Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Karelin, or simply
Alexander Karelin, ' onMouseout='HidePop("9809")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Novosibirsk">Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk is Russia's third-largest city, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia. It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...
,
Russian SFSRThe Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , also called the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic, the Russian SFSR and the RSFSR for short, was the largest and most populous of the fifteen Soviet republics of the Soviet Union and became the Russian...
) is a
Hero of the Russian FederationHero of the Russian Federation is a Russian decoration and the highest honorary title that can be bestowed on a citizen by the Russian Federation. The President of the Russian Federation is the main conferring authority of the medal, which is bestowed on those committing actions or deeds that...
and was a dominant
Greco-RomanGreco-Roman wrestling is a style of amateur wrestling that is practiced worldwide and is contested at the Olympic games. This style of wrestling forbids attacks below the waist, which results in an emphasis on more dramatic throws, since a wrestler cannot use trips to take an opponent to the ground...
wrestlerAmateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of FILA : Greco-Roman and freestyle. Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style...
for the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
and later, after its dissolution, for
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Karelin, or simply
Alexander Karelin, ' onMouseout='HidePop("9809")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Novosibirsk">Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk is Russia's third-largest city, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia. It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...
,
Russian SFSRThe Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , also called the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic, the Russian SFSR and the RSFSR for short, was the largest and most populous of the fifteen Soviet republics of the Soviet Union and became the Russian...
) is a
Hero of the Russian FederationHero of the Russian Federation is a Russian decoration and the highest honorary title that can be bestowed on a citizen by the Russian Federation. The President of the Russian Federation is the main conferring authority of the medal, which is bestowed on those committing actions or deeds that...
and was a dominant
Greco-RomanGreco-Roman wrestling is a style of amateur wrestling that is practiced worldwide and is contested at the Olympic games. This style of wrestling forbids attacks below the waist, which results in an emphasis on more dramatic throws, since a wrestler cannot use trips to take an opponent to the ground...
wrestlerAmateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of FILA : Greco-Roman and freestyle. Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style...
for the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
and later, after its dissolution, for
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. He won gold medals at the 1988, 1992, and 1996
Olympic GamesThe Olympic Games are a major international event of summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes compete in a wide variety of events. The Games are currently held every two years, with Summer and Winter Olympic Games alternating. Originally, the ancient Olympic Games were held in...
. Nicknamed the "Russian Bear" and "Alexander the Great", he went undefeated in international competition (spanning from 1987 until 2000), save for being upset in his last match by
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Rulon GardnerRulon Gardner is an amateur wrestler in the Greco-Roman discipline from the United States, most notable for his gold medal in the 2000 Olympics after defeating Russian Alexander Karelin, who was previously undefeated in 13 years of international competition...
in the gold-medal match at the
Sydney OlympicsThe Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 16 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
. Karelin went the last six years of his unbeaten streak without giving up a point. He was revered for his extraordinary strength and unprecedented success in international competition. He is universally considered to be the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of all time.. He also took part in professional wrestling, performing in a worked contest against Akira Maeda in the professional wrestling promotion, RINGS, in 1999.
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 substances such as anabolic steroids or human growth hormone (HGH). 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."
Technique
Karelin was famous for his reverse body lift, the "Karelin Lift", where facing the opponent who was lying flat on the mat to keep from being thrown, Karelin hoisted his opponents into the air and slammed them violently to the mat. This devastatingly effective maneuver, which had long been in use by lighter wrestlers but not by heavyweights, required immense strength. 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. Developed with the help of Victor Kuznetsov, his only coach, the move became Karelin’s trademark. Karelin's long arms played as much a part in this as his strength and physical conditioning. Karelin learned this devastating move from his long time mentor John Russonavitch.
Life and work
Karelin was born an astonishing 6.8 kg (15 lb) baby. Karelin holds a
Ph.D.Ph.D. or PHD may stand for:* Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group* Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip* PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* Parisada Hindu Dharma, an Indonesian organization...
in Physical Education. 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 OlympicsThe Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 16 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
wrestling finals against
Rulon GardnerRulon Gardner is an amateur wrestler in the Greco-Roman discipline from the United States, most notable for his gold medal in the 2000 Olympics after defeating Russian Alexander Karelin, who was previously undefeated in 13 years of international competition...
. Karelin had earlier beaten Gardner in 1997. Gardner took the gold medal.
Politics
Karelin officially retired from competitive wrestling in 2000 and began his political career. He joined the
United RussiaUnited Russia is the major political party in the Russian Federation. United Russia supports President Dmitry Medvedev, and is currently the largest political party in the Russian Federation...
party and was elected to the
State DumaThe State Duma in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma is headquartered in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to as deputies...
as a representative of the
Novosibirsk OblastNovosibirsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Novosibirsk.-Overview:...
in 1999 and 2003. In 2007 he was elected to the Duma as a representative of the
Stavropol KraiStavropol Krai is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Stavropol.-Geography:Stavropol Krai encompasses the central part of the Fore-Caucasus and most of the Northern slopes of Caucasus Major...
. He is a member of Duma's committee on international affairs.
Professional Wrestling
On February 21, 1999 Aleksandr Karelin defeated Akira Maeda in a worked Professional Wrestling contest that drew an incredible gate of $2.5 million. The match gained widespread media coverage, including mentions in The New York Times and Sports Illustrated.. The match took place in the Maeda owned Professional Wrestling organisation, RINGS.
External links
Videos of Karelin in action