Aleksandr Karelin

Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Karelin (Russian: Александр Александрович Карелин, IPA: [ɐlʲɪkˈsandr ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ kɐˈrʲelʲɪn]; born 19 September 1967) is a Russian politician and retired athlete.

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming conventions, the patronymic is Aleksandrovich and the family name is Karelin.
Aleksandr Karelin
Karelin in 2013
Personal information
NationalityRussian
Born (1967-09-19) 19 September 1967
Novosibirsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[nb 1]
Weight286 lb (130 kg)
Sport
Country Soviet Union (1987–1991)
 Unified Team /  CIS (1992)
 Russia (1993–2000)
SportWrestling
Event(s)Greco-Roman
ClubDynamo Novosibirsk
Coached byViktor Kuznetsov[1]
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 3 1 0
World Championship 9 0 0
World Cup 1 1 0
European Championship 12 0 0
Grand Prix Ivan Poddubny 5 0 0
Aleksandr Karelin Cup 1 0 0
World Junior Championships 2 0 0
European Junior Championships 1 0 0
Friendship-84 Juniors 1 0 0
Total 35 2 0
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place1988 Seoul130 kg
Gold medal – first place1992 Barcelona130 kg
Gold medal – first place1996 Atlanta130 kg
Silver medal – second place2000 Sydney130 kg
World Championships
Gold medal – first placeMartigny 1989130 kg
Gold medal – first placeOstia 1990130 kg
Gold medal – first placeVarna 1991130 kg
Gold medal – first placeStockholm 1993130 kg
Gold medal – first placeTampere 1994130 kg
Gold medal – first placePrague 1995130 kg
Gold medal – first placeWroclaw 1997130 kg
Gold medal – first placeGävle 1998130 kg
Gold medal – first placeAthens 1999130 kg
World Cup
Gold medal – first placeAlbany 1987130 kg
Silver medal – second placeBesançon 1992130 kg
European Championships
Gold medal – first placeKolbotn 1988130 kg
Gold medal – first placeOulu 1989130 kg
Gold medal – first placePoznań 1990130 kg
Gold medal – first placeAschaffenburg 1991130 kg
Gold medal – first placeCopenhagen 1992130 kg
Gold medal – first placeIstanbul 1993130 kg
Gold medal – first placeAthens 1994130 kg
Gold medal – first placeBesançon 1995130 kg
Gold medal – first placeBudapest 1996130 kg
Gold medal – first placeMinsk 1998130 kg
Gold medal – first placeSofia 1999130 kg
Gold medal – first placeMoscow 2000130 kg
Aleksandr Karelin Cup
Gold medal – first placeNovosibirsk 1995130 kg
Junior World Championships
Gold medal – first placeColorado Springs 1985130 kg
Gold medal – first placeBurnaby 1987130 kg
Junior European Championships
Gold medal – first placeMalmö 1986130 kg
Friendship-84 Juniors
Gold medal – first placeBudapest 1984130 kg

Karelin competed in Greco-Roman wrestling, representing the Soviet Union and Russia between 1987 and 2000. Nicknamed the "Russian Bear",[2] "Russian King Kong",[3] "Alexander the Great", "The Experiment",[4] and the "The Crane from Novosibirsk",[5] he is widely considered to be the greatest and most dominant Greco-Roman wrestler of all time.[1][6][7][8][9][10][11] 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 by a single point.[12][13][14][15][16][17][10][18] Prior to his final match versus American Rulon Gardner in September 2000 which he lost, a point had not been scored against him in competition the previous six years.[19][20][21][17] He went undefeated in the world championships, having never lost a match.[21] 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 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.

