In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Fedorovych and the family name is 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 68) 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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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. 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.
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
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.
International competition record
| International competition record (incomplete) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
- ^ "Ilia Mate". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 30 August 2011.
- Mate, Ilja (URS). iat.uni-leipzig.de
- Details of Ilja Mate profile available at the United World Wrestling Database.
External links
 Olympic Champions in freestyle heavyweight | |
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- 1956 births
- Living people
- Soviet male sport wrestlers
- Soviet people of Greek descent
- Ukrainian people of Greek descent
- Olympic wrestlers for the Soviet Union
- Wrestlers at the 1980 Summer Olympics
- Ukrainian male sport wrestlers
- Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union
- Olympic medalists in wrestling
- Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics
- Summer World University Games medalists in wrestling
- World Wrestling Championships medalists
- FISU World University Games gold medalists for the Soviet Union
- Medalists at the 1981 Summer Universiade
- Sportspeople from Donetsk Oblast
- World Wrestling Champions
- European Wrestling Championships medalists
- European Wrestling Champions
- 20th-century Ukrainian sportsmen
- Soviet Olympic medalist stubs
- Soviet sport wrestler stubs
- Ukrainian sport wrestler stubs