Arsen Mek'ok'ishvili (Georgian: არსენ მეკოკიშვილი; 12 April 1912 – 9 March 1972) was a Georgian heavyweight freestyle wrestler. He won an Olympic gold medal in 1952 and a world title in 1954.[1][2][3]

Arsen Mek'ok'ishvili
Personal information
Born12 April 1912
Georgitsminda, Sagarejo Municipality, Georgia, Russian Empire[1]
Died9 March 1972 (aged 59)
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union[1]
Sport
SportFreestyle wrestling
ClubDynamo Tbilisi[1][2]
Medal record
Representing the  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1952 Helsinki +87 kg
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1954 Tokyo +87 kg

Mek'ok'ishvili took up wrestling following his father, a local champion in chidaoba, and in 1934 won the Georgian chidaoba championship. Later around 1939 he changed to sambo and freestyle wrestling, and won the Soviet titles in sambo in 1940 and 1947–52 and in freestyle wrestling in 1945–46, 1948–53 and 1956. Between 1945 and 1954, he lost only one bout, to Johannes Kotkas. After retiring from competitions Mek'ok'ishvili worked as a wrestling coach in Georgia. He died in Moscow as a result of a car accident.[1]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e "Arsen Mek'ok'ishvili". Olympedia. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b Grigory Chernevich, ed. (2003). Dynamo. Encyclopedia. OLMA Media Group. p. 40. ISBN 978-5-224-04399-6.
  3. ^ Valery Steinbach, ed. (2017). Great Olympic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. A–N. LitRes. p. 705. ISBN 978-5-04-049810-9.
edit