W.A.K.O. European Championships 2004 (Budva)

W.A.K.O. European Championships 2004 in Budva were the joint seventeenth European championships (the other event would be held the next month in Maribor, Slovenia) and were the fourth W.A.K.O. championships (including world) to be held in Serbia and Montenegro/Yugoslavia. The event was open to around 300 amateur men and women from 26 nations from across Europe.

W.A.K.O. European Championships 2004 (Budva)
The poster for W.A.K.O. European Championships 2004 (Budva)
Promotion	W.A.K.O.
Date	19 October (Start) 24 October 2004 (End)
City	Budva, Serbia and Montenegro
Event chronology
W.A.K.O. World Championships 2003 (Yalta) W.A.K.O. European Championships 2004 (Budva) W.A.K.O. European Championships 2004 (Maribor)

The styles on offer at Budva included; Full-Contact, Low-Kick and Thai-Boxing – with women's Thai-Boxing competitions introduced for the very first time at a W.A.K.O. championships. The other less physical competitions (Light and Semi-Contact, Musical Forms, Aero Kickboxing) would take place at the event in Maribor. By the end of the championships Russia was easily the top nation with a huge medal collection across all styles, hosts Serbia and Montenegro trailed way behind in second and Belarus were in third. The event was held over six days in Budva, Serbia and Montenegro, starting on Tuesday, 19 October and ending on Sunday, 24 October 2004.

Full-Contact

Full-Contact is a form of kickboxing where both punches and kicks are exchanged between participants with full force applied to strikes, and attacks below the waist are prohibited. Most matches are settled either via a point's decision or stoppage victory and all contestants are obliged to wear head and body protection as is customary with most forms of amateur kickboxing. More information on Full-Contact and the rules can be found at the official W.A.K.O. website. At Budva the men had twelve weight divisions ranging from 51 kg/112.2 lbs to over 91 kg/+200.2 lbs, while the women had seven ranging from 48 kg/105.6 lbs to over 70 kg/+143 lbs. Although there was not the same number of high-profile winners in Full-Contact as with previous championships, there were several repeat winners who had won at the last world championships in Paris, with Jere Reinikainen, Igor Kulbaev, Maxim Voronov, Olesya Gladkova and Maria Karlova all winning gold, while Milorad Gajović would go on to compete in the 2008 Olympics as an amateur boxer. By the end of the championships Russia was the strongest nation in the style, winning a huge haul of ten gold, four silvers and four bronze medals across the male and female events.

Men's Full-Contact Kickboxing Medals Table

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Light Bantamweight -51 kg	Dmitry Ayzyatulov	Ivan Sciolla	Srdan Hadrlyanski
Bantamweight -54 kg	Zurab Faroyan	Tomasz Makowski	Filip Exsan Gabor Aburko
Featherweight -57 kg	Lucien Gross	Boris Klimenko	Maurycy Gojko Damir Dorts
Lightweight -60 kg	Daniel Martins	Mike List	Galic Predrag Damian Ławniczak
Light Welterweight -63 kg	Malik Mangouchi	Vladimir Pykhtin	Robert Zytkiewicz Biagio Tralli
Welterweight -67 kg	Jere Reinikainen	Roman Pijouk	Edmond Mebenga Sinisa Vladimirovic
Light Middleweight -71 kg	Igor Kulbaev	Robert Arvai	Mariusz Ziętek Ahmed Kouranfal
Middleweight -75 kg	Konstantin Beloussov	Markus Hakulinen	Martin Milov Frank Witte
Light Heavyweight -81 kg	Maxim Voronov	Bogumil Polonski	Hannes Perk Patrik Sjöstrand
Cruiserweight -86 kg	Slobodan Marinkovic	Robert Paulsbyen	Gamzat Islamagomedov Piotr Walczak
Heavyweight -91 kg	Milorad Gajović	Anatoly Nossyrev	Balazs Varga Andreas Hampel
Super Heavyweight +91 kg	Duško Basrak	Michal Wszelak	Mikhail Shvoev Jukka Saarinen

Women's Full-Contact Kickboxing Medals Table

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Bantamweight -48 kg	Olesya Gladkova	Veronique Legras	Jenny Hardengz Annika Pitkänen
Featherweight -52 kg	Mette Solli	Fatma Akyüz	Lidia Andreeva Tatiana Rinaldi
Lightweight -56 kg	Sveta Kulakova	Zsuzsanna Szuknai	Jutta Nordberg Natalie Kalinowski
Middleweight -60 kg	Cindy Orain	Nadine Lemke	Monika Florek Vera Avdeeva
Light Heavyweight -65 kg	Maria Karlova	Marija Ristovic	Katalin Csehi Anne Katas
Heavyweight -70 kg	Julia Chernenko	Karolina Lukasik	Pierina Guerreri Jelena Duric
Super Heavyweight +70 kg	Galina Ivanova	Daniela Lazzareska	Caroline Ek

Low-Kick

Similar to Full-Contact kickboxing, contestants in Low-Kick are allowed to kick and punch one another with full force, with the primary difference being that in Low-Kick they are also allowed to kick one another's legs, with matches typically won by decision or stoppage. As with other forms of amateur kickboxing, various head and body protection must be worn. More information on the style can be found at the W.A.K.O. website. Both men and women took part in Low-Kick at Budva, with the men having twelve weight divisions ranging from 51 kg/112.2 lbs to over 91 kg/+200.2 lbs, and then women having six ranging from 48 kg/105.6 lbs to 70 kg/154 lbs. Notable winners included future K-1 fighters Michał Głogowski and Łukasz Jarosz, while Dejan Milosavljevic had also won gold at the last European championships in Jesolo. By the end of the event, as with Full-Contact Russia were easily the strongest nation in Low-Kick, winning a massive ten gold, six silver and two bronze medals across the various male and female competitions.

