Bakhtiyar Bagasharovich Baiseitov ( kz, Бахтияр Багашарович Байсеитов, ''Bahitiiar Bagaşarovich Baiseitov''; born September 29, 1971) is a Kazakh former amateur Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's middleweight category. Baiseitov wrestled for the Kazakh squad in two editions of the Summer Olympics (1996 and 2000), finishing eleventh in Atlanta and tenth in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, respectively. Outside the Games, Baiseitov produced a career tally of six medals in a major international competition, including his middleweight titles that he received each at the World Championships and at the Asian Games in 1998. Baiseitov trained throughout his wrestling career for Professional Sport Club Daulet in

Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...

under his personal coach and 1988 silver medalist

Daulet Turlykhanov Daulet Bolatuly Turlykhanov (; born 18 November 1963) is a Kazakh politician and former wrestler who is serving as member of the Mäjilis since 2023 and previously from 1996 to 2000. He is known for having competed in the 1988, 1992, and the 1996 ...

of the former Soviet Union. Baiseitov made his Olympic debut in

Atlanta 1996 The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, competing in the men's welterweight category (74 kg). Despite losing his first match to Cuban wrestler and eventual champion

Filiberto Azcuy Filiberto Azcuy Aguilera (born October 13, 1972) is a Cuban wrestler (Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes ...

(9–0), Baiseitov bounced back from his early defeat to pin Mexico's Rodolfo Hernández; however, he could not hold Poland's

Józef Tracz Józef Bronisław Tracz (born 1 September 1964 in Żary) is a Polish wrestler (Greco-Roman style) who has won three Olympic medals. For his sport achievements, he received: Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta The O ...

tightly on the mat with a 1–2 shutout and lost the match in his next bout, dropping him to eleventh overall. Baiseitov reached the pinnacle of his wrestling career, when he scored an enormous upset over the reigning Olympic titleholder Azcuy to win a gold medal at the 1998 World Championships in

Gävle Gävle () is a city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 77,586 inhabitants in 2020, which makes it the 13th most populated city in Sweden. It is the oldest city in the historical Norrland (Swede ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Baiseitov's success continued by edging past Japan's Takamitsu Katayama (5–4) to claim the

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

title at the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

three months later in Bangkok. At the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, Baiseitov qualified for his second Kazakh team in the men's middleweight division (76 kg). Six months earlier, he defeated Egypt's Ahmed Fahme to round off the podium with a bronze and secure a berth at the third Olympic Qualification Tournament in Alexandria. He lost his opening match 1–4 to Finland's three-time Olympian and eventual bronze medalist

Marko Yli-Hannuksela Marko Juhani Yli-Hannuksela (born 21 December 1973 in Ilmajoki) is a Finland, Finnish former wrestling, wrestler. His most notable accomplishments are his two Olympic medals and a world championship in Greco-Roman amateur wrestling, wrestl ...

, but bounced back to oust his French rival and 1995 world champion

Yvon Riemer Yvon Riemer (born 5 October 1970) is a retired Greco-Roman wrestler from France. He medalled four times at the World Championships, winning gold in 1995, and competed at the 1992 and 2000 Olympics as a welterweight (-74 and -76 kg), finishin ...

with a convincing 4–2 victory. Placing second in the prelim pool and tenth overall, Baiseitov failed to advance to the quarterfinals.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baiseitov, Bakhtiyar 1971 births Living people Olympic wrestlers for Kazakhstan Wrestlers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Kazakhstani male sport wrestlers Sportspeople from Almaty Asian Games medalists in wrestling Asian Games gold medalists for Kazakhstan Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Wrestlers at the 1998 Asian Games World Wrestling Championships medalists 20th-century Kazakhstani sportsmen 21st-century Kazakhstani sportsmen