#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open 2024 Entry List

By United World Wrestling Press

ZAGREB, Croatia (January 1) -- The new season kicks off in Zagreb, Croatia with the Zagreb Open. The Ranking Series event from January 10 to 15 will begin with Freestyle, followed by Women's Wrestling and end with Greco-Roman.

The biggest names in wrestling will look to begin the Olympic year in their respective Olympic weight class along with a two-kilogram weight allowance.

Former world champion Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) will be returning to action after nursing an injury. He will be at 97kg.

Jordan BURROUGHS (USA)Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) is entered at 74kg for Zagreb Open. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Freestyle

57kg
Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE)
Georgi VANGELOV (BUL)
Darthe CAPELLAN (CAN)
Wanhao ZOU (CHN)
Weiyu LI (CHN)
Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS)
Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO)
Luka GVINJILIA (GEO)
Horst LEHR (GER)
Darian CRUZ (PUR)
Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR)
Ahmet DUMAN (TUR)
Andrii YATSENKO (UKR)
Zane RICHARDS (USA)
Brandon COURTNEY (USA)
AMAN (UWW)

61kg
Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE)
Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE)
Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO)
Daniel POPOV (ISR)
Bekhbayar ERDENEBAT (MGL)
Joseph SILVA (PUR)
Andrii DZHELEP (UKR)
Michael MCGEE (USA)

65kg
Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG)
Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM)
Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Mikyay NAIM (BUL)
Shaohua YUAN (CHN)
Baowen WEI (CHN)
Omar MOURAD (EGY)
Quentin STICKER (FRA)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Goderdzi DZEBISASHVILI (GEO)
Edemi BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Abbas EBRAHIMZADEHSAVADKOUHI (IRI)
Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI)
Joshua FINESILVER (ISR)
Colin REALBUTO (ITA)
Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL)
Sebastian RIVERA (PUR)
Nino LEUTERT (SUI)
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR)
Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR)
John DIAKOMIHALIS (USA)
Nahshon GARRETT (USA)
Joseph MCKENNA (USA)

70kg
Nikolay DIMITROV (BUL)
Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO)
Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO)
Daniel ANTAL (HUN)
Marc DIETSCHE (SUI)
Douglas ZAPF (USA)

74kg
Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)
Cesar BORDEAUX (BRA)
Ramazan RAMAZANOV (BUL)
Ivan STOYANOV (BUL)
Feng LU (CHN)
Nuerlanbieke WURENIBAI (CHN)
Amr REDA (EGY)
Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA)
Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA)
Giorgi GOGRITCHIANI (GEO)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
Hossein ABOUZARIPASHKOLAEI (IRI)
Yones EMAMI (IRI)
Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR)
Kamil RYBICKI (POL)
Patryk OLENCZYN (POL)
Krisztian BIRO (ROU)
Tobias PORTMANN (SUI)
Yakup GOR (TUR)
Vadym KURYLENKO (UKR)
Quincy MONDAY (USA)
Jason NOLF (USA)
YASH (UWW)
Anthony MONTERO (VEN)

79kg
Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO)
Abdollah SHEIKHAZAMI (IRI)
Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI)
Denys PAVLOV (UKR)
Evan WICK (USA)
Joseph LAVALLEE (USA)

86kg
Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE)
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL)
Zushen LIN (CHN)
Suhe GANG (CHN)
Peilong LI (CHN)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Evsem SHVELIDZE (GEO)
Csaba VIDA (HUN)
Patrik PUESPOEKI (HUN)
Hadi VAFAEIPOUR (IRI)
Uri KALASHNIKOV (ISR)
Matthew FINESILVER (ISR)
Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ)
Ethan RAMOS (PUR)
Samuel SCHERRER (SUI)
Osman GOCEN (TUR)
Mukhammed ALIIEV (UKR)
Valentyn BABII (UKR)
Zahid VALENCIA (USA)
Chandler MARSTELLER (USA)
Maxwell DEAN (USA)
Deepak PUNIA (UWW)
Pedro CEBALLOS (VEN)

92kg
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO)
Balazs JUHASZ (HUN)
Denys SAHALIUK (UKR)
Eric SCHULTZ (USA)
Taylor LUJAN (USA)
Nathan JACKSON (USA)

