Willem Ruska

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Birth Date:
29.08.1940
Death date:
14.02.2015
Length of life:
74
Days since birth:
30565
Years since birth:
83
Days since death:
3369
Years since death:
9
Extra names:
Wim Ruska
Categories:
Sportsman
Nationality:
 hollander
Cemetery:
Set cemetery

Willem "Wim" Ruska (29 August 1940 – 14 February 2015) was a judoka from the Netherlands. He is the only athlete to win two judo medals in one Olympics – in the heavyweight and absolute categories in 1972.

He started mastering in Judo in 1960 and traveled to Japan for training. In the 1960s and 1970s he won seven European titles, five in the +93 kg category (1966–67, 1969, 1971–72) and two in the open category (1969 and 1972). He furthermore won two world titles (1967 and 1971) and two Olympic titles. His success at the 1972 Summer Olympics was overshadowed by the Munich massacre that took place days before.

He retired after the 1972 Olympics and later took part in a number of style-vs.-style fights. In August 1976, he defeated Ivan Gomez in a vale tudo match in Brazil.

Between 1976 and 1980, Ruska competed as a pro wrestler for the New Japan Pro Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation promotions. He had fourteen pro wrestling matches, in some of which he was the tag team partner of fellow judoka Allen Coage.

In 2001 Ruska suffered a major stroke which left him physically disabled.

In 2013 he was inducted in the Hall of Fame of the International Judo Federation.

Ruska was admitted to a nursing home in 2014. Ruska died on 14 February 2015 at the age of 74.

 

 

Source: wikipedia.org

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