Wrestler Zhan Beleniuk on Wednesday won Ukraine's first gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Beleniuk defeated Viktor Lorincz of Hungary 5-1 in the men's 87-kilogram Greco-Roman wrestling final to claim his second Olympic medal. The Ukrainian wrestler won silver in Rio de Janeiro five years ago.
Beleniuk is a seating deputy in the Ukrainian parliament, representing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Servant of the People party.
Beleniuk, who was born to a Ukrainian mother and a father from Rwanda, is the country's first-ever black lawmaker. He is the first deputy head of the parliamentary Committee on Youth and Sports.
Beleniuk is a two-time world champion and a three-time European champion in wrestling.
The first of the bronze medal matches was won by Germany’s Denis Maksymilian, a bronze medallist in Rio 2016, who defeated Egypt’s Mohamed Metwally by 8-1. The second bronze went to two-time European champion, Serbia’s Zurabi Datunashvili, who overpowered Croatia’s Ivan Huklek by 6-1.
Beleniuk brought Ukraine its fourth medal in wrestling.
Parviz Nasibov settled for silver Wednesday as he was defeated by Mohammad Reza Geraei of Iran in the men's 67-kilogram Greco-Roman wrestling. Earlier, Ukraine's Iryna Koliadenko won bronze in women's 62-kilogram freestyle wrestling, while Alla Cherkasova came in third in the 68-kilogram category.