97kg
Nishan Preet RANDHAWA (CAN)
Awusayiman HABILA (CHN)
Tuerxunbieke MUHEITE (CHN)
Maxwell LACEY (CRC)
Mostafa ELDERS (EGY)
Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)
Mamuka KORDZAIA (GEO)
Erik THIELE (GER)
Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)
Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI)
Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL)
Radoslaw BARAN (POL)
Ibrahim CIFTCI (TUR)
Erhan YAYLACI (TUR)
Illia ARCHAIA (UKR)
Michael MACCHIAVELLO (USA)
Isaac TRUMBLE (USA)
Kyle SNYDER (USA)
VICKY (UWW)
Cristian SARCO (VEN)

125kg
Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE)
Vakhit GALAYEV (AZE)
Georgi IVANOV (BUL)
Amarveer DHESI (CAN)
Zhiwei DENG (CHN)
BUHEEERDUN (CHN)
Diaaeldin ABDELMOTTALEB (EGY)
Youssif HEMIDA (EGY)
Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO)
Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)
Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER)
Daniel LIGETI (HUN)
Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI)
Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)
Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL)
Robert BARAN (POL)
Jonovan SMITH (PUR)
Yurii IDZINSKYI (UKR)
Nicholas GWIAZDOWSKI (USA)
Christian LANCE (USA)
Mason PARRIS (USA)
SUMIT (UWW)
Jose DIAZ (VEN)

Luis ORTA (CUB)World Championships finalists Luis ORTA (CUB) and Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) are entered at 67kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Maksim STUPAKEVICH (AIN)
Adem Burak UZUN (TUR)

60kg
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
Hleb MAKARANKA (AIN)
Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN)
Sadyk LALAEV (AIN)
Marat GARIPOV (BRA)
Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL)
Liguo CAO (CHN)
Haodong TAN (CHN)
Leo TUDEZCA (FRA)
Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
Pridon ABULADZE (GEO)
Amiran SHAVADZE (GEO)
Georgios SCARPELLO (GER)
Hassan ALHARTHI (KSA)
Munthir JANDU (KSA)
Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Ihor KUROCHKIN (UKR)
Bohdan HRYSHYN (UKR)
Hayden TUMA (USA)
Ildar HAFIZOV (USA)
GYANENDER (UWW)
Raiber RODRIGUEZ (VEN)

63kg
Murad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Matej REBIC (CRO)
Ivan LIZATOVIC (CRO)
Stefan CLEMENT (FRA)
Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
Jacopo SANDRON (ITA)
Rayan HAWSAWI (KSA)
Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Georgij TIBILOV (SRB)
Virgil BICA (SWE)
Mehmet CEKER (TUR)

67kg
Aslan VISAITOV (AIN)
Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)
Ivo ILIEV (BUL)
Abu AMAEV (BUL)
Nestor ALMANZA (CHI)
HUSIYUETU (CHN)
Lei LI (CHN)
Sailike WALIHAN (CHN)
Luis ORTA (CUB)
Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY)
Moustafa ALAMELDIN (EGY)
Yanis GUENDEZ NIFRI (FRA)
Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA)
Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)
Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Krisztian VANCZA (HUN)
David MANYIK (HUN)
Danial SOHRABI (IRI)
Faisal E ALDOSSARY (KSA)
Saud ALSUBAIE (KSA)
Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU)
Morten THORESEN (NOR)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Mihai MIHUT (ROU)
Sebastian NAD (SRB)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Niklas OEHLEN (SWE)
Murat FIRAT (TUR)
Parviz NASIBOV (UKR)
Oleksii MASYK (UKR)
Maksym LIU (UKR)
Alejandro SANCHO (USA)
Peyton OMANIA (USA)
Robert PEREZ (USA)
NEERAJ (UWW)

72kg
Aliaksandr LIAVONCHYK (AIN)
Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)
Calebe CORREA FERREIRA (BRA)
Luka MALOBABIC (CRO)
Dominik ETLINGER (CRO)
Aaron BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Krisztofer KLANYI (HUN)
Levente LEVAI (HUN)
Zsolt TAKACS (HUN)
Ahmed BARAHMAH (KSA)
Iulian LUNGU (ROU)
Maurus ZOGG (SUI)
Michael PORTMANN (SUI)
Muhammed GOCMEN (TUR)
Murat DAG (TUR)

