Alexander Karelin
| Olympic medalist | ||
 Alexander Karelin |
||
| Medal record | ||
| Greco-Roman wrestling | ||
|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | ||
Competitor for  Soviet Union |
||
| Gold | 1988 Seoul | Super heavyweight |
Competitor for  Unified Team |
||
| Gold | 1992 Barcelona | Super heavyweight |
Competitor for  Russia |
||
| Gold | 1996 Atlanta | Super heavyweight |
| Silver | 2000 Sydney | 97 - 130 kg |
| World Championships | ||
| Gold | Martigny 1989 | Up to 130 kg |
| Gold | Ostia 1990 | Up to 130 kg |
| Gold | Varna 1991 | Up to 130 kg |
| Gold | Stockholm 1993 | Up to 130 kg |
| Gold | Tampere 1994 | Up to 130 kg |
| Gold | Prague 1995 | Up to 130 kg |
| Gold | Wroclaw 1997 | Up to 130 kg |
| Gold | Gävle 1998 | Up to 130 kg |
| Gold | Athens 1999 | Up to 130 kg |
| European Championships | ||
| Gold | Kolbotyn 1988 | Up to 130 kg |
| Gold | Oulu 1989 | Up to 130 kg |
| Gold | Poznań 1990 | Up to 130 kg |
| Gold | Aschaffenburg 1991 | Up to 130 kg |
| Gold | Copenhagen 1992 | Up to 130 kg |
| Gold | Istanbul 1993 | Up to 130 kg |
| Gold | Athens 1994 | Up to 130 kg |
| Gold | Besançon 1995 | Up to 130 kg |
| Gold | Budapest 1996 | Up to 130 kg |
| Gold | Minsk 1998 | Up to 130 kg |
| Gold | Sofia 1999 | Up to 130 kg |
| Gold | Moscow 2000 | Up to 130 kg |
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Karelin, or simply Alexander Karelin, (Russian: Александр Александрович Карелин; born September 19, 1967 in Novosibirsk, Russian SFSR) is a Hero of the Russian Federation and was a dominant Greco-Roman wrestler for the Soviet Union and later, after its dissolution, for Russia. He won gold medals at the 1988, 1992, and 1996 Olympic Games. Nicknamed the "Russian Bear," "Alexander the Great" and "The Experiment" (see below), he went undefeated in international competition (spanning from 1987 to 2000) until a rule change resulted in an upset loss to American Rulon Gardner in the gold-medal match at the Sydney Olympics. Karelin went the last six years of his unbeaten streak without giving up a point. He was revered for his extraordinary strength and unprecedented success in international competition. He is universally considered to be the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of all time.[1][2]. He also took part in professional wrestling, performing in a worked contest against Akira Maeda in the professional wrestling promotion, RINGS, in 1999.[3]
He competed at the heaviest weight class of his day, 130 kg (286 lb). His conditioning and quickness combined with his dominance of the sport, led to him being known as "The Experiment" by much of the rest of the world. The term implied that his strength and skill were the result of substances such as anabolic steroids or human growth hormone (HGH). When asked why he thought he was called that, Karelin noted that others don't understand because "I train every day of my life as they have never trained a day in theirs."
Contents |
Technique
Karelin was famous for his reverse body lift, the "Karelin Lift", where facing the opponent who was lying flat on the mat to keep from being thrown, Karelin hoisted his opponents into the air and slammed them violently to the mat. This devastatingly effective maneuver, when properly executed, awarded Karelin 5 points per throw, the maximum awarded in Greco-Roman wrestling. The throw had long been in use by lighter wrestlers but not by heavyweights since the technique required immense strength. Karelin's ability to perform this throw against elite opponents weighing as much as 130 kg was amazing to audiences as well as other participants and observers of the sport.
Life and work
Karelin was born an astonishing 6.8 kg (15 lb) baby. Karelin holds a Ph.D. in Physical Education. He is also active in Russian politics.
Karelin's first loss in 13 years of international competition, and first lost point in 6 years, occurred in the 2000 Summer Olympics wrestling finals against Rulon Gardner. Karelin had earlier beaten Gardner in 1997. Gardner took the gold medal.[4]
Politics
Karelin officially retired from competitive wrestling in 2000[5] and began his political career. He joined the United Russia party and was elected to the State Duma as a representative of the Novosibirsk Oblast in 1999 and 2003. In 2007 he was elected to the Duma as a representative of the Stavropol Krai. He is a member of Duma's committee on international affairs.
Professional Wrestling
On February 21, 1999 Aleksandr Karelin defeated Akira Maeda in a Professional Wrestling contest that drew an incredible gate of $2.5 million. The match gained widespread media coverage, including mentions in The New York Times and Sports Illustrated.[3]. The match took place in the Maeda owned Professional Wrestling organization, RINGS. Though widely considered to have been a shoot style pro-wrestling contest the match is counted as an official mixed martial arts match in Sherdogs record database [6]
References
- ↑ http://original.britannica.com/eb/topic-244145/Greco-Roman-wrestling
- ↑ http://static.espn.go.com/oly/summer00/news/2000/0927/782116.html
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTv744eMjyM
- ↑ The Sporting News, Miracle on the mat - wrestler Rulon Gardner wins the gold medal in the Olympics, 9 October 2000
- ↑ Alexander Karelin - Chronology
- ↑ http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Aleksandr-Karelin-25349