Joseph Atiyeh
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native name | جوزيف عطية | ||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  Syria | ||||||||||||||
| Born | October 8, 1957 Amar al-Husn, Homs Governorate, Syria | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 86 kg (190 lb) (1984) | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Country | Syria | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wrestling | ||||||||||||||
| Weight class | 100 kg | ||||||||||||||
| Event | Freestyle | ||||||||||||||
| Club | LSU Tigers | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Joseph Atiyeh (Arabic: جوزيف عطية, born October 8, 1957) is a retired Syrian wrestler and the winner of Syria's first Olympic medal.[1]
Early life
[edit]Atiyeh was born in Amar al-Husn, Homs Governorate, Syria to a Christian family. His parents immigrated to Allentown, Pennsylvania when he was two years old.[2] Atiyeh wrestled at Dieruff High School in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Career
[edit]Atiyeh represented Syria in the 1984 Summer Olympics, where he competed in the freestyle heavyweight 100 kg competition, and won the 1984 Summer Olympic silver medal. Though Atiyeh lived most of his life in the United States, and attended Louisiana State University, where he was on the school's wrestling team, he qualified as a dual citizen and wrestled for Syria. Atiyeh made it to the Olympic finals against Lou Banach of the United States, where he lost by fall in 61 seconds. Two years earlier, in 1978, Atiyeh, then wrestling for LSU, defeated Banach 13-10 in the first round of the Midlands wrestling championship in Chicago.
Prior to reaching the 1984 Olympic finals, Atiyeh's scored Olympic wins over Vasile Pușcașu from Romania by fall in the first round. Puscassu went on to win the 1988 Summer Olympics gold medal in the heavyweight category in Seoul, South Korea. Atiyeh also beat Kartar Singh of India by fall in 33 seconds.
Personal life
[edit]Atiyeh's younger brother, Dennis Atiyeh, represented Syria in the freestyle super-heavyweight category at the 1988 Summer Olympics. His nephew, Abe, is on the basketball team at Boston College.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ "Joseph Atiyeh Olympic Results". olympedia. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ Paul Reinhard (25 July 1984). "Joe Atiyeh will wrestle for Syria to compete at 198 pounds the road to Los Angeles". The Morning Call.
- ^ "Boston College Eagles men's Basketball". Retrieved 9 May 2023.
External links
[edit]
- Joseph Atiyeh at the International Wrestling Database
- Joseph Atiyeh at Olympedia
- 1957 births
- Living people
- Louis E. Dieruff High School alumni
- Louisiana State University alumni
- Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics
- Olympic medalists in wrestling
- Olympic silver medalists for Syria
- Olympic wrestlers for Syria
- People from Homs Governorate
- Syrian Christians
- Syrian emigrants to the United States
- Syrian male sport wrestlers
- Wrestlers at the 1984 Summer Olympics