77kg
Pavel LIAKH (AIN)
Tsimur BERDYIEU (AIN)
Khasay HASANLI (AZE)
Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)
Joilson DE BRITO (BRA)
Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)
Stoyan KUBATOV (BUL)
Rui LIU (CHN)
Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB)
Oldrich VARGA (CZE)
Michal ZELENKA (CZE)
Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN)
Mikko PELTOKANGAS (FIN)
Akseli YLI HANNUKSELA (FIN)
Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA)
Johnny BUR (FRA)
Iuri LOMADZE (GEO)
Idris IBAEV (GER)
Samuel BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN)
Robert FRITSCH (HUN)
Attila TOESMAGI (HUN)
Amir Ali ABDI (IRI)
Riccardo ABBRESCIA (ITA)
Nao KUSAKA (JPN)
Hassan A BARNAWI (KSA)
Juan AAK (NOR)
Per Anders KURE (NOR)
Ilie COJOCARI (ROU)
Aleksa ILIC (SRB)
Ali ARSALAN (SRB)
Fabio DIETSCHE (SUI)
Per OLOFSSON (SWE)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Yunus Emre BASAR (TUR)
Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR)
Volodymyr YAKOVLIEV (UKR)
Elmar NURALIIEV (UKR)
Dmytro VASETSKYI (UKR)
Benjamin PEAK (USA)
Kamal BEY (USA)
Ravaughn PERKINS (USA)
VIKAS (UWW)

82kg
Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO)
Karlo KODRIC (CRO)
Filip SACIC (CRO)
Tornike DZAMASHVILI (GEO)
Deni NAKAEV (GER)
Roland SCHWARZ (GER)
Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)
Peter DOEMOEK (HUN)
Mahmoud HAWSAWI (KSA)
Vasile COJOC (ROU)
Marc WEBER (SUI)
Mats AHLGREN (SWE)
Timmy SKOELD (SWE)
Alperen BERBER (TUR)

87kg
Kiryl MASKEVICH (AIN)
Ihar YARASHEVICH (AIN)
Alan OSTAEV (AIN)
Milad ALIRZAEV (AIN)
Bachir SID AZARA (ALG)
Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Yoan DIMITROV (BUL)
Ioannis NARLIDIS (CAN)
Jose MORENO BUSTOS (CHI)
Haitao QIAN (CHN)
Chengwu WANG (CHN)
Vjekoslav LUBURIC (CRO)
Matej MANDIC (CRO)
Ivan HUKLEK (CRO)
Daniel GREGORICH HECHAVARRIA (CUB)
Mohamed METWALLY (EGY)
Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Hannes WAGNER (GER)
Istvan TAKACS (HUN)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI)
Mirco MINGUZZI (ITA)
Martynas NEMSEVICIUS (LTU)
Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Nicu OJOG (ROU)
Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB)
Ramon BETSCHART (SUI)
Damian VON EUW (SUI)
Alex KESSIDIS (SWE)
Dogan KAYA (TUR)
Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR)
Spencer WOODS (USA)
Mahmoud Fawzy SEBIE (USA)
Sunil KUMAR (UWW)
Luis AVENDANO ROJAS (VEN)

97kg
Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN)
Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN)
Murat LOKIAYEV (AZE)
Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE)
Vinko PRODANOVIC (CRO)
Kristian LUKAC (CRO)
Filip SMETKO (CRO)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Mohamed GABR (EGY)
Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER)
Peter OEHLER (GER)
Anton VIEWEG (GER)
Kevin CASTILLO (HON)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
Alex SZOKE (HUN)
Mehdi BALIHAMZEHDEH (IRI)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Ibrahim FALLATAH (KSA)
Mindaugas VENCKAITIS (LTU)
Vilius LAURINAITIS (LTU)
Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED)
Marcus WORREN (NOR)
Luka KATIC (SRB)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB)
Mario VUKOVIC (SRB)
Aleksandar STJEPANETIC (SWE)
Beytullah KAYISDAG (TUR)
Serhii OMELIN (UKR)
Yevhenii SAVETA (UKR)
Josef RAU (USA)
Alan VERA GARCIA (USA)
Narinder CHEEMA (UWW)
Luillys PEREZ MORA (VEN)

130kg
Kiryl HRYSHCHANKA (AIN)
Sabah SHARIATI (AZE)
Beka KANDELAKI (AZE)
Lingzhe MENG (CHN)
Wenhao JIANG (CHN)
Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB)
Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY)
Konsta MAEENPAEAE (FIN)
Sulkhan BUIDZE (GEO)
Jello KRAHMER (GER)
Franz RICHTER (GER)
Dariusz Attila VITEK (HUN)
Laszlo DARABOS (HUN)
Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI)
Romas FRIDRIKAS (LTU)
Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
Oskar MARVIK (NOR)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Boris PETRUSIC (SRB)
Delian Hossein ALISHAHI (SUI)
Oleksandr CHERNETSKYY (UKR)
Vladyslav VORONYI (UKR)
Adam COON (USA)
NAVEEN (UWW)
Moises PEREZ (VEN)

