![]() ![]() 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. At the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Karelin faced American Matt Ghaffari for the gold medal. With his win, Karelin became the youngest Greco-Roman wrestler to become an Olympic champion at super heavyweight (130 kg) at the age of 21 years and two days. In the 1988 Olympic final Karelin came close to losing to Rangel Gerovski, but with 50 seconds left managed to execute his signature Karelin Lift and won. He would go on to become a 13-time champion of the USSR, CIS, and Russia from 1988 to 2000. He had his first loss (score 0–1) at the USSR championships in 1987, to the reigning Russian and European champion Igor Rostorotsky he defeated Rostorotsky at the next USSR championships while recovering from a flu and a recent concussion. In 1985 he came to an international competition and won a junior world title. Being naturally very big, he came to a wrestling gym, aged 13, standing 179 centimetres (5 ft 10 in) tall and weighing 79 kilograms (174 lb), Karelin grew physically very fast and from 16 years of age throughout his entire career he competed in the super heavyweight division, he went undefeated for the first time from 1982 to 1987 and second time from 1987 to 2000. Before that he tried boxing, weightlifting, volleyball, basketball, skiing and swimming, excelling in all the sports he tried. He began training in 1981, under Viktor Kuznetsov, who remained his coach through his entire career. Karelin was born as a 5.5 kilograms (12 lb) baby. He sat in the Duma through various convocations until 2020, when he entered the Federation Council as a senator. Karelin entered politics in 1999, being elected a deputy of the State Duma that year. 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. He went undefeated in the world championships, having never lost a match. ![]() ![]() Prior to his last match versus Rulon Gardner in September 2000, a point had not been scored on him within the previous six years. His wrestling record is 887 wins and two losses, both by a single point. Karelin won gold medals at the 1988, 19 Olympic Games under a different flag each time (Soviet Union, Unified Team and Russia respectively), and a silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Games. Nicknamed the " Russian Bear", " Russian King Kong", " Alexander the Great" and " The Experiment", he is widely considered to be the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of all time. Karelin competed in Greco-Roman wrestling, representing the Soviet Union and Russia between 19. Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Karelin (Russian: Александр Александрович Карелин, IPA: born 19 September 1967) is a Russian politician and retired athlete. ![]()
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