Wrestling career

Karelin was born as a 5.5 kilograms (12 lb) baby.[22] He was an avid fan of literature and mathematics during his school years.[23] He began training in 1981, under Viktor Kuznetsov, who remained his coach through his entire career.[24][1] He initially started boxing, following in the footsteps of his father, until he decided against it.[25] He also tried weightlifting, volleyball, basketball, skiing and swimming, excelling in all the sports he tried.[26][27][28][29][30][31] Being naturally very big, he came to a wrestling gym, aged 13, standing 179 centimetres (5 ft 10 in) tall and weighing 79 kilograms (174 lb),[32] Karelin grew physically very fast and from 16 years of age throughout his entire career he competed in the super heavyweight division, he went undefeated for the first time from 1982 to 1987 and second time from 1987 to 2000. In 1985 he came to an international competition and won a junior world title.[1] He won gold at Friendship-84 in Greco-Roman wrestling as a junior.[33] In 1986, he competed in 14 tournaments, winning all of them.[34][35] He had his first loss (score 0–1) at the USSR championships in 1987, to the reigning Russian and European champion Igor Rostorotsky; he defeated Rostorotsky at the next USSR Championships while recovering from a flu and a recent concussion.[1] He would go on to become a 13-time champion of the USSR, CIS, and Russia from 1988 to 2000.[36] He is listed as runner-up to David Koplovitz at the 1992 Wrestling World Cup, for while he won all of his matches at the event, his partner Andrey Grishin competed in the rest of the rounds, and so they did not accumulate enough ranking points to beat the American team.[37][38]

"He's been the man for 13 years. Nobody even had a chance to beat him."

—Rulon Gardner on his opponent.

In the 1988 Olympic final Karelin came close to losing to Rangel Gerovski, but with 50 seconds left managed to execute his signature Karelin Lift and won.[1] With his win, Karelin became the youngest Greco-Roman wrestler to become an Olympic champion at super heavyweight (130 kg) at the age of 21 years and two days.[39] At the 1992 Summer Olmypic Games in Barcelona, Karelin won one of the fastest Olympic wrestling matches, pinning Ioan Grigoraş in only 14 seconds.[40] At the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Karelin faced American Matt Ghaffari for the gold medal. Karelin had come off a shoulder surgery and looked vulnerable against a strong Ghaffari, who was able to repel Karelin's efforts to lift and slam him, forcing Karelin to use all of his skill and experience to defend a 1–0 lead.[41]

After going 13 years undefeated in international competition and six years without giving up a point, he lost 0–1 to Rulon Gardner of the United States in the final of the Sydney Olympics.[42][43][44] His loss to Gardner is considered one of the biggest upsets in sports history.[45][46][47] His loss in the final of the Sydney Olympics was his first and only international loss, having previously been unbeaten throughout his international career.[38][48] Karelin retired from competitions in 2000.[15]

Thus his only two losses were in the finals of the 1987 USSR Championships and 2000 Summer Olympics.[10] However, both of his losses are considered controversial, with him only losing to both opponents by a single point.[49] Some argue, such as Finnish former wrestler Tuomo Karila, that Gardner should not have been awarded the point, and that Karelin should have won.[49]

In addition to his wrestling success, twice was Karelin the winner of the Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR, in 1986 and 1991.[50][51]

Training style

Karelin was revered for his extraordinary strength and unprecedented success in international competition. He competed in the heaviest weight class of his day, 130 kg (286 lb). His coach was at first skeptical about a big but undeveloped boy, yet he accepted Karelin and motivated him for hard training, both in wrestling technique and physical strength. As a result, over the years Karelin progressed from 0 to 42 pull-ups.[22][52] His conditioning and quickness combined with his dominance of the sport, led to him being known as "The Experiment". When asked why he thought he was called that (referring to a biased opinion on his alleged PED use), Karelin noted that: "No one can completely believe that I am natural. The most important drug is to train like a madman – really like a madman. The people who accuse me are those who have never trained once in their life like I train every day of my life."[53]

Karelin's daily training drills included hours of rowing and long runs through Taiga forest often with a large log on his back.[54][55][56] He favored the overhead press and also used standard 2-pood kettlebells (32 kilograms (71 lb)) for arm exercises at a daily weight routine. He is said to have clean and pressed 190 kilograms (420 lb).[55] Karelin would reportedly do 10 reps of 200 kilograms (440 lb) of Zercher deadlifts.[57] He would routinely bench press 204 kilograms (450 lb) as part of his workout.[58] According to Tuomo Karila, a Finnish wrestler, while following Karelin's training routine, he observed that Karelin was able to do around 50 chin-ups within a minute, and praised his strength and agility.[49] Despite his large physique, he was flexible and agile enough to do backflips and splits.[29][59] When asked about his toughest opponent, Karelin instantly replied: "My refrigerator," referring to the time for which he bear hugged his refrigerator, weighing over 500lbs,[4][60] and carried it up through eight flights of stairs of his hometown 9-storied apartment building.[61][19][62][63][64] Karelin also took part in a strongman competition, that being the 1991 European Hercules, and without prior preparation, he managed to placed 8th.[65][66]

Wrestling style

"He didn't just dominate the world of Greco-Roman wrestling, for 13 years, he terrified the world of Greco-Roman wrestling!"