Yui SUSAKI (JPN)Yui SUSAKI (JPN) is returning to the Zagreb Open to defend her 50kg gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Kseniya STANKEVICH (AIN)
Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (AIN)
Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (AIN)
Miglena SELISHKA (BUL)
Madison PARKS (CAN)
Ziqi FENG (CHN)
Chun LEI (CHN)
Jacqueline MOLLOCANA ELENO (ECU)
Nada MOHAMED (EGY)
Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA)
Julie SABATIE (FRA)
Szimonetta SZEKER (HUN)
Yui SUSAKI (JPN)
Gabija DILYTE (LTU)
Mariana DIAZ MUNOZ (MEX)
Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL)
Agata Marta WALERZAK (POL)
Anna LUKASIAK (POL)
Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Mariana ROJAS DIAZ (VEN)

53kg
Ekaterina VERBINA (AIN)
Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Karla GODINEZ (CAN)
Antonia VALDES ARRIAGADA (CHI)
Qianyu PANG (CHN)
Min ZHANG (CHN)
Lucia YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU)
Tatiana DEBIEN (FRA)
Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER)
Annika WENDLE (GER)
Nina HEMMER (GER)
Sztalvira ORSUS (HUN)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Christianah OGUNSANYA (NGR)
Jowita WRZESIEN (POL)
Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL)
Nethmi AHINSA (SRI)
Jonna MALMGREN (SWE)
Mariia YEFREMOVA (UKR)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)
Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA)
Haley AUGELLO (USA)
Dominique PARRISH (USA)
Betzabeth ARGUELLO VILLEGAS (VEN)

55kg
Gultakin SHIRINOVA (AZE)
Samantha STEWART (CAN)
Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN)
Gerda TEREK (HUN)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Magdalena GLODEK (POL)
Roksana ZASINA (POL)
Mariia VYNNYK (UKR)
Albina RILLIA (UKR)

57kg
Veronika CHUMIKOVA (AIN)
Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE)
Giullia PENALBER (BRA)
Hannah TAYLOR (CAN)
Qi ZHANG (CHN)
Kexin HONG (CHN)
Yongxin FENG (CHN)
Luisa VALVERDE (ECU)
Mathilde RIVIERE (FRA)
Amel REBIHA (FRA)
Elena BRUGGER (GER)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
Tamara DOLLAK (HUN)
Ramona GALAMBOS (HUN)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)
Anhelina LYSAK (POL)
Patrycja GIL (POL)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
Amanda MARTINEZ (USA)
Betzabeth SARCO (VEN)

59kg
Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE)
Nikolett SZABO (HUN)
Mariana CHERDIVARA (MDA)
Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR)

62kg
Veranika IVANOVA (AIN)
Alina KASABIEVA (AIN)
Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE)
Lais NUNES (BRA)
Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL)
Ana GODINEZ (CAN)
Virginia JIMENEZ (CHI)
Jia LONG (CHN)
Yaru WU (CHN)
Lili LILI (CHN)
Iva GERIC (CRO)
Iris THIEBAUX (FRA)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Luisa NIEMESCH (GER)
Eniko ELEKES (HUN)
Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR)
Grace BULLEN (NOR)
Aleksandra WOLCZYNSKA (POL)
Johanna LINDBORG (SWE)
Iryna BONDAR (UKR)
Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR)
Kayla MIRACLE (USA)
Adaugo NWACHUKWU (USA)
SONAM (UWW)
Astrid MONTERO CHIRINOS (VEN)

65kg
Anne NUERNBERGER (GER)
Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ)
Kadriye AKSOY (TUR)
Alla BELINSKA (UKR)

68kg
Hanna SADCHANKA (AIN)
Vusala PARFIANOVICH (AIN)
Elizaveta PETLIAKOVA (AIN)
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE)
Yuliana YANEVA (BUL)
Sofiya GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL)
Feng ZHOU (CHN)
Qian JIANG (CHN)
Veronika VILK (CRO)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Sophia SCHAEFLE (GER)
Eyleen SEWINA (GER)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
Karolina POK (HUN)
Yelena SHALYGINA (KAZ)
Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ)
Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL)
Buse TOSUN (TUR)
Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR)
Forrest MOLINARI (USA)
RADHIKA (UWW)
Soleymi CARABALLO (VEN)

