Boris Mikhaylovich Gurevich (also Gurevitch, Gurewitsch, or Hurevych; 23 February 1937 – 12 November 2020) was a Soviet wrestler.[1] [2]
The figure of Boris Gurevich served as a model for the allegorical sculpture of the Soviet sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich "Let's Forge Swords into Plowshares", installed in 1957 in New York near the UN building.[3]
Gurevich, who was Jewish, was born in Kiev, Ukraine.
Gurevich won the 1968 Summer Olympic Games freestyle middleweight (191.5 lbs; 82 kilograms) gold medal in Mexico City.[4] He finished ahead of silver medalist Jigjidiin Mönkhbat of Mongolia and bronze medalist Prodan Gardzhev of Bulgaria.[5] [6]
He won a silver medal at the 1961 World Wrestling Championships at 87 kilograms, a gold medal at the 1967 World Wrestling Championships at 87 kilograms, and a gold medal at the 1969 World Wrestling Championships at 90 kilograms. He won a gold medal at the 1967 European Wrestling Championships at 87 kilograms, and a gold medal at the 1970 European Wrestling Championships at 90 kilograms.
He was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1982.