W.A.K.O. European Championships 1996 were the thirteenth European kickboxing championships hosted by the W.A.K.O. organization arranged by the Serbia and Montenegro kickboxing president Borislav Pelević. The event was the first ever to be held in Serbia and Montenegro and welcomed the country back into the international community after the devastation of the Bosnian War. It was open to amateur men and women representing thirty-seven countries in Europe - more detail on the participating nations is provided in the relevant section below.
There were four styles on offer in Belgrade; Full-Contact, Low-Kick (men only), Semi-Contact and Light-Contact, with no room for Musical Forms. By the end of the championships, Poland just about shaded Italy into first place by virtue of more silver medals, while Hungary came in third. The event was held in Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro in October, 1996.
Participating nations
There were thirty-seven nations from across Europe in attendance at the 1996 W.A.K.O. European Championships in Belgrade:
Armenia Azerbaijan Bulgaria Belarus Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia France Great Britain Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Republic of Ireland Italy Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Moldova Norway Palestine Poland Portugal Republika Srpska Russia Serbia and Montenegro Slovakia Slovenia Switzerland Syria Tajikistan Turkey Turkmenistan
Full-Contact
Full-Contact was available for both men and women at Belgrade and involved the participants trying to win the contest either by a point decision or via stoppage using both kicks and punches – more detail on the rules can be found at the W.A.K.O. website, although be aware that they may have changed slightly since 1993. The men had twelve weight classes ranging from 51 kg/112.2 lbs to over 91 kg/+200.2 lbs, while the women had six weight divisions ranging from 48 kg/105.6 lbs to over 65 kg/+143 lbs. Notable gold medalists included Gary "Smiler" Turner who would go on to win several regional tournaments in K-1, Roman Bugaj who would later turn to pro boxing (and also won silver at the same event in Light-Contact) and Natascha Ragosina who would become a legend in women's boxing. Another notable medalists was Barrington Patterson who would have some success on the European MMA circuit, as well as becoming a pro-kickboxing world champion. By the end of the championships, Poland were the strongest nation in Full-Contact, winning five golds and four bronzes across both the male and female competitions.
Men's Full-Contact Kickboxing Medals Table
Light Bantamweight -51 kgNurzhan Erbusinov Alexey Kutsenko Gabor Aburko Andrei Ivanov Bantamweight -54 kgMariusz Cieśliński Askar Mozhanov Innokenti Makarov Bilal Mahmoud Sliman Featherweight -57 kgFouad Habbani Hidir Erdogan Goran Vuckovic Maurycy Gojko Lightweight -60 kgAgadilov Bakhytzhan James Dard Ahmet Pepic Alexander Lebed Light Welterweight -63.5 kgDosaev Gani Youssef Latahoui Giuseppe Lorusso Erlan Shiderbaev Welterweight -67 kgArsen Khachatryan Srdjan Elezovic Miroslaw Karzinski Árpád Szabó Light Middleweight -71 kgRobert Nowak Gerd Dittrich Thomas Kristiansen Hatzionidis Tasos Middleweight -75 kgHalim El Hakimi Vladimir Tomkovich Dusan Plecas Ramin Abtin Light Heavyweight -81 kgIgor Pilipenko Ion Slivestru Christophe Lartizien Robert Zlotkowski Cruiserweight -86 kgRoman Bugaj Bozidar Dermanovic Kostas Athanasopoulos Timur Ioussupov Heavyweight -91 kgGary Turner Frode Holst John Latsonas Darko Milasinovic Super Heavyweight +91 kgAlmaz Gismeev Roman Kracik Barrington Patterson Askar Kokhanov
Women's Full-Contact Kickboxing Medals Table
Bantamweight -48 kgMarie Laure Niviere Sladjana Nikolic Reka Krempf Francesca Lupo Featherweight -52 kgElisabette Legras Oksana Ivasiva Hülya Şahin Michela Barnini Lightweight -56 kgIwona Guzowska Bea Gulyas Silvia Bratina Galyna Guenliyska Middleweight -60 kgAnna Kasprzqak Henriette Birkeland Zoulfia Koutdicussova Christien Derugeiro Light Heavyweight -65 kgSanja Savcic Olga Slavinskaja Agnieszka Rylik Margarita Platonova Heavyweight +65 kgNatascha Ragosina Cristina Cerpi Larisa Berezenko Dragana Ignijatic
Low-Kick
Low-Kick differs from Full-Contact kickboxing in that it allows kicks below the knee - more detail on Low-Kick rules can be found at the W.A.K.O. website, although be aware that there may have been some rule changes since 1996. The style was available to men only and there was twelve weight classes ranging from 51 kg/112.2 lbs to over 91 kg/+200.2 lbs. Notable winners in this category included Ivan Strugar who would go on to win multiple European and world kickboxing titles and Cengiz Koç who would also have some success as an amateur boxer. By the championships end the host nation Serbia and Montenegro were the strongest country in Low-Kick, winning two golds, one silver and four bronze medals.
