W.A.K.O. European Championships 2004 in Budva were the joint seventeenth European championships (the other event would be held the next month in Maribor, Slovenia) and were the fourth W.A.K.O. championships (including world) to be held in Serbia and Montenegro/Yugoslavia. The event was open to around 300 amateur men and women from 26 nations from across Europe.
The styles on offer at Budva included; Full-Contact, Low-Kick and Thai-Boxing – with women's Thai-Boxing competitions introduced for the very first time at a W.A.K.O. championships. The other less physical competitions (Light and Semi-Contact, Musical Forms, Aero Kickboxing) would take place at the event in Maribor. By the end of the championships Russia was easily the top nation with a huge medal collection across all styles, hosts Serbia and Montenegro trailed way behind in second and Belarus were in third. The event was held over six days in Budva, Serbia and Montenegro, starting on Tuesday, 19 October and ending on Sunday, 24 October 2004.
Full-Contact
Full-Contact is a form of kickboxing where both punches and kicks are exchanged between participants with full force applied to strikes, and attacks below the waist are prohibited. Most matches are settled either via a point's decision or stoppage victory and all contestants are obliged to wear head and body protection as is customary with most forms of amateur kickboxing. More information on Full-Contact and the rules can be found at the official W.A.K.O. website. At Budva the men had twelve weight divisions ranging from 51 kg/112.2 lbs to over 91 kg/+200.2 lbs, while the women had seven ranging from 48 kg/105.6 lbs to over 70 kg/+143 lbs. Although there was not the same number of high-profile winners in Full-Contact as with previous championships, there were several repeat winners who had won at the last world championships in Paris, with Jere Reinikainen, Igor Kulbaev, Maxim Voronov, Olesya Gladkova and Maria Karlova all winning gold, while Milorad Gajović would go on to compete in the 2008 Olympics as an amateur boxer. By the end of the championships Russia was the strongest nation in the style, winning a huge haul of ten gold, four silvers and four bronze medals across the male and female events.
Men's Full-Contact Kickboxing Medals Table
Light Bantamweight -51 kgDmitry Ayzyatulov Ivan Sciolla Srdan Hadrlyanski Bantamweight -54 kgZurab Faroyan Tomasz Makowski Filip Exsan Gabor Aburko Featherweight -57 kgLucien Gross Boris Klimenko Maurycy Gojko Damir Dorts Lightweight -60 kgDaniel Martins Mike List Galic Predrag Damian Ławniczak Light Welterweight -63 kgMalik Mangouchi Vladimir Pykhtin Robert Zytkiewicz Biagio Tralli Welterweight -67 kgJere Reinikainen Roman Pijouk Edmond Mebenga Sinisa Vladimirovic Light Middleweight -71 kgIgor Kulbaev Robert Arvai Mariusz Ziętek Ahmed Kouranfal Middleweight -75 kgKonstantin Beloussov Markus Hakulinen Martin Milov Frank Witte Light Heavyweight -81 kgMaxim Voronov Bogumil Polonski Hannes Perk Patrik Sjöstrand Cruiserweight -86 kgSlobodan Marinkovic Robert Paulsbyen Gamzat Islamagomedov Piotr Walczak Heavyweight -91 kgMilorad Gajović Anatoly Nossyrev Balazs Varga Andreas Hampel Super Heavyweight +91 kgDuško Basrak Michal Wszelak Mikhail Shvoev Jukka Saarinen
Women's Full-Contact Kickboxing Medals Table
Bantamweight -48 kgOlesya Gladkova Veronique Legras Jenny Hardengz Annika Pitkänen Featherweight -52 kgMette Solli Fatma Akyüz Lidia Andreeva Tatiana Rinaldi Lightweight -56 kgSveta Kulakova Zsuzsanna Szuknai Jutta Nordberg Natalie Kalinowski Middleweight -60 kgCindy Orain Nadine Lemke Monika Florek Vera Avdeeva Light Heavyweight -65 kgMaria Karlova Marija Ristovic Katalin Csehi Anne Katas Heavyweight -70 kgJulia Chernenko Karolina Lukasik Pierina Guerreri Jelena Duric Super Heavyweight +70 kgGalina Ivanova Daniela Lazzareska Caroline Ek
Low-Kick
Similar to Full-Contact kickboxing, contestants in Low-Kick are allowed to kick and punch one another with full force, with the primary difference being that in Low-Kick they are also allowed to kick one another's legs, with matches typically won by decision or stoppage. As with other forms of amateur kickboxing, various head and body protection must be worn. More information on the style can be found at the W.A.K.O. website. Both men and women took part in Low-Kick at Budva, with the men having twelve weight divisions ranging from 51 kg/112.2 lbs to over 91 kg/+200.2 lbs, and then women having six ranging from 48 kg/105.6 lbs to 70 kg/154 lbs. Notable winners included future K-1 fighters Michał Głogowski and Łukasz Jarosz, while Dejan Milosavljevic had also won gold at the last European championships in Jesolo. By the end of the event, as with Full-Contact Russia were easily the strongest nation in Low-Kick, winning a massive ten gold, six silver and two bronze medals across the various male and female competitions.
