- Viktor Sidyak
Viktor Alexandrovich Sidyak ( _ru. Виктор Александрович Сидяк; born
November 21 ,1943 ) is an extremely successful left-handed sabreur from theSoviet era, pupil ofMark Rakita andDavid Tyshler . As a fencer, Sidyak was famous for his aggressive style. He was one of the best known exponents of the "Russian preparation" or the "one-and-a-half tempo attack".Biography
Sidyak was born in the town of
Anzhero-Sudzhensk inKemerovo Oblast but spent most of his childhood inDonetsk . He startedfencing at age fifteen. Sidyak trained at Armed Forces sports society. In the 1960s, training inLvov , he representedUkraine on the internal Soviet circuit. In 1970, he moved toMinsk and joined the then mightyBelarus ian fencing lobby (whose other luminaries includeElena Belova ,Alexandr Romankov , andNikolai Alekhine ).Olympic Games
At the
1972 Summer Olympics , Sidyak became the first Soviet sabreur to win individual Gold. At the same Olympics, he famously fenced in the team final with his right eye bandaged over after having a fragment of the ItalianMichele Maffei 's blade removed from his eye the previous day. Besides Sidyak, the team consisted ofVladimir Nazlymov , Eduard Vinokurov, and Viktor Bazhenov. The Soviet and Italian teams met again in the finals, Italy taking Gold, and USSR Silver. In 1994,, Maffei's 1972 team-mateMario Aldo Montano invited Sidyak to coach the young fencers, including his own son, at his club inLivorno .World Championship Records
Apart from the Olympics, Sidyak's victories include:
*1969 World Championship (individual)
*1969 World Championship (team)
*1970 World Championship (team)
*1971 World Championship (team)
*1972 World Cup
*1973 World Cup
*1974 World Championship (team)
*1975 World Championship (team)
*1979 World Championship (team)Today
At present, Sidyak is the chairman of the Professional
Boxing Association ofBelarus .ee also
*
Fencing
*List of notable fencers
*List of Olympic medalists in fencing (men)
*Fencing terminology
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