Dariusz Jabłoński (wrestler)

Dariusz Jabłoński (born 28 April 1973 in Chełm) is a retired amateur Polish Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's featherweight category.[1] Considering one of the world's top Greco-Roman wrestlers in his decade, Jablonski has yielded a remarkable tally of five career medals, including his prestigious gold from the 2003 World Wrestling Championships, and later represented as part of the Polish team in three editions of the Olympic Games (1996, 2000, and 2004). Throughout his sporting career, Jablonski trained for Cement Gryf Wrestling Club in Chełm, under his personal coaches Krzysztof Grabczuk and 1988 Olympic silver medalist Andrzej Głąb.[2]

For the Polish film director and producer, see Dariusz Jabłoński.
Dariusz Jabłoński
Personal information
Full nameDariusz Jabłoński
Nationality Poland
Born (1973-04-28) 28 April 1973
Chełm, Poland
Height1.64 m (5 ft 4 1⁄2 in)
Weight55 kg (121 lb)
Sport
SportWrestling
StyleGreco-Roman
ClubCement Gryf
CoachKrzysztof Grabczuk
Andrzej Głąb
Medal record
Men's Greco-Roman wrestling
Representing  Poland
World Championships
2003 Créteil55 kg
European Championships
1997 Kouvola54 kg
1999 Sofia54 kg
2001 Istanbul54 kg
2002 Seinäjoki55 kg

Jablonski made his official debut at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, where he competed in the men's flyweight division (52 kg). He pinned Romania's Valentin Rebegea in the opening bout, before losing his next match 0–8 to Russia's Samvel Danielyan. Entering the repechage rounds, Jablonski wrestled his way to successfully defeat Dominican Republic's Ulises Valentin with another pin and South Korea's Ha Tae-yeon with a rigid 3–2 decision. He fell behind Ukraine's Andriy Kalashnykov in the fifth round 5–8, and had an astounding 2–3 upset from Ha in their rematch for seventh place, dropping Jablonski to eighth.[3]

At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Jablonski qualified for his second Polish squad in the men's bantamweight division (54 kg).[4] Unlike his previous Olympics, Jablonski undermined his gaming strategy in the prelim pool. He lost his opening match to eventual Olympic champion Sim Kwon-ho of South Korea on technical superiority and was wretchedly pinned by Kazakhstan's Rakymzhan Assembekov, leaving him on the bottom of the pool and placing penultimate out of 22 wrestlers in the final standings.[5]

Shortly after the Games, Jablonski regained his form and came powerful with two bronze medals in the bantamweight division at the European Championships. Upon entering the 2003 World Wrestling Championships in Créteil, France, Jablonski ousted South Korea's Im Dae-won on his final match to capture the featherweight title and guarantee a spot on the Polish Olympic team.[6][7]

Determined to return to the Olympic scene and medal, Jablonski arrived at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens on his third stint, as a 31-year-old veteran, in the men's 55 kg class. Earlier in the process, he won a gold medal over South Korea's Im at the World Championships.[6][7][8] Jablonski lost his opening match to eventual Olympic silver medalist Geidar Mamedaliyev of Russia by a 3–0 verdict, but sailed smoothly to turn down India's Mukesh Khatri on the mat with an identical margin during the prelim pool round.[9] Finishing second in the pool and fifteenth overall, Jablonski's performance was not enough to advance him to the quarterfinals.[10]

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Dariusz Jabłoński". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  2. "Igrzyska: Zapaśnik Andrzej Głąb (Cement Gryf Chełm) ostatnim medalistą z Lubelszczyzny" [Olympics: Wrestler Andrzej Głąb (Cement Gryf Chełm) earns the last medal for Lublin] (in Polish). Kurier Lubelski. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  3. "Atlanta 1996: Wrestling – Men's Greco-Roman 52kg" (PDF). Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. p. 201. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  4. "Kadra na igrzyska w Sydney" [Delegation at the Olympic Games in Sydney] (in Polish). Interia.pl. 8 August 2000. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  5. "Sydney 2000: Wrestling – Bantamweight Greco-Roman (54kg)" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. pp. 97–98. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  6. "Swede Beaten At Greco-Roman Worlds". Associated Press. 4 October 2003. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  7. "Złoty sygnet dla Jabłońskiego" [Gold medal for Jabłoński IN wrestling] (in Polish). Wirtualna Polska. 10 October 2003. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  8. Abbott, Gary (13 July 2004). "Olympic Games preview at 55 kg/121 lbs. in men's Greco-Roman". USA Wrestling. The Mat. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  9. "Wrestler Mukesh Khatri goes down tamely". The Hindustan Times. 24 August 2004. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  10. "Wrestling: Men's Greco-Roman 55kg". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
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