Men's Low-Kick Kickboxing Medals Table

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Light Bantamweight -51 kg	Ivan Bityutskikh	Maksim Tulai	Ante Juricev Sudac
Bantamweight -54 kg	Alexander Sidorov	Ayup Arsaev	Boban Marinkovic Dzmitry Baranau
Featherweight -57 kg	Ruslan Tozliyan	Mariusz Cieśliński	Milos Ahic Gabor Kiss
Lightweight -60 kg	Artur Tozliyan	Michal Tomczykowski	Tihomir Iliev Mario Donnarumma
Light Welterweight -63 kg	Gosan Ibragimov	Milan Dragojlovic	Soki Andros Toma Tomov
Welterweight -67 kg	Ibragim Tamazaev	No silver medallist	Frand Seyed Morteza Eldin Raonic
Light Middleweight -71 kg	Michał Głogowski	Andrey Borodulin	Ile Risteski Khizri Saipov
Middleweight -75 kg	Dmitri Krasichkov	Fouad Ezbiri	Stefano Paone Vesko Dukic
Light Heavyweight -81 kg	Drazenko Ninic	Mikhail Chalykn	Teppo Laine Dénes Racz
Cruiserweight -86 kg	Goran Radonic	Alexandr Poydunov	Umberto Lucci Yurij Aorohin
Heavyweight -91 kg	Dejan Milosavljevic	Anatoly Borozna	Kresimir Marasovic
Super Heavyweight +91 kg	Łukasz Jarosz	Daniele Petroni	Dragan Jovanovic Ruslan Bisaev

Women's Low-Kick Kickboxing Medals Table

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Bantamweight -48 kg	Raisa Akulova	Dragana Zanini	Nikolett Simon
Featherweight -52 kg	Maria Krivoshapkina	Rita De Angelis	Reka Krempf
Lightweight -56 kg	Barbara Plazzoli	Goranka Blagojevic	Tereze Lindberg
Middleweight -60 kg	Julia Nemtsova	Sanja Ilic	No bronze medallists recorded
Light Heavyweight -65 kg	Lopatina Lyubov	Maria Domenica Mandolini	Ana Mandic
Heavyweight -70 kg	Radic Nives	Andreeva Svetlana	Olivera Milanovic

Thai-Boxing

The most physical type of kickboxing available at Budva, Thai-Boxing (more commonly known as Muay Thai allows the participants to kick, punch, use elbows and knees to score points, often resulting in a stoppage victory. As with other forms of amateur kickboxing all contestants must wear head and body protection. At Budva both men and women took part in their own Thai-Boxing competitions with women competing for the first time at a W.A.K.O. championships. The men had twelve weight classes ranging from 51 kg/112.2 lbs to over 91 kg/+200.2 lbs, while the women had just the two, the 51 kg/114.4 lbs and 65 kg/143 lbs divisions. There were not many recognisable names on the winners list at Budva although future pro world champion and K-1 contestant Magomed Magomedov and emerging talent Andrei Kotsur picked up gold medals. By the end of the championships Belarus were once more the strongest nation in Thai-Boxing with six gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

Men's Thai-Boxing Medals Table

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Light Bantamweight -51 kg	Giampiero Marceddu	Dragan Durmić	No bronze medalists recorded
Bantamweight -54 kg	Pavel Pekarchik	Karoly Kiss	Mokhmad Betmirzaev Aleksandar Gogic
Featherweight -57 kg	Denis Varaksa	Zakhar Roumiantsen	Sasa Pandelovic
Lightweight -60 kg	Siarhei Budo	Stanislav Ushakov	Aleksandar Jankovic Vahidin Tufekcic
Light Welterweight -63 kg	Andrei Kotsur	Philip Billides	Michele Iezzi József Vulics
Welterweight -67 kg	Vadzim Mazanik	Aidenar Huidarbekov	Nebojsa Denic Roland Vörös
Light Middleweight -71 kg	Shamil Gaydarbekov	Frane Radnić	Vitali Astrouski Mark Ohi
Middleweight -75 kg	Krasimir Dimov	Kiryl Astraukhan	Marco Mastrorocco Islam Tsomaev
Light Heavyweight -81 kg	Magomed Magomedov	Salvatore Abate	Aliaksandr Vlasuk Aleksandar Maric
Cruiserweight -86 kg	Yauhen Anhalevich	Osman Valabov	Misa Baculov Igor Jurković
Heavyweight -91 kg	Djamal Kasumov	Aliaksei Kudzin	Sasa Cirovic Valentino Venturini
Super Heavyweight +91 kg	Mirko Vlahovic	Tibor Nagy	Tunbouski Kosta Tomica Paladin

Women's Thai-Boxing Medals Table

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Featherweight -52 kg	Ekaterina Dumbrava	Milena Dincic	No bronze medalists recorded
Light Heavyweight -65 kg	Nadine Dinkler	Olga Kokorina	Milanka Kragovic

Overall Medals Standing (Top 5)

Ranking	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1	Russia	24	15	8
2	Serbia and Montenegro	6	7	17
3	Belarus	6	4	4
4	France	4	2	6
5	Italy	2	5	8

See also

• List of WAKO Amateur European Championships
• List of WAKO Amateur World Championships

External links

• WAKO World Association of Kickboxing Organizations Official Site Archived 7 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine