Tamás Berzicza

Tamás Berzicza (born 15 August 1975 in Zalaegerszeg) is a retired amateur Hungarian Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's middleweight category.[1] Considering one of the world's top Greco-Roman wrestlers in his decade, Berzicza had claimed two silver medals each at the World and European Championships, and later represented his nation Hungary in three editions of the Olympic Games (1996, 2000, and 2004). Throughout his sporting career, Berzicza trained as part of the wrestling team for Kecskemét Gymnastics Club (Hungarian: Kecskeméti Testedző Egyesület), under his father and personal coach Ferenc Berzicza.[2]

Tamás Berzicza
Personal information
Full nameTamás Berzicza
Nationality Hungary
Born (1975-08-15) 15 August 1975
Zalaegerszeg, Hungary
Height1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Weight82 kg (181 lb)
Sport
SportWrestling
StyleGreco-Roman
ClubKecskeméti TE
CoachFerenc Berzicza
Medal record
Men's Greco-Roman wrestling
Representing  Hungary
World Championships
1997 Wrocław76 kg
European Championships
1999 Sofia76 kg
The native form of this personal name is Berzicza Tamás. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Berzicza made his official debut at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, where he competed in the men's welterweight class (74 kg). Being successful early in the opening rounds, he entered the quarterfinals powerful and undefeated, but fell to Germany's Erik Hahn with a score 1–3. Berzicza offered a free pass to finish in seventh at the end of tournament when Bulgaria's Stoyan Stoyanov decided to forfeit the consolation match.[3] The following year, Berzicza emerged into the spotlight with his first career medal in the same category at the 1997 World Wrestling Championships in Wrocław, Poland, losing his final match to Finland's Marko Yli-Hannuksela.

Determined to return to the Olympic scene and medal, Berzicza entered the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney as a top medal contender in the men's middleweight division (76 kg). He managed to beat Japan's Takamitsu Katayama in his opening bout, but could not pin Russian wrestler Murat Kardanov in the prelim pool. Finishing second in the elimination round and fourteenth overall, Berzicza's performance was not enough to advance him further into the semifinals as he left the Games in bewilderment.[4][5]

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Berzicza qualified for his third team, as a 28-year-old, in the men's 74 kg class by placing first and receiving a berth from the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Novi Sad, Serbia and Montenegro.[6][7] He lost his opening match against Uzbek wrestler Aleksandr Dokturishvili with a score 2–4, but managed to eclipse the host nation's Alexios Kolitsopoulos and Azerbaijan's Vugar Aslanov, who did not appear on his final match because of sustained injuries, in the prelim pool. Berzicza fell short to advance further into the quarterfinals, after finishing the pool in second place and eighth overall.[8]

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Tamás Berzicza". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  2. "Berzicza: az érem motivál" [Berzicza: medal of honor] (in Hungarian). Nemzeti Sport. 30 September 2003. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  3. "Atlanta 1996: Wrestling – Men's Greco-Roman 74kg" (PDF). Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. p. 203. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  4. "Berzicza elvesztette második mérkőzését" [Berzicza lost his second match] (in Hungarian). Sport Géza. 15 December 2000. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  5. "Sydney 2000: Wrestling – Middleweight Greco-Roman (85kg)" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. pp. 105–106. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  6. Abbott, Gary (22 July 2004). "Olympic Games preview at 74 kg/163 lbs. in men's Greco-Roman". USA Wrestling. The Mat. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  7. "Berzicza: irány Athén!" [Berzicza: Towards Athens!] (in Hungarian). Nemzeti Sport. 15 March 2004. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  8. "Wrestling: Men's Greco-Roman 74kg". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
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