Men's Low-Kick Kickboxing Medals Table
Light Bantamweight -51 kgIvan Bityutskikh Maksim Tulai Ante Juricev Sudac Bantamweight -54 kgAlexander Sidorov Ayup Arsaev Boban Marinkovic Dzmitry Baranau Featherweight -57 kgRuslan Tozliyan Mariusz Cieśliński Milos Ahic Gabor Kiss Lightweight -60 kgArtur Tozliyan Michal Tomczykowski Tihomir Iliev Mario Donnarumma Light Welterweight -63 kgGosan Ibragimov Milan Dragojlovic Soki Andros Toma Tomov Welterweight -67 kgIbragim Tamazaev No silver medallistFrand Seyed Morteza Eldin Raonic Light Middleweight -71 kgMichał Głogowski Andrey Borodulin Ile Risteski Khizri Saipov Middleweight -75 kgDmitri Krasichkov Fouad Ezbiri Stefano Paone Vesko Dukic Light Heavyweight -81 kgDrazenko Ninic Mikhail Chalykn Teppo Laine Dénes Racz Cruiserweight -86 kgGoran Radonic Alexandr Poydunov Umberto Lucci Yurij Aorohin Heavyweight -91 kgDejan Milosavljevic Anatoly Borozna Kresimir Marasovic Super Heavyweight +91 kgŁukasz Jarosz Daniele Petroni Dragan Jovanovic Ruslan Bisaev
Women's Low-Kick Kickboxing Medals Table
Bantamweight -48 kgRaisa Akulova Dragana Zanini Nikolett Simon Featherweight -52 kgMaria Krivoshapkina Rita De Angelis Reka Krempf Lightweight -56 kgBarbara Plazzoli Goranka Blagojevic Tereze Lindberg Middleweight -60 kgJulia Nemtsova Sanja Ilic No bronze medallists recordedLight Heavyweight -65 kgLopatina Lyubov Maria Domenica Mandolini Ana Mandic Heavyweight -70 kgRadic Nives Andreeva Svetlana Olivera Milanovic
Thai-Boxing
The most physical type of kickboxing available at Budva, Thai-Boxing (more commonly known as Muay Thai allows the participants to kick, punch, use elbows and knees to score points, often resulting in a stoppage victory. As with other forms of amateur kickboxing all contestants must wear head and body protection. At Budva both men and women took part in their own Thai-Boxing competitions with women competing for the first time at a W.A.K.O. championships. The men had twelve weight classes ranging from 51 kg/112.2 lbs to over 91 kg/+200.2 lbs, while the women had just the two, the 51 kg/114.4 lbs and 65 kg/143 lbs divisions. There were not many recognisable names on the winners list at Budva although future pro world champion and K-1 contestant Magomed Magomedov and emerging talent Andrei Kotsur picked up gold medals. By the end of the championships Belarus were once more the strongest nation in Thai-Boxing with six gold, two silver and two bronze medals.
Men's Thai-Boxing Medals Table
Light Bantamweight -51 kgGiampiero Marceddu Dragan Durmić No bronze medalists recorded Bantamweight -54 kgPavel Pekarchik Karoly Kiss Mokhmad Betmirzaev Aleksandar Gogic Featherweight -57 kgDenis Varaksa Zakhar Roumiantsen Sasa Pandelovic Lightweight -60 kgSiarhei Budo Stanislav Ushakov Aleksandar Jankovic Vahidin Tufekcic Light Welterweight -63 kgAndrei Kotsur Philip Billides Michele Iezzi József Vulics Welterweight -67 kgVadzim Mazanik Aidenar Huidarbekov Nebojsa Denic Roland Vörös Light Middleweight -71 kgShamil Gaydarbekov Frane Radnić Vitali Astrouski Mark Ohi Middleweight -75 kgKrasimir Dimov Kiryl Astraukhan Marco Mastrorocco Islam Tsomaev Light Heavyweight -81 kgMagomed Magomedov Salvatore Abate Aliaksandr Vlasuk Aleksandar Maric Cruiserweight -86 kgYauhen Anhalevich Osman Valabov Misa Baculov Igor Jurković Heavyweight -91 kgDjamal Kasumov Aliaksei Kudzin Sasa Cirovic Valentino Venturini Super Heavyweight +91 kgMirko Vlahovic Tibor Nagy Tunbouski Kosta Tomica Paladin
Women's Thai-Boxing Medals Table
Featherweight -52 kg Ekaterina Dumbrava Milena Dincic No bronze medalists recorded Light Heavyweight -65 kgNadine Dinkler Olga Kokorina Milanka Kragovic
Overall Medals Standing (Top 5)
Ranking Country Gold Silver Bronze 1 Russia 24 15 8 2 Serbia and Montenegro 6 7 17 3 Belarus 6 4 4 4 France 4 2 6 5 Italy 2 5 8
See also List of WAKO Amateur European Championships List of WAKO Amateur World Championships
References
External links WAKO World Association of Kickboxing Organizations Official Site