—Philip Hersh, an Olympic sports writer, on Karelin's legacy.[32]

Karelin was famous for his reverse body lift, the Karelin Lift, where facing the opponent who was lying flat on the mat to keep from being thrown, Karelin hoisted his opponents into the air and slammed them violently to the mat. This devastatingly effective maneuver, when properly executed, awarded Karelin 5 points per throw, the maximum awarded in Greco-Roman wrestling. The throw had long been in use by lighter wrestlers but not by heavyweights – because of the immense strength required to raise, spin and hit the mat with a 560+ lbs combined weight of both athletes (280+ of which resist desperately to the performed maneuver). Karelin's ability to perform this throw against elite opponents weighing as much as 130 kg amazed other participants and observers of the sport.[52][67] His exceptionally long reach, with measurements between 213 centimetres (84 in)[29] and 220 centimetres (87 in),[49][68][69] helped him to grip his opponent's bodies.[29][59] Furthermore, his incredible grip strength was described as being similar to that of "an anaconda", which allowed him to hold down his opponents and prevent them from escaping from his grasp.[70]

Injuries

Like most top wrestlers, Karelin had a number of severe injuries through his career. He credits his fast recoveries to Valery Okhapkin, physician of the national wrestling team, and claims that Okhapkin extended his competition lifetime by several years.[1]

At the age of 15 Karelin broke his leg while training; having learned about this accident his mother burned his wrestling uniform and forbade him to wrestle. Since then he broke his arms twice and ribs thirteen times. Around January 1988 he had a serious concussion, and doctors considered removing him from the 1988 Olympic team. Karelin won the 1993 World Championships despite breaking two ribs in the opening bout against Matt Ghaffari. At the 1996 European Championships in Budapest, he had torn the right pectoralis major muscle so badly that doctors predicted he would not be able to use his right hand for several months. Karelin won the Championships, but had to be urgently operated on in Budapest. He recovered within three months to compete at the 1996 Olympics.[1] As many other wrestlers, Karelin has a bit tongue (which was and still is a very frequent wrestling injury before the advent of contemporary chin-tight wrestling headgear), which affects his pronunciation and speech, limiting r-containing words usage. Unlike many other wrestlers, he avoided multiple ear cartilage injuries of both ears.[21]

Mixed martial arts

On 21 February 1999 Karelin defeated Akira Maeda in a shoot wrestling contest put on by RINGS that drew a gate of over $1 million. The match gained widespread media coverage, including mentions in The New York Times and Sports Illustrated.[71] The match took place in the Maeda-owned professional wrestling organization RINGS. Though widely considered to have been a shoot style wrestling contest, the match is counted as an official mixed martial arts (MMA) match in Sherdog's record database.[72]

Professional record breakdown
1 match 1 win 0 losses
By decision 1 0
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 1–0 Akira Maeda Decision (Unanimous) Rings: Final Capture February 21, 1999 3 5:00 Japan

Political career
Karelin as a deputy of the State Duma in 2018

Between 1995 and 1999 Karelin served with the Russian tax police and retired in the rank of colonel.[1] Upon invitation from Vladimir Putin, in 1999 he began his political career. He joined the United Russia party and was elected to the State Duma as a representative of Novosibirsk Oblast in 1999 and 2003. In 2007 he was elected to the Duma as a representative of Stavropol Krai. He was a member of Duma's committee on international affairs.[73] In 2017, he entered the PutinTeam, a social movement aimed at promoting Vladimir Putin's policies.