72kg
Fanni NAGY NAD (SRB)
Iryna ZABLOTSKA (UKR)

76kg
Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (AIN)
Rita TALISMANOVA (AIN)
Justina DI STASIO (CAN)
Juan WANG (CHN)
Yuanyuan HUANG (CHN)
Samar HAMZA (EGY)
Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Kendra DACHER (FRA)
Ambre CHEVREAU (FRA)
Francy RAEDELT (GER)
Veronika NYIKOS (HUN)
Bernadett NAGY (HUN)
Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)
Anastasiia OSNIACH SHUSTOVA (UKR)
Adeline GRAY (USA)
Kennedy BLADES (USA)
Kylie WELKER (USA)
Maria ACOSTA (VEN)

Obituary

Remembering Saitiev: Master on mat who inspired many

By Vinay Siwach

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (April 7) -- Buvaisar SAITIEV was an unknown before the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. And after that he became the legend. 

At 21, Saitiev thrilled the crowd and displayed techniques that the world thought were impossible to execute at 74kg. Saitiev would go on to win two more Olympic golds -- 2004 and 2008 -- as he became the best 74kg wrestler out there. A three-time Olympic champion, six-time world champion, and an inspiration to the wrestling world, Saitiev passed away earlier this month at the age of 49.

"Biggest and greatest wrestler" - Nenad LALOVIC, UWW President

Brandon SLAY (USA) was in that crowd at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. The 21-year-old was amazed what he saw. He watched another 21-year-old win the gold medal.

"It was an honor to watch him in Atlanta," Slay said. "Then study him and compete against him four years later."

Believe it or not, that was the first time Russia won Olympic gold medal at 74kg, a weight class now synonymous with their domination, both at senior and youth level.

Buvaisar SAITIEV (RUS)Buvaisar SAITIEV (RUS). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

At the time, the U.S. was focused on defending its dominance at 74kg, with Iran also challenging for supremacy, while Saitiev had yet to make his mark internationally. The Olympic history saw wrestlers from Turkiye, Japan, the United States and Korea win gold medal in this weight class. So when Saitiev arrived, he was the underdog. In the 1996 Atlanta final, he defeated the defending Olympic champion Park JANG SOON and ushered an era of Russian dominance at this weight class.

It took a once-in-a-lifetime talents like Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) and Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) to deny the gold medals to Russia in 2012 and 2016 respectively. However, Russia is now at top. Zaurbek SIDAKOV (ROC) won gold medals at the 2018 and 2019 World Championships, 2020 Tokyo Olympics [held in 2021] before winning it again in 2023 and Russian transfer to Uzbekistan and Saitiev's student Razambek JAMALOV (UZB) won in 2024.

A little insight on how the U.S. discovered Saitiev is provided in the the documentary 'Slaying Saitiev". Pat SMITH (USA), who was wrestling at the 1995 Ivan Yarygin Memorial, recalls when he first saw Saitiev, his opponent in the final.

Saitiev had not wrestled senior-level yet internationally and was till three months away from winning his first World Championships gold. So Smith and his team thought they are favorites to win the gold medal at the Yarygin.

"I go out on the mat, I see Saitiev, the fight starts," Smith recalls in the documentary. "And right away, right away I thought: “This is the best they have.” Because the way he was punching, his movement, the way he was flowing from one position to another... he was simply unstoppable. I did some takedowns, but in the end he gave me a pretty good beating. I come off the mat, Bruce is standing there, I say: “You were wrong. That guy from the semi-finals wasn’t the best. This is the best . ” – “I didn’t even know who it was!” – “Now you know. Buvaisar Saitiev.” And two months later he won the world championship. The best wrestler I’ve ever wrestled. There’s no question about that. The best.

"He looked like a librarian, skinny, gangly. But the positions he scores from, the way he moves you around the mat... I've never wrestled anyone like that again."

Smith’s observation wasn’t just a fleeting comment. It captured the essence of what made Saitiev so formidable on the mat. Saitiev, standing at 6 feet, defied convention of a tall wrestler standing upright. He would engage in ties which forced his opponents to shoot while he was in control. Saitiev would counter rather easily and score.

