Mark Berger - Biography

Sensei Mark Berger (born January 3, 1954, in Tchernovitz, Ukraine)[1] is a Canadian judoka.

He immigrated to Canada from Ukraine and East Germany.

1 Judo career
2 Miscellaneous
3 See also
4 External links
5 See also

Judo career

“He could not speak English back then in the mid 70’s when he arrived here,” said Moe Oye, the coach who took Berger under his wing. “He could sure fight though.” He was big, stocky and powerful at 260 pounds, but those attributes alone do not make an Olympian. Fortunately - Berger had uncanny speed and skill - unusual traits for a husky man. “Mark was so quick and powerful he literally exploded into his technical manoeuvres. Once a man of his stature and skill moved on you, it was game over.”

Berger’s meteoric rise came in 1978, with a gold medal performance in the Western Canada Games. His first national medals, bronzes, came a year later in Canada Cup and Openweight championships.

By 1980 Berger was dominating the national scene and earned his first international medal for Canada, a bronze, in the United States Open, where he won the gold in 1982.

National titles

He won the Canadian national title in 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, and 1986.

World Championships

He finished 6th in the World Championships in 1981, and 5th in 1984.

Maccabiah Games

Berger, who is Jewish, won a gold medal in the heavyweight division in the 1981 and 1985 Maccabiah Games in Israel.

Commonwealth Games

Berger won a silver medal at the 1985 Commonwealth Games.

Pan American Games

Berger won a gold medal at the 1983 Pan American Games, and was voted the province’s Athlete of the Year.

Olympics

In 1984 at the Los Angeles Olympics, he earned a bronze medal in judo in the heavyweight division. He defeated Radomir Kovacevic of Yugoslavia to win the bronze medal.

Hall of Fame

He was inducted in 1994 into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.[2]

In 1996 he was inducted into the Judo Canada Hall of Fame.[3]

Miscellaneous

Berger is currently a coach in Canada.

Berger coached both the men's and women's judo teams at the Maccabiah Games in 2001.

He is also an international referee.

Berger holds a 6th degree black belt in Judo, as well as 3-time Master of Sport ranking in Wrestling, and has placed 2nd in the World Sambo Championships.

Berger is currently teaching in Ralph Brown School as a gym teacher.