In 2020, Karelin was appointed as senator from the Legislative Assembly of Novosibirsk Oblast in the Federation Council. He took up the post on 25 September 2020, and is a member of the council's committee on International Affairs.[74]

Sanctions

Sanctioned by the UK government in 2022 in relation to Russo-Ukrainian War.[75]

Personal life

Karelin graduated from the Novosibirsk Institute of Transportation in 1985, followed by the Siberian Academy of Physical Culture, a military school of the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD USSR) and the Saint Petersburg University of MVD USSR. In 1998 he defended a PhD and in 2002 a habilitation in sport-related pedagogy; he also holds a degree in law. His PhD is titled: "Methods of execution of suplex throw counters" (Russian: Методика проведения контрприемов от бросков прогибом), and "Integral training system for top-level wrestlers" (Russian: Система интегральной подготовки высококвалифицированных борцов).[76]

Karelin's father was a truck driver and an amateur boxer.[1] Karelin is married to Olga, they have two sons, Denis and Ivan, and one daughter, Vasilisa.[1] Denis (born c. 1986) tried wrestling, but changed it for car racing.[77] Ivan (born 1994) is coached by Kuznetsov and competes in the Greco-Roman superheavyweight division.[78] Vasilisa (born c. 1999) is a rhythmic gymnast.[79]

Karelin is an Orthodox Christian.[80][81]

Starting in 1985, he served in the West Siberian Directorate of the Internal Troops of the USSR and Russia.[82] While serving in the Internal Troops, he competed in sambo, and became a sambo champion.[26][83][84][85][86]

Legacy and awards

Karelin was named as the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of the 20th century by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA),[87][21] and is one of the class of ten inaugural inductees into the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003.[88] He was also included in the 25 best world athletes of the 20th century.[76] Since 1992, an annual wrestling competition is held in Novosibirsk in his honor.[1][73]

He is regularly cited as being one of the most dominant athletes of all time,[8][89] and as being one of the greatest of all time.[90][91][92][93][94] He also is remembered as being one of the most feared and intimidating athletes ever.[29][95][96][55] Further, he is seen as one of the most gifted athletes ever due to his combination of strength, explosiveness, intellect, flexibility and agility.[29][97][98]

He has been praised as one of the greatest wrestlers ever by, or the single greatest ever, by other combat athletes such as Abdulrashid Sadulaev and Alexander Romanov.[99][100][11]

Karelin was named a Hero of the Russian Federation in 1996 and awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples (1989), Order of Honour (2001) and Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" IV class (2008).[1] He was awarded the Serbian Order of Saint Sava.[101][102] In 2017, he was awarded the Order "For Merit to the Republic of Dagestan".[103] He was also named a Merited Master of Sports of the USSR (1988).[104][105]

Four times he was awarded the "Golden Belt" as the best wrestler of the planet - in 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994.[104]

He is a hidden playable character in the Japan-only, AKI Corporation-created, Nintendo 64 video game: Virtual Pro Wrestling 2.[106]

Notes
  1. Sources vary on his height, with some listing him as 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)

