Mark Rakita

Mark Rakita
Personal information
Born (1938-07-22) 22 July 1938
Moscow, Russia
Sport
Sport Fencing
Medal record
Men's fencing
Representing  Soviet Union
Olympic Games[1][2]
1964 Tokyo Team sabre
1968 Mexico City Team sabre
1968 Mexico City Individual sabre
1972 Munich Team sabre

Mark Semenovich Rakita (Russian: Марк Семенович Ракита; born July 22, 1938, in Moscow, USSR) is a famed Russian sabreur and coach from the Soviet era.

Fencing career

Rakita started fencing when he was 14. He would practice for three to six hours per day.[3] A 1969 graduate of The Daghestan State Pedagogical Institute, Rakita earned the title of Master of the Sport (Fencing) in 1964. He trained at the Armed Forces sports society.

World championships

Rakita was one of the Soviet Union's top sabre fencers in the 1960s. As a member of the Soviet National team, he won the world championship in the team sabre in 1965, 1967, 1969, and 1971.

Rakita was also the world champion in individual sabre in 1967, and finished second in 1970.

Olympics

Rakita participated in three Olympic Games. At the 1964 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal in team sabre and competed in the individual event. At the 1968 Summer Olympics, he won silver in the individual event and won gold in the team event. At the 1972 Summer Olympics, he competed in the team event, and won a silver medal.[4]

World championships

Coaching career

Rakita coached the Russian fencing team for 17 years, and four of his students won Olympic medals.[3]

Hall of Fame

In 1988 Rakita, who is Jewish, was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[5]

Feud with Vladimir Nazlymov

In an interview in New York, Mark Rakita discussed his long-time feud with former friend/teammate turned nemesis Vladimir Nazlymov, stating, "As far as I'm concerned, he no longer exists!"[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Olympics Statistics: Mark Rakita". databaseolympics.com. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
  2. ↑ "Mark Rakita Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
  3. 1 2 Sherwood, Andrew (18 October 2006). "TotallyJewish.com". TotallyJewish.com. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  4. ↑ "Rakita, Mark". Jews In Sports. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ Interview (in Russian)
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