Ilya Mate

Illya Fedorovych Mate (spelled Maté, Russian: Илья Фёдорович Мате, IPA: [ɪˈlʲjæ maˈtɛ], born 6 October 1956) is a retired Soviet Ukrainian freestyle wrestler. He won gold medals at the 1980 Olympics and 1979 and 1982 world championships, finishing third in 1981.[1][2] Mate was reputed for his deceitfully flabby appearance, which misled his opponents into thinking of him as of an "easy prey," as well as for his springy sudden movements and the mat generalship, avoiding flukes, and providing no "chinks in the armor" for his opponents.

Ilya Mate

Mate receiving an arm massage in-between the periods of his Olympic match, 25 July 1980
Personal information
Born	6 October 1956 (1956-10-06) (age 63) Starohnativka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR
Alma mater	Makiivka Civil Engineering Institute
Height	187 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	100 kg (220 lb)
Sport
Sport	Freestyle wrestling
Club	Kolos Donetsk
Medal record Representing the  Soviet Union Olympic Games 1980 Moscow -100 kg World Championships 1979 San Diego -100 kg 1981 Skopje -100 kg 1982 Edmonton -100 kg European Championships 1979 Bucharest -100 kg

Biography

Early years

Mate was born to a Greek father and Ukrainian mother. He began training in kuresh wrestling while studying in a secondary school.

Prime years

Mate (in red) goes for a double leg takedown on Július Strnisko

He took up freestyle wrestling in 1970 and won the Soviet heavyweight title in 1978–80 and 1982.

Retirement and later years

After retiring from competitions he worked as a private entrepreneur in Donetsk, and remained involved with the Donetsk Wrestling Federation. Since 2003, an annual junior freestyle wrestling tournament has been held in Donetsk Oblast in his honor.[1]

International competition record

International competition record (incomplete)[3]
Res.	Opponent	Score	Time	Date	Event	Location
1980 Olympic Gold Medalist at 100kg
Win	Július Strnisko	15–3		1980-07	1980 Summer Olympics	Moscow
Win	Tomasz Busse	9–2		1980-07
Win	Slavcho Chervenkov	6–4		1980-07
Win	Antal Bodó	Tech Fall	1:41	1980-07
Win	Bárbaro Morgan	Passivity	7:02	1980-07
Win	Santiago Morales	Tech Fall	3:42	1980-07

References

1. "Ilia Mate". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 30 August 2011.
2. Mate, Ilja (URS). iat.uni-leipzig.de
3. Details of Ilja Mate profile available at the United World Wrestling Database.