Gocha Tsitsiashvili (, ka, გოჩა ციციაშვილი; born November 7, 1973, in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

Georgian SSR The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Georgia, the Georgian SSR, or simply Georgia, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union from its second occupation (by the Red Army) in 1921 to its independence in 1991. Cotermin ...

) is a retired amateur Israeli Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's light heavyweight category. Considering one of the world's top Greco-Roman wrestlers in his decade, Tsitsiashvili had claimed numerous medals in the international scene, including his prestigious gold 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 ...

, and later represented as part of the Israeli team in three editions of the Olympic Games (1996, 2000, and 2004). Tsitsiashvili also became a member of the Hapoel Be'er Sheva Club under his personal coach Yakov Masin. Tsitsiashvili started his wrestling career as a member of the former Soviet team. When he emigrated to Israel in 1994, Tsitsiashvili sought his sights to compete in the international arena and eventually take home the silver medal at the European Wrestling Championships in

Athens, Greece 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 ...

. The following year, Tsitsiashvili continued to flourish his sporting career by finishing third in the same tournament, and eventually picked up a silver in the 82-kg division at the 1995 World Wrestling Championships in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

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, making him the first Israeli in history to claim a sporting medal. As Israel's only wrestler to the team, Tsitsiashvili made his official debut at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, where he competed in the men's middleweight class (82 kg). Being successful early in the opening rounds, he entered the semifinals powerful and undefeated, but fell to Germany's Thomas Zander, and then shortened his chance to compete for the bronze when he was outclassed by Kazakhstan's Daulet Turlykhanov in his next match. With Sweden's

Martin Lidberg Martin Johan Lidberg (born 1 February 1973) is a Swedish former professional wrestler. He is a world champion, two-time European champion as well as 19-time Swedish champion. He has competed in the olympics three times (last time in Athens). In ...

being frail and injured, Tsitsiashvili managed to finish in fifth at the end of the tournament. Determined to return to the Olympic scene and medal, Tsitsiashvili entered 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 ...

as a top medal contender in the men's light heavyweight division (85 kg). He lost his opening match to Norway's

Fritz Aanes Fritz Aanes (born 20 July 1978) is a Norwegian Greco-Roman wrestling coach, TV personality and former wrestler. He is a two-time Olympian and competed in the Greco-Roman 85 kg event at the 2000 Summer Olympics and in the Greco-Roman 84 kg event ...

, but managed to score a set of two triumphs to surmount Uzbekistan's Yuriy Vitt and Tunisia's Amor Bach Hamba in the prelim pool. Finishing second in the elimination round and sixth overall, Tsitsiashvili's performance was not enough to advance him further into the semifinals as he left the Games in anguish. 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 ...

, Tsitsiashvili qualified for his third team, as a 31-year-old veteran, in the men's 84 kg class with a brilliant historic success. Earlier in the process, he defeated Sweden's

Ara Abrahamian Ara Abrahamian (; born 27 July 1975) is an Armenian- Swedish wrestler in Greco-Roman wrestling. He has won two World Championships in the 76 kg and 84 kg weight classes and a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the 84 kg w ...

to take home the light heavyweight trophy and a gold medal at the

Créteil Créteil () is a Communes of France, commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Créteil is the ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, dep ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, which earned him a spot on the Israeli Olympic team. In the prelim pool, Tsitsiashvili eclipsed France's

Mélonin Noumonvi Mélonin Noumonvi (born 10 October 1982 in Paris) is a French Greco-Roman (under 84 kg) wrestler. At the Beijing 2008 Olympics, he lost to the eventual champion Andrea Minguzzi of Italy in the round of 16 and lost the bronze medal bout t ...

with a powerful score of 3–1, but could not pin Russian wrestler and European champion

Alexei Mishin Alexei Nikolayevich Mishin (; born 8 March 1941) is a Russian figure skating coach and former Pair skating, pair skater. With partner Tamara Moskvina, he is the 1969 1969 World Figure Skating Championships, World silver medalist and Soviet Fig ...

into the ring, as he was outmatched by his fresh opponent without collecting a single point. Tsitsiashvili failed to advance further into the quarterfinals after finishing the pool in second place and fourteenth overall. Realizing about his age and future game plan, Tsitsiashvili announced his retirement from the sport shortly after the Games.

References

External links

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Gocha Tsitsiashvili
at JewsInSports.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Tsitsiashvili, Gocha 1973 births Living people Israeli male sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers for Israel Wrestlers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Emigrants from Georgia (country) to Israel Georgian people of Israeli descent Sport wrestlers from Tbilisi Israeli people of Georgian-Jewish descent World Wrestling Championships medalists European Wrestling Championships medalists