Aleksandr Shemarov (also ''Aliaksandr Shamarau'', be, Аляксандр Шамараў; born April 9, 1975) is a retired amateur Belarusian freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's heavyweight category. He won a bronze medal in the 97-kg division at the 2001 European Championships in

Budapest, Hungary Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population of ...

, and also achieved a seventh-place finish each in two editions of the Olympic Games (2000 and 2004). Throughout his sporting career, Shemarov trained as a member of the freestyle wrestling team for Minsk Trade Union Sports Club, under his father and coach Nikolai Shemarov. Shemarov made his official debut 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 ...

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 ...

, where he competed in the men's heavyweight division (97 kg). He scored a set of two triumphs to defeat Canada's Dean Schmeichel and Slovak-born Australian wrestler Gabriel Szerda in the opening matches, but suffered a formidable 2–3 overtime defeat against Poland's three-time Olympian

Marek Garmulewicz Marek Garmulewicz (born 22 January 1968 in Mozgawa) is a Polish former wrestler who competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics, in the 1996 Summer Olympics, in the 2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII O ...

. Finishing second in the prelim pool and seventh overall, Shemarov's performance fell short to put him further into the quarterfinals. At the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

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, Shemarov qualified for his second Belarusian squad, as a 29-year-old, in the men's heavyweight class (96 kg) by rounding out the top ten spot and receiving a berth from the

2003 World Wrestling Championships The following is the final results of the 2003 World Wrestling Championships. The Freestyle Competition was held in New York City, United States, while the Greco-Roman Competition was held in Créteil, France. Medal table Team ranking Medal su ...

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. Shemarov delivered a more powerful effort from his previous Games by thrashing Turkey's

Fatih Çakıroğlu Fatih Çakıroğlu (born April 14, 1981, in Istanbul), is a Turkish European champion Turkish freestyle wrestler competing in the 125 kg division. Çakıroğlu graduated from the Ondokuz Mayıs University in Samsun with a degree in Physica ...

and Mongolia's

Tüvshintöriin Enkhtuyaa Tüvshintöriin Enkhtuyaa (also ''Tuvshintur Enkhtuya'', mn, Түвшинтөрийн Энхтуяа; born August 4, 1982, in Ulaanbaatar) is a retired amateur Mongolian freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's heavyweight category. He fin ...

to secure a spot for the next round. Fighting against Russian wrestler and European champion

Khadzhimurat Gatsalov Khadzhimurat Soltanovich Gatsalov (russian: Хаджимурат Солтанович Гацалов, born December 11, 1982, in Chikola, North Ossetia–Alania) is a Russian wrestler. As of February 2020, he represents Armenia. He won the go ...

in the quarterfinal match, Shemarov could not score a single point to push him off the mat, and instead, matched his final standing from Sydney in the process. Shortly after the Games, Shemarov officially retired from his sporting career, and became a personal coach for his younger brother Alexei, who later competed in the men's super heavyweight division at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shemarov, Aleksandr 1975 births Living people Olympic wrestlers for Belarus Wrestlers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Belarusian male sport wrestlers Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Belarusian people of Russian descent People from Kaliningrad Sportspeople from Minsk European Wrestling Championships medalists