Russia's Buvaysa Saytiev won his third freestyle wrestling gold medal at his fourth Olympic Games on Wednesday.
A six-times world champion, the rangy 33-year-old sealed the 74kg title with victory over Soslan Tigiev of Uzbekistan. Murad Gaidarov of Belarus and Kiril Terziev of Bulgaria won bronze.
Tigiev, displaying great upper body strength, took the first period by 1 point to 0 and there was apprehension on the Russia bench with the second period tied, until Saytiev slipped out of Tigiev's grip and ended the contest with the Belarussian pinned in a leg-hold.
Russian all-time heavyweight wrestling great Aleksandr Karelin, a three-times Olympic gold medal winner, applauded Saytiev from the stands as he loped around the stadium with the Russian flag over his shoulders.
A native of the north Caucasus republic of Dagestan, Saytiev looks nothing like the stereotype of the heavy-shouldered wrestler. But he has tremendous skill and great strength.
‘His positioning is so good, and his flexibility too. And he's a lot stronger than he looks. He's a really good wrestler,’ said Jim Schwerr of the U.S. Olympic Committee, an Olympian wrestler who dropped in to see the famous Saytiev on the mat.
Saytiev won his first Olympic medal in Atlanta in 1996 at the age of 21. He failed to make the medals four years later at Sydney in 2000, after a shock loss in the qualifying bouts to a virtually unknown American Brandon Slay.
Slay went on to win the gold after the man he lost to in the final was banned for doping.
But by Athens 2004 Saytiev was back on top, winning his second gold.
Said by the Russian media to be a friend of the Chechen warlord-turned-president, Ramzan Kadyrov, Saytiev was awarded the Order of Friendship by former Russian President Vladimir Putin.
