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| Full name | Herman Stsepanovich Kantoyeu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  Belarus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1971-11-27)27 November 1971 (age 53) Khabarovsk,Russian SFSR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 62 kg (137 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Russia Belarus (since 1995) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Style | Freestyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Belarusian National Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Valentin Murzinkov | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Herman Stsepanovich Kantoyeu (Belarusian:Герман Сцяпанавіч Кантоеў; born November 27, 1971) is a retired amateur Belarusian freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's featherweight category.[1] Considered as one of the world's top freestyle wrestlers in his decade, Kantoyeu became a freestyle wrestling champion in the 54-kg division at the2001 World Wrestling Championships, and later represented his nationBelarus in two editions of the Olympic Games (2000 and 2004).[2]
Kantoyeu made his official debut at the2000 Summer Olympics inSydney, where he competed in themen's bantamweight category (54 kg). He pinned Cuba's Wilfredo García on his opening bout, but could not beat Kyrgyzstan's Nurbin Donbaev with a score 2–5 in the prelim pool. Despite a single loss, Kantoyeu still managed to secure a spot for the quarterfinals because of the most points collected from the elimination round.[3] Followed by the next morning's session, Kantoyeu delivered a striking effort to edge Kazakhstan'sMaulen Mamyrov off the mat in his next match, before falling behind U.S. wrestler and 1998 world championSammie Henson in the semifinals without scoring a single point. He faced against Greece'sAmiran Kardanov in the bronze medal match, but nearly missed out the podium by single point behind his opponent with a score 4–5, finishing only in fourth place.[4][5]
Determined to return again to the wrestling scene, Kantoyeu greatly emerged as a top medal contender at the2001 World Wrestling Championships inSofia, Bulgaria, where he beat Iran'sBabak Nourzad to take home the gold medal in the men's bantamweight category.[6] In 2002, Kantoyeu took a year off from the tournament because of sustained injuries, but sought his official return at the2003 World Wrestling Championships inNew York City, New York,United States, where he reaped an astonishing defeat from Japan'sChikara Tanabe in his opening match.[7]
At the2004 Summer Olympics inAthens, Kantoyeu qualified for his second Belarusian squad, as a 33-year-old, in themen's featherweight class (55 kg) by receiving a berth and placing second behind Cuba'sRené Montero from the Olympic Qualification Tournament inNovi Sad,Serbia and Montenegro.[8] He lost his opening bout to Ukrainian wrestler and 2003 world bronze medalistOleksandr Zakharuk, but scored a single triumph to subdue Kazakhstan'sBaurzhan Orazgaliyev in the prelim pool. Finishing second in the elimination round and fifteenth overall, Kantoyeu could not deliver a remarkable attempt from Sydney to put him further into the quarterfinals.[9]
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