References
  1. Карелин Александр Александрович Archived 31 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Russian Wrestling Federation
  2. "WSBB Blog: The Russian Bear Aleksandr Karelin". www.westside-barbell.com. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  3. Plaschke, Bill (24 July 1996). "Forget the Russian Bear: Meet Russian King Kong". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  4. Greenwald, John (11 September 2000). "The Summer Olympics: Alexander Karelin". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on 12 December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  5. "DOKUMENT: Så hamnade "Lyftkranen från Sibirien" i Göteborg • 130 kilo Karelin gjorde volter på uppvärmningen". www.expressen.se (in Swedish). 21 July 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  6. "Aleksandr KARELIN". Olympic Channel. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  7. "Aleksandr Karelin". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  8. Wackerly, Jeff (27 December 2008). "Alexander Karelin: The Meanest Man in the World". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  9. Pushkarna, Akshit (29 June 2021). "Who is the Greatest Olympic Wrestler of All Time?". EssentiallySports. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  10. Андреев, Илья (3 August 2021). "Карелин против кубинского гиганта. Кто более великий?". sport-express.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  11. Jackson, Sandra (19 August 2022). ""My opinion is San Sanych No. 1." The best UFC fighter – about Karelin, Sadulaev and Pavlovich". Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  12. "Alexander Karelin 887 wins – 2 losses Olympic Wrestler". MMA Micks. 25 August 2015. Archived from the original on 4 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  13. "Alexander Karelin" in The World's Five Greatest Athletes No One Knows Archived 29 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine. drjudd.ne
  14. "Трехкратный олимпийский чемпион Александр Карелин откроет всероссийский турнир по вольной борьбе на призы ректора ДВФУ". Министерство физической культуры и спорта Приморского края (in Russian). Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  15. "Blast from the past: The dairy farmer vs the Russian Bear". Olympics. 24 May 2020. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  16. He lost to Rulon Gardner in 2000 (1–0) due to a sudden rule change and Gardner's sheer size and weight, as Gardner was too heavy for Karelin to launch a reverse body lift.
  17. "«Все мучились вопросом: как одолеть Русского Медведя?» Карелин – титан нашего спорта, у которого 885 побед". Sports.ru. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  18. "«У меня нет врагов, потому что, когда хожу, не наступаю людям на ноги». Александру Карелину — 53! — Олимпийский комитет России". olympic.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  19. Oberjuerge, Paul (24 July 2011). "Karelin 'the Great' saw fear in eyes of his opponents". The National. Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  20. "Greco-Roman legend Steve Fraser on Rulon Gardner's win over Aleksandr Karelin". USA Wrestling. 13 May 2019. Archived from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020 – via YouTube.
  21. "Aleksandr KARELIN: Three-Time Olympic Champion, Nine-Time World Champion". United World Wrestling. 20 August 2020. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  22. Александр Карелин: Борьба – это условие жизни Archived 8 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine. karelin.ru. 25 October 2013. The 6.8 kg figure reported by the Time journal was an exaggeration КАРЕЛИН Александр Александрович Archived 8 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine. biograph.ru
  23. "Легендарный борец Александр Карелин пообщался с уфимскими школьниками" (in Russian).
  24. Kareline, Alexandre (RUS) Archived 19 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine. iat.uni-leipzig.de
  25. "Александр Карелин поделился секретами успеха с «Командой 2018»". pln-pskov.ru. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  26. "Александр Карелин: мне стыдно перед моими соперниками". Коммерсантъ. 8 September 1998. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  27. Александр Карелин – гордость нашего спорта, колоритная личность, великий спортсмен, который и в 46 лет держит себя в великолепной форме! Поговорим о секретах успеха русского богатыря Archived 14 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine. fizvosp.ru. 21 March 2014.
  28. Kinash, Julia (26 October 2014). ""Expanding Horizons, Becoming Educated, We Strengthen a "Base" That Helps to Join Сomplicated Life Harmoniously"". Youth Time Magazine. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  29. Dawidoff, Nicholas (13 May 1991). "A Bruiser and A Thinker". Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  30. Arndt, Gary (5 October 2020). "Wrestling's GOAT: Aleksandr Karelin". Everything Everywhere. Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  31. "Александр Карелин: «Приемы на ковре превратились в приемы работы с избирателями»". worldclassmag.com. 15 December 2021. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  32. Karelin: Legends Live On Archived 6 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine (Documentary). Olympic Channel, 5 April 2018.
