Aleksandr Medved

Aleksandr Vasilyevich Medved, born on 16 September 1937, was a Ukrainian-born Soviet Belarusian freestyle wrestler who competed for the Soviet Union and was named one of the greatest wrestlers in history by FILA, the sport's governing body. Between 1962 and 1972 he won three Olympic gold medals, seven world titles and three European titles. He carried the Olympic flag for the Soviet Union in 1972 and for Belarus in 2004, and recited the Judge's Oath at the opening ceremony of the 1980 Olympics. Between 1967 and 1972 he had a rivalry with the Turkish-Bulgarian wrestler Osman Duraliev, whom he beat in all eight of their meetings in major finals. After retiring in 1972 he settled in Belarus, where he was a national coach, lectured at a university and became a vice-president of the Belarus Olympic Committee. He was chosen best Belarusian athlete of the twentieth century in 2001, entered the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003 and died on 2 September 2024.