Aleksandr Karelin

Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Karelin is a retired GrecoRoman wrestler for the Soviet Union and Russia and a Hero of the Russian Federation. Nicknamed the Russian Bear, Russian King Kong, Alexander the Great and The Experiment, he is considered the greatest GrecoRoman wrestler of all time. Karelin won gold medals at the 1988, 1992 and 1996, and a silver medal in the 2000 Olympic Games. His wrestling record is 887 wins and two losses. 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.

Karelin was born as a 5.5 kilograms baby. He began training in 1981, under Viktor Kuznetsov, who remained his coach through his entire career. Before that he tried boxing, weightlifting, volleyball, basketball and skiing. Nicknamed the Russian Bear, Alexander the Great and The Experiment, Karelin went undefeated for the first time from 1982 to 1987 and second time from 1987 to 2000. In 1985 he came to international competitions and won a junior world title. He had his first loss at the USSR championships in 1987, to the reigning champion Igor Rostorotsky he defeated Rostorotsky at the next USSR championships while recovering from a flu and a recent concussion.

Source: Wikipedia