Aleksandr Karelin

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Aleksandrovich and the family name is Karelin.
Aleksandr Karelin
Александр Карелин
Karelin in 2013
Russian Federation Senator
from Novosibirsk Oblast
Incumbent
Assumed office
25 September 2020
Serving with Vladimir Gorodetsky
Preceded byVladimir Laptev [ru]
Member of the State Duma for
Novosibirsk Oblast
In office
5 October 2016 – 15 September 2020
Preceded byconstituency re-established
Succeeded byAlexander Aksyonenko
ConstituencyIskitim (No. 137)
In office
18 January 2000 – 29 December 2003
Preceded byArkady Yankovsky
Succeeded byAnatoly Lokot
ConstituencyZayeltsovsky (No. 126)[a]
Member of the State Duma
(Party List Seat)
In office
29 December 2003 – 5 October 2016
Personal details
Born (1967-09-19) 19 September 1967 (age 56)
Novosibirsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Political partyUnited Russia
Unity (until 2001)
EducationOmsk State Institute of Physical Culture
 
Personal information
Height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[b]
Weight286 lb (130 kg)
Sport
Country Soviet Union (1986–1991)
 Unified Team /  CIS (1992)
 Russia (1993–2000)
SportWrestling
EventGreco-Roman
ClubDynamo Novosibirsk
Coached byViktor Kuznetsov[1]
Retired2000
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 3 1 0
World Championship 9 0 0
World Cup 1 1 0
European Championship 12 0 0
Grand Prix Ivan Poddubny 5 0 0
Aleksandr Karelin Cup 1 0 0
World Junior Championships 2 0 0
European Junior Championships 1 0 0
Friendship-84 Juniors 1 0 0
Total 35 2 0
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1988 Seoul 130 kg
Gold medal – first place 1992 Barcelona 130 kg
Gold medal – first place 1996 Atlanta 130 kg
Silver medal – second place 2000 Sydney 130 kg
World Championships
Gold medal – first place Martigny 1989 130 kg
Gold medal – first place Ostia 1990 130 kg
Gold medal – first place Varna 1991 130 kg
Gold medal – first place Stockholm 1993 130 kg
Gold medal – first place Tampere 1994 130 kg
Gold medal – first place Prague 1995 130 kg
Gold medal – first place Wroclaw 1997 130 kg
Gold medal – first place Gävle 1998 130 kg
Gold medal – first place Athens 1999 130 kg
World Cup
Gold medal – first place Albany 1987 130 kg
Silver medal – second place Besançon 1992 130 kg
European Championships
Gold medal – first place Kolbotn 1988 130 kg
Gold medal – first place Oulu 1989 130 kg
Gold medal – first place Poznań 1990 130 kg
Gold medal – first place Aschaffenburg 1991 130 kg
Gold medal – first place Copenhagen 1992 130 kg
Gold medal – first place Istanbul 1993 130 kg
Gold medal – first place Athens 1994 130 kg
Gold medal – first place Besançon 1995 130 kg
Gold medal – first place Budapest 1996 130 kg
Gold medal – first place Minsk 1998 130 kg
Gold medal – first place Sofia 1999 130 kg
Gold medal – first place Moscow 2000 130 kg
Aleksandr Karelin Cup
Gold medal – first place Novosibirsk 1995 130 kg
Junior World Championships
Gold medal – first place Colorado Springs 1985 130 kg
Gold medal – first place Burnaby 1987 130 kg
Junior European Championships
Gold medal – first place Malmö 1986 130 kg
Friendship-84 Juniors
Gold medal – first place Budapest 1984 130 kg

Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Karelin (Russian: Александр Александрович Карелин, IPA: [ɐlʲɪkˈsandr ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ kɐˈrʲelʲɪn]; born 19 September 1967) is a Russian politician and retired athlete.

