Peter Pecha (born November 16, 1975, in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

) is a retired amateur Slovak freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's heavyweight category. Pecha represented his nation

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), 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 s ...

in two editions of the Olympic Games (2000 and 2004), and also achieved a top 5 finish in the 130-kg division at the 2000 European Wrestling Championships in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. Throughout his sporting career, Pecha trained as part of the freestyle wrestling team for AŠK Dukla Trenčín, under his longtime coach and mentor Petr Hirjak. Pecha made his official debut at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, where he competed in the men's super heavyweight division (130 kg). He lost his opening bout against Germany's

Sven Thiele Sven Thiele (born 12 May 1969 in Merseburg) is a German former wrestler who competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics, in the 2000 Summer Olympics, and in the 2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί ...

with a technical superiority, and could not fight for the following match against Russia's David Musulbes, who later took home the Olympic gold in the final, because of a hip injury sustained from the previous match. At the preliminary competition, Pecha finished in third place but sixteenth in overall final rankings; he was severely injured during the Games. At the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Pecha qualified for the Slovak squad, as a 29-year-old, in the men's heavyweight class (96 kg) by receiving a berth from the second Olympic Qualification Tournament in

Sofia, Bulgaria Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

. Pecha could not beat China's Wang Yuanyuan into the ring on his opening duel, but managed to redeem himself by eclipsing the host nation's Alexandros Laliotis in his second match. Pecha finished the preliminary competition second, and twelfth in overall rankings; he did not advance to the quarterfinals.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pecha, Peter 1975 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 Bratislava