Mélonin Noumonvi (born 10 October 1982 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) is a French Greco-Roman (under 84 kg) wrestler. At the

Beijing 2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, he lost to the eventual champion Andrea Minguzzi of Italy in the round of 16 and lost the bronze medal bout to 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 ...

. However, after Abrahamian refused to take home the bronze medal, he decided to take it. However, the IOC would not allow him that medal, as it was not affected by Abrahamian's tantrum. Furious, Noumonvi began to attack the IOC, but was stopped by security. He was eventually banned from wrestling for a year, but as of 2010, his ban has been lifted. At the

London 2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, he controversially lost his quarter-final bout to Egypt's Karam Gaber. Two seconds from the end of the third period of that bout, he appeared to manage to take down his opponent. The referees validated the takedown but the judge overruled it. He subsequently lost the bronze medal bout to Poland's

Damian Janikowski Damian Janikowski (born 27 June 1989) is a Polish mixed martial artist and former wrestler who won the bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics in the Greco-Roman 84 kg category. He is currently ranked #2 in the KSW Middleweight rankings. Wre ...

References

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* Living people 1982 births French male sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers for France Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Martial artists from Paris European Games bronze medalists for France European Games medalists in wrestling Wrestlers at the 2015 European Games World Wrestling Championships medalists Mediterranean Games gold medalists for France Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for France Competitors at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Competitors at the 2009 Mediterranean Games Competitors at the 2013 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in wrestling Wrestlers at the 2019 European Games European Wrestling Championships medalists 21st-century French sportsmen {{France-wrestling-bio-stub