  33. РЫЖКИНА, Надежда (19 September 2022). "Александр Карелин: биография, сколько одержал побед". nsk.kp.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  34. Соломатова, Елена. "Знаменитому новосибирцу, греко-римскому борцу Александру Карелину – 55: чем живет и как живет самый сильный человек мира". Весь Искитим – главные новости (in Russian). Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  35. "Александр Карелин — биография борца | Биографии известных людей". kratkoebio.ru. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  36. "Karelin". Putin's List. Archived from the original on 27 April 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  37. Zinser, Lynn (25 August 2004). "SUMMER 2004 GAMES -- WRESTLING: GRECO-ROMAN PRELIMINARIES; Gardner Is Inspired by Both the Enemy and the Friend He Defeated". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  38. "Aleksandr Karelin". United World Wrestling. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  39. Higuchi, Ikuo (18 May 2020). "The Youngest/Oldest GR Gold Medalists in Olympic History". United World Wrestling. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  40. "Olympedia – Olympic Wrestling Fastest Matches". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  41. Jack McCallum (27 September 2000) Unheralded American slays Russian wrestling legend. Sports Illustrated.
  42. The Sporting News, Miracle on the mat – wrestler Rulon Gardner wins the gold medal in the Olympics, 9 October 2000
  43. "Miracle on the Mat". CNN Sports Illustrated. 27 September 2000. Archived from the original on 22 February 2008.
  44. Frank Lawlor (2 August 1992). "Siberian Heavyweight Gives Other Wrestlers The Chills His Monster Image Also Interests Hollywood". Philadelphia Media Network. Archived from the original on 22 February 2008.
  45. Jussim, Matthew (26 April 2021). "The 15 Greatest Underdog Sports Stories of All Time". Men's Journal. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  46. Vasilogambros, Matt (2 May 2016). "Leicester City, the Unlikeliest of Winners". The Atlantic. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  47. Chodos, Ben. "10 Greatest Upsets in Summer Olympic History". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  48. "Summer Olympics 2000 Gardner doesn't know what to expect after upset". a.espncdn.com. 29 September 2000. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  49. Husu, Atte (29 July 2016). "Legendaarisen painijätin Aleksandr Karelinin leuanvetotulos hämmentää edelleen – "Järkyttäviä määriä isoille kavereille"". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 11 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  50. "Karelin". The database “PUTIN'S LIST”. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  51. "Карелин, Александр Александрович". ТАСС. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  52. Dawidoff, Nicholas (13 May 1991) A Bruiser and a Thinker: Soviet Greco-Roman wrestler Alexander Karelin is a rare combination of massive physique and imposing intellect. Sports Illustrated
  53. "The Biggest Winner". Joe Posnanski. Archived from the original on 22 February 2008.
  54. Sewell, Dan (26 July 1996). "Fun And Fear: Getting To Know Karelin". AP NEWS. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  55. Wackerly, Jeff (27 December 2008). "Alexander Karelin: The Meanest Man in the World". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on 24 January 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  56. Snowden, Jonathan (12 February 2013). "Milo of Croton, Alexander Karelin and the Tragic Demise of Olympic Wrestling". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  57. John, Dan; Tsatsouline, Pavel (2011). Easy Strength: How to Get a Lot Stronger Than Your Competition-And Dominate in Your Sport. Saint Paul, Minnesota: Dragon Door Publications. p. 29. ISBN 978-0938045809. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  58. Robinson, Eugene (26 December 2015). "Krushing, Killing, Karelin". OZY. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  59. "Aleksandr Karelin". www.fighterinterviews.com. 10 November 2017. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  60. Snowden, Jonathan (12 February 2013). "Milo of Croton, Alexander Karelin and the Tragic Demise of Olympic Wrestling". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  61. Greenwald, John (11 September 2000). "Aleksandr Karelin". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  62. Aleksandr Karelin - Train Like a Madman by Josh Bryant, 2 August 2017.
  63. Идеальный олимпийский Франкенштейн - Runners' Club Archived 13 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine (in Russian) 24 August 2016.
  64. "Aleksandr Karelin". www.fighterinterviews.com. 10 November 2017. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  65. "Strongman Archives - Aleksandr Karelin". strongmanarchives.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  66. Power Station (23 February 2017), European Hercules 1991, archived from the original on 27 April 2022, retrieved 27 April 2022
  67. "A fighter who leaves no chance for the enemy: Alexander Karelin - 50. Dmitry Ivanov. Veti. September 19, 2017". Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  68. Valta, Ville-Veikko (19 September 2017). "Venäjän massiivinen painilegenda täyttää 50 vuotta - uskomaton syliväli ja 12 vuotta ilman tappiota!". www.iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  69. Korkki, Riku (2 August 2018). "Painin suomalainen EM-mitalisti valitsi ajatusleikissä hurjan vastustajan - Siperian karhu!". www.iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  70. Griff, William (28 June 2004). "From Milo to Rulon: from beating an "unbeatable" foe to coming back from a tragic injury, American wrestler Rulon Gardner credits both faith and family for his persistence in getting the job done". www.thefreelibrary.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  71. "Aleksandr Karelin VS Akira Maeda". YouTube. 4 August 2012. Archived from the original on 22 February 2008.
