Dr Sergei Petrovich Novikov (1949-2021), Judo Olympic champion, creative science of martial arts expert

The biography of Serhiy Petrovych Novikov is a tangle of multiple events linked to the political and social consequences of the generation born after the end of the Second World War on the eastern side of the Iron Curtain. He was Ukrainian, born on December 15, 1949. His greatest sporting achievements are credited to the Soviet Union. Before he won the gold medal in the men's heavyweight division (+93 kg) during at the 1976 Summer Olympics, was a bronze medallist at the World Judo Championships (1973) and runner-up in 1975. He was also a gold medallist at the European Championships in 1973, 1974 and 1976. A sporting career, even a multi-year one with many successes, is only one of many parts of his life. Among the many sports stars, no matter how long it has been and how extensive their achievements, there are few who have also made a significant contribution to science or in other fields. In 2000, Dr Novikov founded the International Unifight Federation (registered in Paris). This new sport, a compilation of well-known combat sports (two rounds) preceded by a competition on a specific obstacle course, has not gained the attention of either the media or the CISM authorities (the abbreviation comes from French: Conseil International du Sport Militaire). Many years later, through electronic media, the bloody neo-gladiatorsism MMA (mixed martial arts) was promoted. Dr Novikov was a member of Editorial Board of Archives of Budo from the very beginning of the journal. He died April 16. 2021 and was buried in Kuntsevsky Cemetery in Moscow.