Buvaisar Saitiev

Buvaisar Saitiev was a Russian freestyle wrestler who won Olympic gold medals in 1996, 2004, and 2008, and six world championships.

Connect

1996 Summer Olympics: The Summer Olympics held in Atlanta, where wrestling was among the sports contested. Saitiev won his first Olympic gold medal in the 74-kilogram freestyle competition.
Mavlet Batirov: A Russian freestyle wrestler who won Olympic gold medals in 2004 and 2008. Batirov followed Saitiev as a Dagestani Olympic champion in freestyle wrestling.
Freestyle wrestling: A wrestling style in which competitors may attack an opponent's legs and use their own legs in holds. It was the Olympic and world-championship discipline in which Saitiev competed.
Armen Nazaryan: An Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler who won Olympic gold medals in 1996 and 2000. Nazaryan's success in another style offers a contemporary comparison across wrestling disciplines.
2004 Summer Olympics: The Summer Olympics held in Athens, Greece. Saitiev regained Olympic gold eight years after his first title.
Adam Saitiev: A Russian freestyle wrestler and Buvaisar Saitiev's younger brother, who won world and European titles. The brothers shared elite competition and a family wrestling lineage.
Wrestling weight classes: Competition divisions that group wrestlers by body mass. Saitiev's titles came in the 74-kilogram and 76-kilogram divisions.
John Smith (wrestler): An American freestyle wrestler who won Olympic gold medals in 1988 and 1992. Smith's consecutive Olympic titles contrast with Saitiev's gold medals across three Games.
2008 Summer Olympics: The Summer Olympics held in Beijing, China. Saitiev won a third Olympic gold medal, completing an unusual three-Games span.
Abdulrashid Sadulaev: A Russian freestyle wrestler from Dagestan and multiple-time Olympic and world champion. Sadulaev represents a later generation of Dagestani champions after Saitiev.