Illya Fedorovych Mate (spelled Maté, Russian: Илья Фёдорович Мате, IPA: [ɪˈlʲjæ maˈtɛ], born 6 October 1956) is a retired Soviet and 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.
Mate receiving an arm massage in-between the periods of his Olympic match, 25 July 1980
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 6 October 1956 (1956-10-06) (age 67) Starohnativka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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
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Mate was born to a Greek father and Ukrainian mother. He began training in kuresh wrestling while studying in a secondary school.
He took up freestyle wrestling in 1970 and won the Soviet heavyweight title in 1978–80 and 1982.
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 (incomplete)[3] | ||||||
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| Res. | Opponent | Score | Time | Date | Event | Location |
| 1980 Olympic Gold Medalist at 100kg | ||||||
| Win |  Július Strnisko
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15–3 | 1980-07 | 1980 Summer Olympics |  Moscow
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| Win |  Tomasz Busse
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9–2 | 1980-07 | |||
| Win |  Slavcho Chervenkov
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6–4 | 1980-07 | |||
| Win |  Antal Bodó
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Tech Fall | 1:41 | 1980-07 | ||
| Win |  Bárbaro Morgan
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Passivity | 7:02 | 1980-07 | ||
| Win |  Santiago Morales
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Tech Fall | 3:42 | 1980-07 | ||
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  | This biographical article relating to a Soviet sport wrestler or wrestling coach is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
  | This biographical article relating to a Ukrainian sport wrestler or wrestling coach is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
