Yakov Punkin

Yakov Punkin took up wrestling in 1938, while working in a factory as a turner, but his sporting career was interrupted by World War II. In 1941, Punkin was mobilized to the Soviet Army, but he was captured by the Germans soon thereafter and spent most of the war in German prisoner-of-war camps. Until summer 1942, he was in a POW camp in Emsland and then in a camp in Osnabrück. In 1945, just before the end of WWII, Punkin was moved to a camp near Magdeburg, from where he was freed by the Soviet Army. After his liberation, Punkin served three more years with the Soviet Army, until he was discharged in 1948. In the Army, Punkin took up wrestling again, winning the 1947 Soviet Army championships. The biggest achievement for Punkin as a wrestler came at the 1952 Olympics, where he won gold in Greco-Roman bantamweight. In his only other major international tournament, at the 1953 World Championships, Punkin finished a disappointing fifth. Domestically, Punkin was a four-time Soviet Champion, in 1949-50 in Greco-Roman bantamweight and in 1954-55 in Greco-Roman lightweight. After finishing his sporting career, Punkin worked as a wrestling coach in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, first with Metallurg Zhaporizhzhia and later with Burevestnik Zaporizhzhia.