Aleksandr Medved

Olympic medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing Soviet Union
	1964 Tokyo	Light heavyweight
	1968 Mexico City	Heavyweight
	1972 Munich	Super heavyweight
World Championships
	1961 Yokohama	+87 kg
	1962 Toledo	97 kg
	1963 Sofia	97 kg
	1965 Manchester	97 kg
	1966 Toledo	97 kg
	1967 New Delhi	+97 kg
	1969 Mar del Plata	+100 kg
	1970 Edmonton	+100 kg
	1971 Sofia	+100 kg

Aleksandr Vasiliyevich Medved' (Belarusian: Алякса́ндр Васíлевiч Мядзве́дзь, Russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Медве́дь; born 16 September 1937 in Bila Tserkva, Ukrainian SSR) is a famous Soviet/Belarusian wrestler. Medved was the first wrestler to win three Olympic gold medals, and also won seven FILA World Championships. FILA recognizes him as one of the "greatest wrestlers in history." He has written two books on the sport.

File:حجت الاسلام سید حبیب اله حسنی و الکساندر مدوید.jpg

Dr Sayyed Habib Allah Hassani With Aleksandr Medved .

Legacy

Medved' is one of the most well-known Soviet athletes and to this day his image continues to inspire others. He was the flag-bearer for the Belarusian Olympic team on several occasions including the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He also performed the Judge's Oath at the 1980 Summer Olympics. It should also be noted that "Medved" is the Russian word for "bear" which perfectly fits his image.

Present

Today he lives in Belarus and is the Head of the Inter-University Department of Sport Excellence of the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics and also Vice-president of the Belarus Olympic Committee. Alexander Medved' is also the Olympic coach for the Belarusian freestyle wrestling team.

His non-Olympic awards include:

• World championships: 7 times (1962-63, 1966-67, 1969-71)
• European championships: 3 times (1966, 1968, 1972)

External Links

• Biography From the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus