Iosif Vitebskiy

Iosif Vitebskiy
Personal information
Full nameИосиф Давидович Витебский
Born(1938-01-09)9 January 1938
Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, USSR
Died7 December 2024(2024-12-07) (aged 86)
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight185 lb (84 kg)
Sport
Country Soviet Union
SportFencing
EventÉpée
ClubDynamo
Medal record
Men's fencing
Representing  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1968 Mexico City Team épée

Iosif Davidovich Vitebskiy (Russian: Иосиф Давидович Витебский; 9 January 1938 – 7 December 2024) was a Soviet Ukrainian Olympic medalist and world champion épée fencer[1], and later a U.S. fencing coach.

Early life

Vitebskiy was born in Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union, and was Jewish.[2] He attended Kyiv State University, where he studied physical culture and sport.[3]

Fencing career

During his fencing career, Vitebskiy trained at Dynamo in Kyiv.[4] He was a member of the Soviet Union and Ukrainian national teams, and won 19 medals in national championships (10 gold, 6 silver, and three bronze).[5][6] He won several tournaments in Europe and the Soviet Union, and won in the team event at the World Fencing Championships in 1967, 1968, and 1969.[3] He also won a silver medal in team épée at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City at the age of 30.[7][8][9]

Vitebskiy won the Veteran 60 Men’s Épée category at the Summer US National Championships in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1999.[3]

Coaching

Vitebskiy was head coach of the Ukraine Republic National Team for 13 years, and then served for 10 years (1988–98) as the Director of the school for high sports achievements at the State University of Ukraine.[3][5] He served for a dozen years as an assistant coach at the University of Pennsylvania of the University of Pennsylvania Quakers fencing team.[3][6]

Personal life and death

Vitebskiy and his wife, Emma had two sons, Dmitriy and Alex, and lived in Philadelphia.[3][6]

Vitebskiy died on 7 December 2024, at the age of 86.[10][11]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Витебский Иосиф Давидович" [Vitebsky, Iosif Davidovich]. rusfencing.ru (in Russian). Russian Fencing Federation. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.
  2. ^ Jews and the Olympic Games: the clash between sport and politics: with a complete review of Jewish Olympic medalists – Paul Taylor
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Iosif Vitebskiy". University of Pennsylvania Athletics. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  4. ^ Khavin, Boris (1979). All about Olympic Games (in Russian) (2nd ed.). Moscow: Fizkultura i sport. p. 444.
  5. ^ a b "Fencing coaches trace ties to '68 Games" | The Daily Pennsylvanian
  6. ^ a b c "Iosif Viteskiy; 12th season; Kiev St. University," Media Guide.
  7. ^ "Iosif Vitebsky". databaseOlympics.com. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  8. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Iosif Vitebsky". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 5 September 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  9. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Iosyp Vitebskiy". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  10. ^ "January 9, 1938 – December 7, 2024". Vadim Kushnerik on Facebook. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  11. ^ "ПІШОВ З ЖИТТЯ ВИДАТНИЙ УКРАЇНСЬКИЙ ФЕХТУВАЛЬНИК ЙОСИП ВІТЕБСЬКИЙ". NFFU. 9 December 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.