Herman Kantoyeu

Herman Stsepanovich Kantoyeu (Belarusian: Герман Сцяпанавіч Кантоеў; born November 27, 1971 in Khabarovsk, Russian SFSR) is a retired amateur Belarusian freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's featherweight category.[1] Considered as one of the world's top freestyle wrestlers in his decade, Kantoyeu became a freestyle wrestling champion in the 54-kg division at the 2001 World Wrestling Championships, and later represented his nation Belarus in two editions of the Olympic Games (2000 and 2004).[2] Kantoyeu was also a member of the Belarusian national wrestling team since the breakup of the Soviet Union, under his personal coach Valentin Murzinkov.

Herman Kantoyeu
Personal information
Full nameHerman Stsepanovich Kantoyeu
Nationality Belarus
Born (1971-11-27) 27 November 1971
Khabarovsk, Russian SFSR,
Soviet Union
Height1.66 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
Weight54 kg (119 lb)
Sport
SportWrestling
StyleFreestyle
ClubBelarusian National Team
CoachValentin Murzinkov
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing  Belarus
World Championships
2001 Sofia54 kg
European Championships
1998 Bratislava54 kg

Kantoyeu made his official debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he competed in the men's bantamweight category (54 kg). He pinned Cuba's Wilfredo García on his opening bout, but could not beat Kyrgyzstan's Nurbin Donbaev with a score 2–5 in the prelim pool. Despite a single loss, Kantoyeu still managed to secure a spot for the quarterfinals because of the most points collected from the elimination round.[3] Followed by the next morning's session, Kantoyeu delivered a striking effort to edge Kazakhstan's Maulen Mamyrov off the mat in his next match, before falling behind U.S. wrestler and 1998 world champion Sammie Henson in the semifinals without scoring a single point. He faced against Greece's Amiran Kardanov in the bronze medal match, but nearly missed out the podium by single point behind his opponent with a score 4–5, finishing only in fourth place.[4][5]

Determined to return again to the wrestling scene, Kantoyeu greatly emerged as a top medal contender at the 2001 World Wrestling Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, where he beat Iran's Babak Nourzad to take home the gold medal in the men's bantamweight category.[6] In 2002, Kantoyeu took a year off from the tournament because of sustained injuries, but sought his official return at the 2003 World Wrestling Championships in New York City, New York, United States, where he reaped an astonishing defeat from Japan's Chikara Tanabe in his opening match.[7]

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Kantoyeu qualified for his second Belarusian squad, as a 33-year-old, in the men's featherweight class (55 kg) by receiving a berth and placing second behind Cuba's René Montero from the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Novi Sad, Serbia and Montenegro.[8] He lost his opening bout to Ukrainian wrestler and 2003 world bronze medalist Oleksandr Zakharuk, but scored a single triumph to subdue Kazakhstan's Baurzhan Orazgaliyev in the prelim pool. Finishing second in the elimination round and fifteenth overall, Kantoyeu could not deliver a remarkable attempt from Sydney to put him further into the quarterfinals.[9]

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Herman Kantoyeu". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  2. Золотой дебют предводителя [Golden leader debut] (in Russian). Moskovskaya Pravda. 4 December 2001. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  3. "Sydney 2000: Wrestling – Bantamweight Freestyle (54kg)" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. pp. 120–121. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  4. Pennington, Bill (30 September 2000). "Sydney 2000: Roundup; Cuban Boxers Match A Storied Tradition". New York Times. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  5. "American slays his way to gold medal match". Sports Illustrated. CNN. 29 September 2000. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  6. Abbott, Gary (10 October 2002). "World Champion Kontoev, Olympic medalist Nagata commit to competing at Kurt Angle Classic in New Orleans". USA Wrestling. The Mat. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  7. "World freestyle wrestling meet begins". Associated Press. New York City: Taipei Times. 14 September 2003. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  8. Abbott, Gary (12 July 2004). "Olympic Games preview at 55 kg/121 lbs. in men's freestyle". USA Wrestling. The Mat. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  9. "Wrestling: Men's Freestyle 55kg". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
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