.
The style of fighting
Famous Sambo coach Yevgeny Chumakov (the most successful disciple of Anatoly Kharlampiev) said that the style and the results of fights of Alexander Pushnitsa best propaganda of Sambo in the international sports arena.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pushnitsa, Alexander 1949 births 2023 deaths Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Russian sambo practitioners Soviet martial artists Siberian Academy of Physical Culture alumni Sportspeople from Novosibirsk Oblast Martial artists from Omsk