Men's Low-Kick Kickboxing Medals Table
Light Bantamweight -51 kgElmurat Kalypzhanov Shanan Shadmanov Alberto Costa Otkur Hoodoyarov Bantamweight -54 kgVassili Vassilev Mahmud Abdrahmanov Saken Aubakirov Dimitar Peschev Featherweight -57 kgSebastien Sanchez Marat Safin Zoltan Nagymihaly Aibek Namazbekov Lightweight -60 kgAlessio Pastifieri Vassili Pavlov Vesel Bitic Omar Akl Light Welterweight -63.5 kgDjanbulat Amantaev Sergej Egorov Evgeni Denisov Nikolai Korenev Welterweight -67 kgMilos Plecas Jan Kacanovskij Radonjic Stanislav Csaba Molnár Light Middleweight -71 kgIvan Strugar Bahyt Drozbaev Eddy Frair Aleksei Polishuk Middleweight -75 kgDaniele Petroni Csaba Gabnai Marius Bructer Milovan Gasic Light Heavyweight -81 kgRadojica Vakirevic Konstantin Shvets Serej Kanunnikov Milan Hrsum Cruiserweight -86 kgIgor Skevel Zoran Pekovski Thierry Louison Dimitrj Krotov Heavyweight -91 kgIon Georgiu Resul Doğan Vesko Cejovic Fanil Durdanov Super Heavyweight +91 kgCengiz Koç Mirko Vlahović Arman Ahashev Mouloud Houdbert
Semi-Contact
Semi-Contact is a form of kickboxing in which fights were won by points given due to technique, skill and speed, with physical force limited - more information on Semi-Contact can be found on the W.A.K.O. website, although the rules will have changed since 1996. Men and women both took part with the men having eight weight divisions ranging from 57 kg/125.4 lbs to over 89 kg/+195.8 lbs and the women having five ranging from 50 kg/110 lbs to over 65 kg/143 lbs. By the end of the championships Italy was the most successful nation overall in Semi-Contact, winning four golds, one silver and four bronze medals.
Men's Semi-Contact Kickboxing Medals Table
-57 kgDezső Debreczeni Hasan Aslan Rafal Kaluzny Giampaolo Calajò -63 kgMartin Kilgus Hasan Cataltas Andrei Kassianenko James Boylan -69 kgElrik Gundersen Danny Harrison István Tóth Marco Ferrarese -74 kgPeter Moltner Lajos Hugyetz Gribl Svenko Miroslav Topic -79 kgPeter Edwards Peter Csikos Christian Patterer Roland Conar -84 kgEmanuele Bozzolani Zoltan Szucs Clifton Findley Josef Ebner -89 kgZsolt Molnar Daough Geogleger Giuseppe Fracaroli Michael Kruckenhauser +89 kgMarco Culiersi Josef Patterer Andreas Knab Nikolai Morozov
Women's Semi-Contact Kickboxing Medals Table
-50 kgRenate Sandland Erna Obralic Stefani Zimmermann Semra Cetintas -55 kgAlessandra Catalano Jana Moravoova Rita Pesuth Gonca Bagci -60 kgAnn-May Viksund Miriam Diller Beata Gulyas Marina Pappalardo -65 kgIvana Derdic Sallie McKirdle Anja Binder Anita Madsen +65 kgLine Nilsen Elisabetta Degani Nicola Corbett Gerlinde Melch
Light-Contact
More physical than Semi-Contact but less so than Full-Contact with points awarded and fights won on the basis of speed and technique over power, Light-Contact is seen as a transition stage for fighters who were considering a move from Semi to Full-Contact. More information on Light-Contact rules can be found of the W.A.K.O. website, although be aware that the rules may have changed since 1996. Similar to Semi-Contact the men had eight weight divisions ranging from 57 kg/125.4 lbs to over 89 kg/+195.8 lbs while the women had five ranging from 50 kg/110 lbs to over 65 kg/143 lbs. There were a couple of notable medalists with kickboxing and taekwon-do champion Tomaž Barada winning gold, and future E.B.U. boxing champion Rafał Jackiewicz gaining a bronze. Poland were the strongest country in Light-Contact at the end of the championships, winning three golds, six silvers and two bronzes across the male and female events.
Men's Light-Contact Kickboxing Medals Table
-57 kgMaurycy Goiko Fouad Habanni Hidir Erdigan Martin McMahon -63 kgTomaž Barada Marco Seifert Jaroslaw Madziar Rocco Cipriano -69 kgIstván Tóth Marco Fuselli Rafał Jackiewicz Imed Mathlouti -74 kgLajos Hugyetz Robert Nowak Paul Lynch Ivo Bachor -79 kgHerman Muehlheim Robert Zlotkowski Alessandro Assiro Dirk Mell -84 kgMartin Wilkinson Bartolomeo Bonvino Zoltan Szucs Emmanuel Mendy -89 kgCarlos Caneschi Roman Bugaj Anders Gustavsson Carsten Tipelmann +89 kgAlex Melcher Woijci Szczerbinski Michael Krukenhauser David Souchard
Women's Light-Contact Kickboxing Medals Table
-50 kgDaria Chichkina Najda Trebse Ildiko Kocs Giovanna Neglia -55 kgIwona Guzowska Elisabeth Legras Rita Pesuth Marzia Davide -60 kgBeata Gulyas Anna Kasprzak Deline Horlaville Tina Casey -65 kgAgnieszka Rylik Sallie McKirdle Emanuela Amisani Ivana Derdic +65 kgDenise Bailey Katarzyn Balcerzak Isabella Orlando Silvia Steinke
Overall Medals Standing (Top 5)
Ranking Country Gold Silver Bronze 1 Poland 8 7 7 2 Italy 8 4 13 3 Hungary 5 5 11 4 France 4 4 10 5 Russia 4 3 8 5 Serbia and Montenegro 4 3 8
See also List of WAKO Amateur European Championships List of WAKO Amateur World Championships List of male kickboxers List of female kickboxers
References
External links WAKO World Association of Kickboxing Organizations Official Site