Joseph Atiyeh (, born October 8, 1957) is a retired

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

wrestler Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves diffe ...

and the winner of Syria's first Olympic medal.

Early life

Atiyeh was born in

Amar al-Husn Amar al-Husn (; also known simply as 'Amar) is a village in northern Syria located west of Homs in the Homs Governorate. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Amar al-Husn had a population of 373 in the 2004 census. Its inhabita ...

Homs Governorate Homs Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥimṣ'') is one of the fourteen Governorates of Syria, governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in central Syria. Its geography differs in various locations in the governorate, from to . ...

, Syria to a Christian family. His parents immigrated to

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

when he was two years old. Atiyeh wrestled at Dieruff High School in

Career

Atiyeh represented

in the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

, where he competed in the freestyle heavyweight 100 kg competition, and won the 1984 Summer Olympic silver medal. Though Atiyeh lived most of his life in the United States, and attended

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

, where he was on the school's

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

team, he qualified as a dual citizen and wrestled for Syria. Atiyeh made it to the Olympic finals against

Lou Banach Ludwig David "Lou" Banach (born February 6, 1960) is an American athlete who won a gold medal in wrestling in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He was noted with his fraternal twin brother Ed Banach for both winning gold medals in freest ...

of the United States, where he lost by fall in 61 seconds. Two years earlier, in 1978, Atiyeh, then wrestling for

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

, defeated Banach 13-10 in the first round of the Midlands wrestling championship in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Prior to reaching the 1984 Olympic finals, Atiyeh's scored Olympic wins over Vasile Pușcașu from

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

by fall in the first round. Puscassu went on to win the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

gold medal in the heavyweight category in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea. Atiyeh also beat

Kartar Singh Kartar Singh (born 7 October 1953) is an Indian wrestler who won gold medals at the Asian Games in 1978 and 1986. He stood 7th at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg Wrestling. Life Kartar Singh was born in Sur ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

by fall in 33 seconds.

Personal life

Atiyeh's younger brother, Dennis Atiyeh, represented Syria in the freestyle super-heavyweight category at the

. His nephew, Abe, is on the basketball team at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Atiyeh, Joseph 1957 births Living people Louis E. Dieruff High School alumni Louisiana State University alumni Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in wrestling Olympic silver medalists for Syria Olympic wrestlers for Syria People from Homs Governorate Syrian Christians Syrian emigrants to the United States Syrian male sport wrestlers Wrestlers at the 1984 Summer Olympics 20th-century Syrian sportsmen