Wrestler Vasile Puscasu
Thirty years ago, on October 1st, 1988 in Seoul, Vasile Puscasu walked away with the first and only gold medal ever to have been won by a Romanian athlete in a freestyle wrestling competition.
Born on May 2nd, 1956 in the commune of Barsanesti, Bacau County, Vasile Puscasu first took up football. At the age of 16 he was spotted in a traditional wrestling competition, in Romanian known as trȃnta, a form of hand-to-hand fighting. Puscasu was selected into the juniors’ team of a local club. Three months later, he won the national junior’s competition. When he turned 20, Vasile Puscasu missed the opportunity to compete in the Montreal Olympics, because of manipulations masterminded by the then board of the national seniors’ team.
Vasile Puscasu’s first notable international performance occurred in 1977, when he won the bronze medal at the World Championships in Lausanne. For many years afterwards, Vasile Puscasu stepped onto the podium many times, but never won the gold until the Olympic Games in 1988.
Vasile Puscasu’s international record prior to the Olympic Games in Seoul had already been noteworthy. Furthermore, it was the third time when Puscasu took part in an Olympic competition. The Romanian was defending European and Olympic vice-champion. Each time, Puscasu sustained a defeat by Soviet challenger Leri Habelov. At the Olympic Games in Seoul, Puscasu’s blazing trail included wins in matches against Kenya’s Maisia Obwoge, Wilfried Colling of the then federal Republic of Germany and Georgy Karaduchev of Bulgaria. Vasile Puscasu also overpowered Hungary’s Istvan Robotka and William Scherr of the United States.
In the final, Puscasu once again found himself in front of Soviet challenger Habelov. This time around, however, the Romanian had an adequate tactical approach of the fight. He won a point once, and then he went at all lengths to avoid placing himself in difficult situations. This earned him a 1-nil win, and a place among the great Romanian athletes of the 20th century.
(translated by: Eugen Nasta)
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