Karelin competed in Greco-Roman wrestling, representing the Soviet Union and Russia between 1986 and 2000. Nicknamed the "Russian Bear",[2] "Russian King Kong",[3] "Alexander the Great", "The Experiment",[4] and "The Crane from Novosibirsk",[5] he is widely considered to be the greatest and most dominant Greco-Roman wrestler of all time.[6][7][8][9][10][11] Karelin won gold medals at the 1988, 1992, and 1996 Olympic Games under a different flag each time (Soviet Union, Unified Team, and Russia respectively), and a silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Games. His wrestling record at the senior level was 887 wins and two losses, both considered controversial and both by a single point.[12][2][13][10][14] Prior to his defeat to American Rulon Gardner at the 2000 Olympics finals, a point had not been scored against him in competition the previous six years.[15][16][17][18] He went undefeated in the world championships, having never lost a match.[17] He 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. In addition to his success in wrestling, he was a sambo champion during his service in the Internal Troops, and participated in a strongman contest.

Due to his dominance and accomplishments, he was named the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of the 20th century by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA),[19][17] and is one of the class of ten inaugural inductees into the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003.[20] In 2007, Karelin, alongside Buvaisar Saitiev, were voted the best wrestlers in the history of the sport by FILA.[21] Four times he was awarded the "Golden Belt" as the best wrestler of the planet by FILA – in 1989, 1990, 1992, and 1994.[22][23]

Karelin was named a Hero of the Russian Federation in 1996. Karelin entered politics in 1999, being elected a deputy of the State Duma that year. He sat in the Duma through various convocations until 2020, when he entered the Federation Council as a senator.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Карелин Александр Александрович Archived 31 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Russian Wrestling Federation
  2. ^ a b "Blast from the past: The dairy farmer vs the Russian Bear". Olympics. 24 May 2020. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  3. ^ Plaschke, Bill (24 July 1996). "Forget the Russian Bear: Meet Russian King Kong". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :15 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "DOKUMENT: Så hamnade "Lyftkranen från Sibirien" i Göteborg • 130 kilo Karelin gjorde volter på uppvärmningen". www.expressen.se (in Swedish). 21 July 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Aleksandr Karelin". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  7. ^ Wackerly, Jeff (27 December 2008). "Alexander Karelin: The Meanest Man in the World". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  8. ^ Noyes, Richard J.; Robertson, Pamela J. (2009). Guts in the Clutch: 77 Legendary Triumphs, Heartbreaks, and Wild Finishes in 12 Sports. BookSurge Publishing. p. 287. ISBN 9781439202241.
  9. ^ Pushkarna, Akshit (29 June 2021). "Who is the Greatest Olympic Wrestler of All Time?". EssentiallySports. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  10. ^ a b Андреев, Илья (3 August 2021). "Карелин против кубинского гиганта. Кто более великий?". sport-express.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  11. ^ Jackson, Sandra (19 August 2022). ""My opinion is San Sanych No. 1." The best UFC fighter – about Karelin, Sadulaev and Pavlovich". Athletistic. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  12. ^ Симић, Никола (15 April 2014). "Руски медвед - Александар Карељин". www.rts.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  13. ^ "«У меня нет врагов, потому что, когда хожу, не наступаю людям на ноги». Александру Карелину — 53! — Олимпийский комитет России". olympic.ru (in Russian). 19 September 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  14. ^ "13 години всички се чудеха как да победят Руската мечка. Но Карелин мачкаше наред, докато не дойде шокът". webcafe (in Bulgarian). 15 April 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  15. ^ "Aleksandr KARELIN". Olympic Channel. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  16. ^ Oberjuerge, Paul (24 July 2011). "Karelin 'the Great' saw fear in eyes of his opponents". The National. Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  17. ^ a b c "Aleksandr KARELIN: Three-Time Olympic Champion, Nine-Time World Champion". United World Wrestling. 20 August 2020. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  18. ^ "«Все мучились вопросом: как одолеть Русского Медведя?» Карелин – титан нашего спорта, у которого 885 побед". Sports.ru. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference :17 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference :18 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference :19 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference :92 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference :20 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).