Aleksandr Vasiliyevich Medved (born 16 September 1937) is a Ukrainian-born

Soviet Belarus The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

ian retired

freestyle wrestler Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling i ...

who competed for the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and was named "one of the greatest wrestlers in history" by

FILA Fila Holdings Corp. is a sportswear brand of shoes and apparel. The company was founded by Ettore and Giansevero Fila in 1911 in Coggiola, near Biella, Piedmont, Italy. In 2003, it was sold to United States-based Sports Brand International. Sub ...

, the sport's governing body. Between 1962 and 1972 he won three Olympic gold medals, seven world and three European titles. He served as the Olympic flag bearer for the Soviet Union in 1972, for Belarus in 2004 and recited the Judge's Oath at the Opening Ceremony of the 1980 Olympics.

Biography

According to Medved, his grandparents came from Russia; his grandmother was ca. 195 cm, and his grandfather was even taller. Medved was smaller, at 190 cm and 100+ kg, yet big enough to fit into his last name, which means ''bear'' in Russian (and with minor variations in Belarusian and Ukrainian languages). Between 1967 and 1972 Medved had a rivalry with Turkish-Bulgarian wrestler

Osman Duraliev Osman Duraliev ( bg, Осман Дуралиев, 15 January 1939 – 25 April 2011) was a Bulgarian freestyle wrestler with Turkish origin. Between 1967 and 1972 he won ten silver medals at major international competitions, including the 1968 ...

. They met eight times in the finals of major international championships and Medved won on all occasions. He was close to losing at the 1971 World Championships in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

, where Duraliev led the match 4:3 with 43 seconds left. Yet Medved equalized the score and won the title because of his lower body weight. After retiring from competitions in 1972 Medved moved to

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

, where he served with the Soviet Army in the late 1950s. There he worked as a national coach and lectured at the

Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics The Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics, also known as BSUIR ( be, Беларускі дзяржаўны ўніверсітэт інфарматыкі і радыёэлектронікі), is a public Higher Education ...

. After the breakup of the Soviet Union he was appointed as vice-president of the

Belarus Olympic Committee The National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus (, ) was one of many national Olympic committees that make up the International Olympic Committee. On February 26, 2022, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its treatment ...

and of the Belarus Wrestling Federation. Previously he was awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

(1964),

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

(1970) and

Order of the Badge of Honour The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...

(1964, 1969, 1985). In 2001 he was chosen as the best Belorussian athlete of the 20th century and in 2003 became one of the first 10 inductees to the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame. He is an honored citizen of

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

, where since 1970s an annual wrestling tournament is held in his honor. Medved is married to Tatyana, they have a daughter Elena and son Aleksei. Elena was a Belarusian tennis champion, while Aleksei won a junior world title in wrestling in 1987.

References

External links

Biography
Belarusian Olympic Committee {{DEFAULTSORT:Medved, Alexander 1937 births Living people People from Bila Tserkva Belarusian male sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers of the Soviet Union Wrestlers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Soviet male sport wrestlers Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Burevestnik (sports society) athletes Olympic medalists in wrestling Recipients of the Olympic Order Olympic officials World Wrestling Championships medalists Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Oath takers at the Olympic Games European Wrestling Championships medalists World Wrestling Champions