Shota Chochishvili

Shota Chochishvili was the first Soviet judoka to win an Olympic gold, losing

only one match to eventual silver medalist David Starbrook in the third round of

the half-heavyweight class at the 1972 Munich Olympics. After his rather unexpected win, Chochishvili won three silvers in a row at the European

Championships, to which he later added a bronze in 1977. At the 1976 Olympics,

Chochishvili was one of the main favourites for a gold medal in open class, but

he lost to eventual winner Haruki Uemura and had to settle for a bronze medal.

In 1989, after retiring from judo, Chochishvili won a match against the

legendary professional wrestler Antonio Inoki in mixed martial arts. Later

Shota Chochishvili worked as a judo coach and also served as the vice-president

of the Georgian Olympic Committee and as the vice-president of the Georgian Judo

Federation. His son Ramaz is also a judoka, who won a bronze medal at the 1996

European Championships, representing Ukraine.