Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Karelin is a Hero of the Russian Federation and retired Greco-Roman
wrestler for the Soviet Union and Russia. Nicknamed the "Russian Bear,", "Russian King
Kong", "Alexander the Great" and "The Experiment", he is considered the greatest Greco-Roman
wrestler of all time. Karelin won gold medals at the 1988, 1992 and 1996, as well as a silver
in the 2000 Olympic Games. His wrestling record is 887 wins and two losses. Karelin was the
national flag bearer at three consecutive Olympics: in 1988 for the Soviet Union, in
1992 for the Unified Team, and in 1996 for Russia.
Biography Karelin was born as a 6.8 kg baby. Nicknamed
the "Russian Bear," "Alexander the Great" and "The Experiment", he went undefeated for
the first time from 1982 to 1987 and second time from 1987 to 2000. In 1985 Karelin came
to international competitions. He lost his first match 0–1 to the Soviet champion Igor
Rastrutsky in the USSR championship in 1987. In the first four years of his international
sporting career, Karelin won almost 100 international bouts, two Olympic games, three European championships,
and three world championships without a single loss.
At the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Karelin faced American Matt Ghaffari for the
gold medal. Karelin had come off a shoulder surgery and looked vulnerable against a strong
Ghaffari, who was able to repel Karelin's efforts to lift and slam him, forcing Karelin
to use all of his skill and experience to defend a 1–0 lead.
After going 13 years undefeated in international competition and six years without giving up
a point, he lost 0–1 to Rulon Gardner of the United States in the final of the Sydney
Olympics. Karelin had previously beaten Gardner in 1997. The win was controversial at the
time as it took 90 seconds to review, and is still an element of contention today since
the broken-hands clinch rule had only been put in a few months earlier. According to
The Slate, "Karelin’s icy gulag death stare during the medal ceremony is one of the most
terrifying sights in Olympic history". Karelin was included to the 25 best world athletes
of the 20th century. Karelin was revered for his extraordinary
strength and unprecedented success in international competition. He competed at the heaviest weight
class of his day, 130 kg. His conditioning and quickness combined with his dominance
of the sport, led to him being known as "The Experiment". 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". His coach convinced him to wrestle
at the age of 13 and Karelin trained by running through thigh deep snow for 2 hours at a clip
and rowing a boat on Siberian lakes until his hands bled.
On 21 February 1999 Aleksandr Karelin defeated Akira Maeda in a professional wrestling contest
that drew a gate of $1 million. The match gained widespread media coverage, including
mentions in The New York Times and Sports Illustrated. 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 Sherdog's record database. 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. Retirement
Between 1995 and 1999 Karelin worked at the Russian police forces. He retired from competitions
in 2000, and in 2002 received a PhD in pedagogy from the Siberian Academy of Physical Culture.
Upon invitation from Vladimir Putin, in 1999 he 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.
In 2003 Karelin became one of the first ten inductees to the FILA International Wrestling
Hall of Fame. Since 1992, an annual wrestling competition is being held in Novosibirsk in
his honor. Mixed martial arts record
References
External links Media related to Aleksandr Karelin at Wikimedia
Commons Official personal web-site
Early article with Interview Biography with additional information