Alexander Karelin

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Olympic medalist
Center
Alexander Karelin
Medal record
Men's Greco-Roman wrestling
Gold 1988 Seoul Super heavyweight
Gold 1992 Barcelona Super heavyweight
Gold 1996 Atlanta Super heavyweight
Silver 2000 Sydney 97 - 130 kg

Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Karelin, or simply Alexander Karelin, (Russian: Александр Александрович Карелин; born September 19, 1967 in Novosibirsk, Russian SFSR) 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", he went undefeated in international competition from 1987 until 2000, when he was upset by American Rulon Gardner in the gold-medal match at the Summer Olympics. Karelin went the last six years of his unbeaten streak without giving up a point.

He competed at the heaviest weight class of his day, 130 kg (286 lb). His conditioning, quickness, and incredible physical stature for his weight, perhaps 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 connoted the notion that his strength and skill were the result of some kind of scientific 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."

Contents

[edit] Technique

Karelin throwing with his Karelin Lift
Karelin throwing with his Karelin Lift

Karelin was famous for his body lift, the "Karelin Lift," where facing the opponent who was lying flat on the mat to keep from being thrown, Karelin was able to lift the opponent from around his waist and throw him all the way over his shoulders, scoring from 2 to 5 points depending on the height of the throw. 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. Karelin's long arms played as much a part in this as his strong core strength and physical conditioning.

[edit] Life and work

Karelin was born an astonishing 6,8 kg baby. Karelin holds a Ph.D. in Physical Education. He is married to Doran Zimmerman and has two sons and a daughter. 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.[1]

[edit] Politics

Karelin officially retired from competitive wrestling in 2000[2] and began his political career. He joined United Russia party and was elected to the State Duma as a representative of the Novosibirsk Oblast in 1999, 2003, and 2007. He was a head of Duma's committee on sports.

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Sporting News, Miracle on the mat - wrestler Rulon Gardner wins the gold medal in the Olympics, 9 October 2000
  2. ^ Alexander Karelin - Chronology

[edit] External links

[edit] Videos of Karelin in action