Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Karelin (Russian: Александр Александрович Карелин, IPA: [ɐlʲɪkˈsandr ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ kɐˈrʲelʲɪn]; born 19 September 1967) is a Russian politician and retired athlete.
Karelin competed in Greco-Roman wrestling, representing the Soviet Union and Russia between 1987 and 2000. Nicknamed the "Russian Bear", "Russian King Kong", "Alexander the Great", "The Experiment", and "The Crane from Novosibirsk", he is widely considered to be the greatest and most dominant Greco-Roman wrestler of all time. Karelin won gold medals at the 1988, 1992, and 1996 Olympic Games under a different flag each time (Soviet Union, Unified Team, and Russia respectively), and a silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Games. His wrestling record at the senior level is 887 wins and two losses, both controversial and both by a single point. Prior to his defeat to American Rulon Gardner at the 2000 Olympics finals, a point had not been scored against him in competition the previous six years. He went undefeated in the world championships, having never lost a match. 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. In addition to his success in Greco-Roman wrestling, he was also a sambo champion during his service in the Internal Troops.
Due to his dominance and accomplishments, Karelin was named as the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of the 20th century by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA), and is one of the class of ten inaugural inductees into the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2007, Karelin, alongside Buvaisar Saitiev, were voted the best wrestlers in the history of the sport by FILA. Four times he was awarded the "Golden Belt" as the best wrestler of the planet by FILA - in 1989, 1990, 1992, and 1994.
Karelin was named a Hero of the Russian Federation in 1996. Karelin entered politics in 1999, being elected a deputy of the State Duma that year. He sat in the Duma through various convocations until 2020, when he entered the Federation Council as a senator.
Source : Wikipedia
