Zhan Beleniuk is a Greco-Roman wrestler from Ukraine. Winner of many sports awards, European and world champion, Olympic medalist.
Biography
Jean Vensanovich Beleniuk - the name of this athlete is as unusual as his appearance. The future athlete was born in 1991 in Kiev (then Ukraine was still a member of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). His father came to Ukraine from Rwanda, a republic in East Africa, to study at an aviation technical school as a pilot. A few years later, in 1994, he died in a civil war that erupted in his homeland, so the eminent athlete remembers his father only from photographs. Jean's mother is Ukrainian. With his family - mother and grandmother, the boy stayed to live in the capital. It was they who raised the future champion. The name for the child was chosen by the mother, eliminating another option - Barry. Today, in Rwanda, the famous athlete has paternal relatives - a sister and a grandmother, they themselves went to Jean.
Before Greco-Roman wrestling, little Jean managed to try himself in karate, football, basketball and even … in folk dances. True, as he himself admits, dancing was difficult for him - the teacher did not see any stretching or plasticity in the student.
In 2000, when the child was 9 years old, he was sent to the sports section of Greco-Roman wrestling. According to Jean, a friend brought him there in 2000. That same friend soon stopped wrestling, but Beleniuk remained in sports. And I never regretted it.
By the time the little athlete came of age, he began to show good results, and soon began to take medals one after another. Already in 2010, the young man got to the World Championship in Greco-Roman wrestling, where he won a silver medal among juniors. Further, the sports career of Jean Beleniuk developed rapidly. In 2012, the wrestler took bronze at the European Championship, and in 2013 he became the bronze medalist of the Summer Universiade in Kazan. 2014 was the most successful year. This year Beleniuk became the European champion and won a bronze medal at the World Championship. In 2015, Jean won silver at the European Games and gold at the World Championships in Las Vegas. In 2016 at the European Championship he repeated his success and won first place.
On September 10, 2015, at the World Championship, a landmark duel took place: Jean Beleniuk and Asian champion Rustam Assakalov from Uzbekistan met in a sports duel. The Ukrainian defeated the titled wrestler with a crushing score of 6: 0 and became the world champion in the weight category up to 85 kilograms.
In 2016, Jean Beleniuk went to the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. On August 15, he reached the final and won silver in the weight category up to 85 kilograms, losing first place to Russian Davit Chakvetadze.
After performing at the Olympic Games, the famous athlete in one of his interviews complained that in Ukraine the conditions for the training of wrestlers are poor. However, he categorically refused to change citizenship. For the Olympic silver in Brazil on October 4, 2016, the President of the country awarded the winner with the Order of Merit, III degree. By the way, after the prize-winning place, taken at the Universiade in Kazan, Jean received at the same time, in 2013, the medal "For Labor and Victory".
Education
Jean Beleniuk received his specialized education at the Institute of Physical Education.
Medals
- Olympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, category up to 85 kg - silver;
- World Championship 2014 (Tashkent), category up to 85 kg - bronze;
- World Championship 2016 (Budapest), category up to 87 kg - silver;
- European Championship 2012 (Belgrade), category up to 84 kg - bronze;
- European Championship 2014 (Vantaa), category up to 85 kg - gold;
- European Championship 2016 (Riga), category up to 85 kg - gold;
- 2015 European Games in Baku, category up to 85 kg - silver;
- Summer Universiade 2013 in Kazan, category up to 84 kg - bronze.
Awards
- Medal “For Labor and Victory” (2013) - for the bronze medal of the Summer Universiade in Kazan;
- Order of Merit, III degree (2016) - for the silver medal of the Olympic Games in Brazil.
Interesting Facts
Jean Beleniuk's nickname is African. By the way, he himself admits that he found out about racism when a skinhel came to the gym to train them. Jean was then about 15 years old. The athlete also admits that he is used to the interest of the people around him in his appearance and to the various reactions of strangers - persistent looks, questions and even laughter - is already used.
He is 175 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms.
Jean's house is home to a Chinese crested dog named Casper. A purebred dog requires care, and a groomer comes to the famous sportsman's home. Beleniuk's mother usually deals with the dog, because he himself, as a rule, is at training camps and on the road.
For a long time, the famous Ukrainian athlete used public transport, now he has a private car.
Personal life
Zhan Beleniuk has a girlfriend, but the couple carefully hides their relationship. It is known that the beloved of the wrestler is also an athlete.
Quotes
“It's good when in life you do what you enjoy. It’s not for nothing that they say: you need to find a job that would bring pleasure, and then you will not work for a day. I found it for myself."
“I have never had posters of actors or musicians in my room. I basically don't understand why they interview me? I never collected anything, I didn't like watching movies. I had other interests. At this time, I was walking with the guys on the street, we smelted lead, and then sold it. Hooligans."
