Arkady Rotenberg Rotenberg was born in 1951 in Leningrad, where his father, Roman, worked in management at the Red Dawn telephone factory, allowing the family to avoid living in a communal apartment. Rotenberg is of Jewish ancestry. In 1963, when he was age twelve, Rotenberg and Vladimir Putin both joined Anatoly Rakhlin's sambo club. In 1978, Rotenberg graduated from the Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health and became a judo trainer. After Putin returned to Russia in 1990, Rotenberg trained with him several times a week. During the 1990s, Rotenberg and his brother, Boris, who had moved to
Lukáš Krpálek Lukáš Krpálek Lukáš Krpálek (born 15 November 1990) is a Czech heavyweight judoka. He is a former world champion (2014), former European champion (2014) and current Olympic Champion (2016). He is the most successful judoka in Czech and Czechoslovakian history, and was named Czech Judoka of the Year eight times between 2008 and 2015. Krpálek took up judo by chance – he wanted to train in karate, but his uncle mistook the sport. His brother Michal is also a judoka who served as a sparring partner for the Czech judo team at the 2012 Summer Olympics. In 2015 Krpálek married