Saitiev used to engage with his opponents and yet they found it extremely difficult to score a takedown on him.

Brandon SLAY (USA)Brandon SLAY (USA) over Buvaisar SAITIEV (RUS) at the 2000 Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

Slay, who defeated Saitiev at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, had to study Saitiev for years before breaking through in their Olympic meeting.

"The greatness of Saitiev came from how extremely hard it was to finish takedowns on him," Slay says. "Most of the time when people attacked Saitiev, either he scored or no one scored. And, most of the time when he attacked, he scored. That makes for a very challenging opponent to beat, which is why he rarely lost. I am so thankful I had the opportunity to wrestle the greatest wrestler of all time."

Saitiev had it all. Snapdowns, feints, two-on-one, underhooks, overhooks, defense, attack, chain wrestling, innovations, and techniques that made him score points from any positions. So many options to immobilize his opponents who would eventually break down.

On March 3, the day he passed away, the internet saw outpouring tributes to his legacy. But some of the most shared posts were his clips from various bouts on his career. A few wrote how they began wrestling because of him, others explained why he inspired them to adapt and study wrestling.

Buvaisar SAITIEV (RUS)Buvaisar SAITIEV (RUS). (Photo: United World Wrestling)

2008 Olympic champion Henry CEJUDO (USA) called him the "greatest" and he was a 'fanboy.'

"A man that was poetry in motion at its finest, and in my opinion, the greatest athlete who has ever ever lived or walked on planet Earth," Cejudo wrote on his Instagram. "I would never fanboy over anybody but Buvaisar. I was so honored of the times that I did get a chance to hang out as I had a permanent smile the whole day. Thank you for all the great years that you gave the wrestling community and inspiring millions of people across the world. I can honestly say without Saitiev I wouldn’t be the wrestler that I am today."

John DIAKOMIHALIS (USA), a wrestler known for his crafty moves and detailing of wrestling, tributed his passion to Saitiev, who himself was known as a wizard on the mat for his moves.

"Buvaisar Saitiev was how I fell in love with the art of wrestling, I wanted to be like him," Diakomihalis wrote on X. "His innovation and passion for improvement were some of the staples of how I approached learning the sport or learning anything in my life."

Saitiev had that impact on people. Jamalov, who won the 2024 Paris Olympic gold medal, was Saitiev's student. Jamalov said that Saitiev was family.

"His approach was very subtle and deep, he always knew how to choose the right and necessary words for support," Jamalov said. "Every meeting with him was unforgettable and every word of his was unforgettable. Outside of wrestling, he was very caring and compassionate towards me, he was always worried about my injuries and operations."

While Jamalov was his student, Saitiev never backed from helping any wrestler. He 'couldn't stop himself from talk to even strangers if he had a broken ear.'

 

After Tokyo Olympic champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) lost her first-ever international bout to VINESH (IND) in Paris, she talked to Saitiev who had lost in Sydney after winning Atlanta but still won two more Olympic golds.

"I had a video call with him right after the Paris Olympics," Susaki said. "Like me, he didn't do well in his second Olympics. But he won gold medals in two more Olympics. I vowed to him that I would win gold medals in two more Olympics like him to become a legend.

"He also taught me that to become a legend, I should never lose again. I owe it all to him that I was able to stand up strong after losing. Thanks to him, I decided to keep fighting to win two more Olympic gold medals. And I vowed to become a legendary wrestler like him. I won't lose anymore. I will keep winning. Your message is a treasure for my life. He is a legend and his wrestling has always fascinated me. His matches are always amazing to watch and I think he is the most talented wrestler in history."

This off the mat personality of Saitiev resonated with many, even with people outside of wrestling. He was humble, witty and respectful.

Sports Express journalist Yuri GOLYSHAK recalled his moments with Saitiev who was part of many reception after his 2008 Beijing gold medal. 

"I was sure that we would meet again. Saitiev had enough stories for ten interviews," Golyshak wrote in his tribute. "I even imagined how it would be - not in a hurry, like after Beijing. Not in a car, no. Everything will be different. I will come to his home in Khasavyurt. It will be a fairy tale. We will go to the mountains. I will understand something that I did not understand before, in this amazing, invincible man. And in life in general."

Saitiev's influence transcends mere records and titles. His tactics on the mat just when the internet era arrived gave insights into a wrestler may only be imagined. He passed on that mastery to a special few who remember him as a mentor, inspiration and the greatest ever.