48-years old Ukrainian school janitor Ihor Yevtushenko makes a history becoming a jiu jitsu world champion. In his final bout, the Kherson sportsman beat his competitor fro Azerbaijan.
A 48-years old amateur and virtually a no-name, who according to his own words, ‘came from the streets’, took on the world of martial arts mere 6 years ago. He soon set the martial arts scene abuzz winning medals in jiu jitsu contests across Ukraine and Europe.
Yevtushenko caught media attention in September – the sweeper and a part-time martial arts instructor took to social media asking people to help him ‘find 700 US dollars’ to cover travel costs to the upcoming world championship in the UAE.
In just two days the crowd-funding effort raised the required sum for Yevtushenko with ‘donations coming from Kherson, all Ukraine, and even from abroad’.
His ‘from-sweeps-to-medals’ story was picked up by Ukrainian media turning him into a local celebrity.
Earlier this month, the martial artist said he was going to start his own school offering classes in jiu-jitsu to kids, noting that training will have no age restrictions as his own example shows it is never too late to learn.. and win.