| 9/19/2002
John Fuller/TheMat.com
 Moscow, Russia - After many years of service to FILA, the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles, Raphael Martinetti was rewarded on Thursday morning as he was elected as the sixth president in FILA history. Martinetti, the only candidate named for the position after Milan Ercegan stepped down, was elected after garnering 84 out of a possible 90 votes from the international wrestling delegates.
"I will do everything to ensure that our sport, wrestling, will remain an Olympic sport," Martinetti stated immediately after his election. His statement was in response to an International Olympic Committee announcement that one discipline of wrestling may be dropped from the 2008 Olympic Games.
"I promise that I will make sure that wrestling becomes one of the most important and popular Olympics sports," he added.
Martinetti is currently the President of the FILA Refereeing Commission. Before that, he served for 12 years as the Secretary for the FILA Refereeing Commission, while also serving as a FILA referee instructor. Before his election, he was also the Vice-President and member of the FILA Executive.
He served as a technical delegate for the 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games and several Continental and World Championships. He will serve as a technical delegate for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Martinetti has also been a Category E international referee since the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany.
Martinetti served as the President of the Swiss Federation of Amateur Wrestling for 12 years after serving as the organization's National Technical Director for 12 years.
He initiated the reunification of the five wrestling federations in Switzerland into the Swiss Federation of Amateur Wrestling. He is currently an Honorary President of the Swiss Federation of Amateur Wrestling. He has served as the President of the organizing committee of the 1973 Freestyle European Championships, the 1997 Veterans Freestyle World Championships and the 2001 Veterans Freestyle World Championships and Junior Women's World Championships.
As a competitor, Martinetti was a Swiss champion and won several medals at the Swiss national championships in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. As a member of Switzerland's National Team, Martinetti competed in several international events, including the European Championships and World Championships. "Mr. Martinetti has deep roots in our sport as a wrestler and with FILA," Ercegan said. "FILA will be under the guidance of a great person."
Professionally, Martinetti is the owner and director of the Martinetti Brothers company in Martigny, Switzerland specializing in metal and other constructions. He is also the owner and an administrator of Cabotrac Ltd., specializing in the sale and manufacture of cables and lifting equipment as well as the owner and an administrator of Chapiteaux Multicolores SA, which erects and rents stands, terraces and tents for sporting and festive events.
The 59 year-old Martinetti and his wife Madeleine have three children: Catherine, David and Anne.
.Milan Ercegan - Steps Down After 30 Years As FILA President
9/19/2002
John Fuller/TheMat.com
 Moscow, Russia - Milan Ercegan officially resigned as President of FILA, the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles, on Thursday, Sep. 19. Ercegan cited numerous reasons for his resignation, which was originally announced on June 22.
"Due to reasons of health and family circumstances, I will not nominate myself for FILA President," stated Ercegan, who had served as FILA's President for 30 years. "I worked for a very long time to develop wrestling. Over this period, hundreds of new sports have developed, but we have continued to thrive." Ercegan made the announcement at the FILA Congress, held Thursday morning in Moscow.
In his 30 years as the FILA President, Ercegan accomplished many goals and continued to move the sport of amateur wrestling forward and to new levels during his reign.
 After being elected as FILA President in 1972, Ercegan helped to organize the first World Cup, which was held in Toledo, Ohio in 1973. He also helped to develop women's wrestling, which will be recognized as an Olympic sport at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Ercegan has also written three books about the history of wrestling and turned a FILA debt of 40,000 Swiss Franks to 15 million Swiss Franks in a FILA account.
Ercegan served 16 years as the Secretary of FILA from 1956-1972 before being elected as the fifth President in the organization's history.
After saying goodbye to the entire wrestling delegates, Ercegan was named as an Honorary President of FILA for life by newly-elected President Raphael Martinetti.   47th Senior Greco-Roman Wrestling
World Championship
20 - 22 September 2002, Moscow Press-release ?15 - September 22, 2002 Alexander Karelin & Alexander Medved – the greatest athletes of the 20th century   
Alexander Medved, three-time Free-Style wrestling Olympic champion & Alexander Karelin, three-time Greco-Roman wrestling Olympic champion. Milan Ercegan, honored FILA president, and Raffi Martinetti, newly-elected FILA president, and Mikhail Mamiashvili, president of Russian Wrestling Federation, handed the AWARDS to the- greatest WRESTLERS of century. ALEXANDER MEDVED, - Byelorussia, Minsk
Alexander Medved- is a three-time free-style Olympic Champion (Tokyo, 1964; Mexico, 1968; Munchen, 1972). He is a seven-time World Champion, a three-time European Champion and a nine-time USSR Champion. A. Medved is the vice-president of Byelorussian Olympic Committee and the president of the Wrestling Federation of Byelorussia. He is awarded with “Silver order” of the International Olympic Committee. Mr. Medved was handed over a new order of FILA “Golden Branch” as the best wrestler of the XX century in FREE-STYLE. ALEXANDER KARELIN, Russia, Novosibirsk
Alexander Karelin- is a repeated Greco-roman wrestling Olympic champion (Seul, 1988; Barselona, 1992; Atlanta, 1966 and a silver-prize winner in Sydney, 2000).
He is a nine-time World Champion and a twelve-time European Champion. In 1999, A. Karelin was elected a member of the State Duma (low chamber of the Federal Assembly). In 1997 Alexander Karelin was rewarded with the highest award of Russia – Golden Star of Russian Hero for his great services to his homeland. A. Karelin is Doctor of Pedagogical Science. Mr. Karelin was awarded with a new order of FILA “Golden Branch” as the best wrestler of the century in GRECO-ROMAN. On the 19th of September - Alexander celebrated his 35th anniversary.
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