Fred Jessey

Fred Jessey (born 3 September 1977 in Yenagoa, Bayelsa) is a retired amateur Nigerian freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's welterweight category.[1] He represented his nation Nigeria at the 2004 Summer Olympics and produced a remarkable tally of four career medals, including a bronze in the 66-kg division at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England and a welterweight title at the 2003 All-Africa Games in Abuja. Jessey also trained for his native Bayelsa State's wrestling club under his personal coach Jackson Bidei.

Fred Jessey
Personal information
Full nameFred Jessey
Nationality Nigeria
Born (1977-09-03) 3 September 1977
Yenagoa, Bayelsa, Nigeria
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight66 kg (146 lb)
Sport
SportWrestling
StyleFreestyle
ClubBayelsa Wrestling Club
CoachJackson Bidei
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing  Nigeria
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place2002 Manchester66 kg
All-Africa Games
Gold medal – first place2003 Abuja66 kg
Silver medal – second place1999 Johannesburg69 kg
Silver medal – second place2007 Algiers66 kg

Jessey made sporting headlines at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England, where he grappled his way over New Zealand's Ricardo Aryan to clinch the bronze in the 66-kg division.[2][3] Following his immediate sporting success, Jessey went on to celebrate a boastful victory for the Nigerians, as he beat Algeria's Farid Hanoun for the gold in the same class at the 2003 All-Africa Games in Abuja.[4]

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Jessey qualified for the Nigerian squad, as a lone wrestler, in the men's welterweight class (66 kg). Earlier in the process, he placed sixth at the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria, but managed to fill up an entry by the International Federation of Association Wrestling through a tripartite invitation.[5][6] Jessey lost his opening match 1–3 to South Korea's Baek Jin-kuk, and then lost to Japan's Kazuhiko Ikematsu on a pin with a minute remaining; he was ranked penultimate out of 22 wrestlers in the final standings.[7]

References
  1. "Fred Jessey". Sports-Reference. 29 July 2014. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  2. "Ugoalah takes gold". BBC Sport. 3 August 2002. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  3. "Indians prove wrestling prowess". Manchester 2002. 3 August 2002. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  4. Animam, Richard (3 May 2003). "Wrestling will give Nigeria gold medals". Biafra Nigeria World News. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  5. Abbott, Gary (18 July 2004). "Olympic Games preview at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. in men's freestyle". USA Wrestling. The Mat. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  6. Abbott, Gary (22 April 2004). "FILA announces 12 wildcard selections for the 2004 Olympic Games". USA Wrestling. The Mat. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  7. "Wrestling: Men's Freestyle 66kg". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 30 September 2013.


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