Frank Chamizo

Personal life

Chamizo had a trying childhood. He grew up in poverty and was raised by his grandmother because both his parents lived abroad. He began wrestling at age seven after walking into a wrestling facility out of curiosity. The Cuban government eventually recognized his talent and helped him attend a secondary school where he could continue wrestling. In addition to his native Spanish, Chamizo is fluent in Italian and can also speak English.

Career in Cuba

In 2010, Chamizo won a world bronze medal for Cuba; he was only 18 at the time. The next year, he returned to the world championships, where he placed 12th. After the 2011 World Wrestling Championships, however, Cuba's wrestling federation suspended him for two years for alleged difficulties with weight management. At a crossroads, he moved to Italy, where his ex-wife is from.

Career in Italy

In 2015, Chamizo made his world debut for Italy and won a gold medal. Before then, no Italian had won a world or Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medal since 1980.

From there, Chamizo won three more world-level medals, including a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics and a gold medal at the 2017 world competition. Overall, Chamizo won four world-level medals for Italy and two world-level championships.

At the 2022 World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, he won the bronze medal by defeating Soner Demirtaş 5–3 in the men's freestyle 74 kg third-place match, but his medal was canceled due to doping and given to Soner Demirtaş. He was only suspended for three months.

He won the silver medal at the 2023 European Wrestling Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, losing 3–1 to Tajmuraz Salkazanov of Slovakia in the men's freestyle 74 kg final match. He reached the final by defeating Dzhabrail Gadzhiev of Azerbaijan 9–4 in the second round, Soner Demirtaş 8–6 in the quarterfinals, and Ali-Pasha Umarpashaev of Bulgaria 9–0 in the semifinals.

Chamizo competed at the 2024 European Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan hoping to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. He was eliminated in his fourth match and he did not qualify for the Olympics due to controversial judging. Several days later Chamizo claimed he was offered a bribe of 300 thousand dollars to deliberately lose a match, an offer that he rejected. Weeks after the tournament, the refereeing body that officiated the match were suspended by the UWW, however, the result could not be changed.

Freestyle record

! colspan="7"| Freestyle matches |- ! Res. ! Record ! Opponent ! Score ! Date ! Event ! Location |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 |2023 World Championships at 74 kg |- |Loss

|- ! style=background:white colspan=7 |2022 World Championships at (stripped) 74 kg |- |Win

| POL Warsaw, Poland |- |Win

| TUR Istanbul, Turkey |- |Win

Awards and honors

;2019

• World Championships (74 kg)
• Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov Tournament (74 kg) ;2018
• Yasar Dogu (74 kg)
• Mediterranean Games (74 kg)
• European Championships (74 kg)
• Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov Tournament (74 kg)
• International Ukrainian Tournament (74 kg) ;2017
• World Championships (70 kg)
• Ion Corneanu & Ladislau Simon Memorial (70 kg)
• Ali Aliev Tournament (70 kg)
• European Championships (70 kg) ;2016
• Olympic Games (65 kg)
• European Championships (65 kg)
• Alexander Medved Prizes (65 kg) ;2015
• World Championships (65 kg)
• Waclaw Ziolkowski Memorial (65 kg)
• Grand Prix of Spain (70 kg)
• European Games (65 kg) ;2014
• International D. A. Kunaev Tournament (65 kg)
• Grand Prix of Spain (65 kg)
• Ali Aliev Tournament (65 kg)
• Yasar Dogu (65 kg) ;2013
• Henri Deglane Challenge (66 kg)
• Grand Prix of Spain (66 kg) ;2011
• World Cup (55 kg) ;2010
• World Championships (55 kg)
• Pan American Championships (55 kg)

References

References

1. (21 September 2016). "Frank Chamizo: "Nonna aveva fame, io ho venduto la divisa"". Vanity Fair Italia.
2. "My-Wrestling-Guide".
3. "Frank Chamizo podría irse al Octágono tras Tokio 2021".
4. "Frank Chamizo beats Jordan Burroughs in Rome Clash of Titans".
5. (2021-03-07). "Lotta, Frank Chamizo vince le Ranking Series Ostia 2021: battuto in finale lo statunitense Jordan Burroughs!".
6. (2 January 2016). "Frank Chamizo, il ragazzo venuto da Cuba per diventare grande".
7. (26 October 2016). "A Coca-Cola Career, And Son's Olympic Success, Are a Father's Dreams Come True".
8. "Chamizo admits 'mistake' after failing anti-doping test". [[Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata.
9. "European Championships".
10. "2024 European Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament Results Book".
11. "Wrestler says he rejected $300K bribe to throw match he lost". ESPN.
12. Vinay. (23 April 2024). "UWW decision regarding Chamizo-Bayramov bout".