  72. "Alexander "The Experiment" Karelin MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography". Sherdog. Archived from the original on 22 February 2008.
  73. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Aleksandr Karelin". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
  74. "Карелин Александр Александрович" (in Russian). Federation Council. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  75. "CONSOLIDATED LIST OF FINANCIAL SANCTIONS TARGETS IN THE UK" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  76. Karelin, Alexander Alexandrovich Archived 31 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Karelin.ru.
  77. Yekaterina Olkhovskaya (31 October 2008) Денис КАРЕЛИН: «Мой девиз – быть сильным, слабым не везет!» Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Komsomolskaya Pravda
  78. Карелин Иван Александрович Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. wrestrus.ru
  79. Олимпийский чемпион Карелин высоко оценил новый Дворец единоборств в Пензе Archived 10 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Vesti.ru. 23 March 2015
  80. "From Wrestling to Politics - the Story of Aleksandr Karelin | Legends Live on". YouTube. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  81. "СЛОВО - АЛЕКСАНДР КАРЕЛИН". YouTube. Archived from the original on 7 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  82. "Управление физической культуры и спорта мэрии г. Новосибирска". novosib-sport.ru. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  83. "Традиция побеждать - Борцовский портал "Самсон"". www.wrestling.com.ua. 5 January 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  84. Укладов, Олег; Игнатов, Дмитрий (26 October 2014). "В Барнауле прошел II турнир по армейскому рукопашному бою". Комсомольская правда. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  85. "Карелин: Мы можем стать еще более спортивной нацией и сделать модным значок ГТО". Московский сегодня. 4 July 2019. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  86. "Командующий округом Росгвардии наградил спортсменов-военнослужащих". www.mk.ru (in Russian). 20 December 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  87. "Top Wrestlers of the 1990's". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  88. "Hall of Fame". uww.org. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  89. Akelson, Michael. "Michael Jordan Or Wayne Gretzky? The 30 Most Dominant Athletes Of All Time". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  90. Gillen, Nancy (15 December 2022). "Pelé, Ali, Maradona, Navratilova: The 50 greatest athletes of the 20th century ranked". GiveMeSport. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  91. "The 50 Greatest Sports Athletes Of All Time Have Been Named And Ranked By Fans". SPORTbible. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  92. Posnanski, Joe (27 April 2016). "The Top 100 Olympic Athletes". NBC SportsWorld. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  93. "Не проигрывал 13 лет подряд: как Карелин стал одним из лучших борцов в истории?". Постньюс (in Russian). 19 September 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  94. СТАЛИНА, Юлия (2 October 2016). "Александра Карелина назвали лучшим российским спортсменом 25-летия". nsk.kp.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  95. Sewell, Dan (26 July 1996). "Fun And Fear: Getting To Know Karelin". AP NEWS. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  96. Boswell, Thomas (5 August 1996). "BEYOND THE QUEST FOR GOLD, GAMES HAVE A SILVER LINING". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  97. "Top 25 Most Athletic Freaks of All Time". Muscle Prodigy Fitness. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  98. ""He's a Human Panther": Joe Rogan Was Left Stunned over Freaking Body Features of 6′3″ Wrestling Giant Born to Normal 5′7″ Parents". EssentiallySports. 6 September 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  99. "Абдулрашид Садулаев: «Попробую достичь схожих с Александром Карелиным высот» — Олимпийский комитет России". olympic.ru. 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  100. Спорт, РИА Новости (2021). "Садулаев заявил, что не считает себя великим спортсменом". РИА Новости Спорт (in Russian). Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  101. Serbia, RTS, Radio televizija Srbije, Radio Television of. "Руски медвед - Александар Карељин". www.rts.rs. Archived from the original on 16 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  102. "Kareljinu Orden Svetog Save: Neka Bog čuva Srbiju i Rusiju..." www.novosti.rs (in Serbian (Latin script)). Archived from the original on 16 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  103. "Александра Карелина наградили высшим дагестанским орденом". www.wrestdag.ru. 26 September 2017. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  104. "Aleksandr Karelin". outofdrug.org. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  105. "Greco-Roman wrestling Alexander Karelin 1992. Alexander Karelin "The standard-bearer of three countries. Unprecedented winning streak". oblaka-fit.ru. 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  106. "Virtual Pro Wrestling 2: Ōdō Keishō (Game)". Giant Bomb. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aleksandr Karelin.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.