Youth Olympic Games

Russia, Iran Place Two into Freestyle Finals at YOG

Sunday, October 14, 2018 - 14:34 By Tim Foley

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BUENOS AIRES (October 14) – Russia and Iran each placed two wrestlers in the men’s freestyle finals Sunday night at the Youth Olympic Park’s Asian Pavilion.

For Iran Mohammad KARIMISEIFABAD (65kg) and Amir Abbas ZARE (110kg) will head into the nights finals, while the Russians send Sergei KOZYREV (110kg) and Akhmedkhan TEMBOTOV (80kg).

Argentina found their second finalist in as many days, with Hernan ALMENDRA (55kg) finding a last minute pancake in his final group stage match, to earn the stunning decision against Oussama LARIBI (ALG).

Georgia, Algeria, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and the United States will also be represented in the evening’s final.

Action starts at 5pm local/4pm ET.
 

Men’s Freestyle, 48kg

GOLD: Giorgi GEGELASHVILI (GEO) v. Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB)
BRONZE: Diego Armando ZULUAGA CUEVAS (COL) v. Halil GOKDENIZ (TUR)
FIFTH: Daiziel DETUDAMO (NRU) v. Fernando BOOYSEN (RSA)

Men’s Freestyle, 55kg

GOLD: Robert Kelly HOWARD (USA) v. Hernan David ALMENDRA (ARG)
BRONZE: Oussama LARIBI (ALG) v. Vladyslav OSTAPENKO (UKR)
FIFTH: Gavin Stefan Sablan WHITT (GUM) v. Hayato FUJITA (JPN)

Men’s Freestyle, 65kg

GOLD: Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) v. Mohammad Baghi KARIMISEIFABAD (IRI)
BRONZE: Inayat ULLAH (PAK) v. Carson Taylor MANVILLE (USA)       
FIFTH: Fathi Tarek A. ISMAIL (EGY) v. Westerly Pehi Tahi AINSLEY (NZL)

Men’s Freestyle, 80kg

GOLD: Akhmedkhan TEMBOTOV (RUS) v. Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG)
BRONZE: Mukhammadrasul RAKHIMOV (UZB) v. Carson Barry LEE (CAN)
FIFTH: Ryan Devon MARSHALL (NZL) v. Valentine YAIREGPIE (FSM)

Men’s Freestyle, 110kg

GOLD: Sergei KOZYREV (RUS) v. Amir Hossein Abbas ZARE (IRI)
BRONZE: Ahmed Mahmoud Elsayed M. KHALIL (EGY) v. Dragan VELINOV (MKD)
FIFTH: Thomas John Mcglinchey BARNS (AUS) v. Luis Rodrigo OROZCO CORTEZ (MEX)

Saitiev, three-time Olympic champion, passes away aged 49

Sunday, March 2, 2025 - 17:40 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (March 2) -- Wrestling legend, three-time Olympic gold medalist and six-time world champion Buvaisar SAITIEV passed away Sunday. He was 49 years old and nine days short of his 50th birthday.

Saitiev was buried in the village of Novokuli in the Novolaksky district of Dagestan on Tuesday, March 4.

Saitiev, widely considered the best Freestyle wrestler of all time, was born in Dagestan but moved to Krasnoyarsk, Siberia to train at the Mindiashvili wrestling academy under the legendary coach Dmitri Mindiashvili.

The 49-year-old announced his retirement soon after winning his third Olympic title in Beijing 2008. His other two titles came in 1996 Atlanta Olympics and 2004 Athens Olympics. In 2000 Sydney Olympics, Brandon SLAY (USA) defeated him.

Apart from the world and Olympic titles, Saitiev was six-time European champion.

 

United World Wrestling President Nenad LALOVIC expressed his shock on the untimely passing of Saitiev.

"The wrestling family is in shock with the passing of Saitiev," Lalovic said. "He was a legend of the sport and we lost him at a very young age of 49. Saitiev inspired wrestlers around the world and many took up the sport because of him. It's an unrepairable loss to the wrestling community and we are with the Saitiev family during this time of grief."

In 2007, Saitiev was awarded as the best Freestyle wrestler in history by UWW [then FILA].

Wrestling majorly in the 74kg weight class, Saitiev stood at 183 centimetres and made his World Championships debut in Atlanta, 1995. A year later, he won the gold medal at 74kg at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

He became world champion in 1997 and 1998 but did not participate in 1999. He lost to Slay in early rounds of the 2000 Sydney Olympics and finished ninth.

But he captured the gold medals again at the 2001 and 2003 World Championships and returned to the top at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He became the world champion in 2005 and 2006 and claimed his third Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games.