Georgia Finishes Rio Olympics with 7 Medals
Georgia has finished 38th in the medal table at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Georgia won two gold, one silver, and four bronze medals in weightlifting, judo and wrestling.
Vladimer Khinchegashvili won gold in the men’s freestyle 57kg wrestling.
Lasha Talakhadze won the gold medal in men’s over 105kg weightlifting with a world record and Irakli Turmanidze won the bronze in the same weight category – it was the first time in Olympic history that two athletes from Georgia had shared the same podium.
Varlam Liparteliani took silver in men’s 90 kg judo; Lasha Shavdatuashvili took bronze in men’s 73-kilogram category in judo; Shmagi Bolkvadze won bronze in men’s 66kg Greco-Roman wrestling; and Geno Petriashvili captured bronze in the men’s freestyle 125 kg wrestling.
Georgia initially had 39 athletes, the largest ever Olympic team for the country. After Russia’s weightlifting team was banned from competing at the Rio Olympics because of doping offences, available quota was reallocated to eight countries, including Georgia, which increased number of Georgia’s athletes in Rio to 40, who were competing in 13 sports.
38th place in the medal table is the third best result for Georgia after Beijing 2008 and Athens 2004.
As an independent country, Georgia debuted in the Summer Olympic Games at Atlanta 1996, winning two bronze medals – one in freestyle wrestling and another in judo.
Four years later in Sydney, team Georgian won six bronze medals (heavyweight boxing; Greco-Roman wrestling; weightlifting; judo and two bronze medals in freestyle wrestling).
Georgia’s first Olympic gold came in 2004 in Athens where the Georgian athletes won total of four medals – two gold (judo and weightlifting) and two silver medals (Greco-Roman wrestling and judo).
At Beijing 2008 Georgia won three gold medals – the best ever result for the country (judo; Greco-Roman wrestling and freestyle wrestling), as well as three bronze medals (two in freestyle wrestling and one in women’s 10m air pistol).
At London 2012 Georgia ended up with total of 7 medals – one gold, three silver and three bronze, all of them in judo and wrestling tournaments.
