Sambo is a martial art with Soviet origins, an internationally practiced combat sport, and a recognized style of amateur wrestling included by UWW in the World Wrestling Championships along with Greco-Roman wrestling and freestyle wrestling.
James "Chico" Hernandez is an accomplished athlete in the sport of Sambo. He is the first Sambo champion to be featured on a box of Wheaties Energy Crunch and the first Sambo wrestler to appear in CNN/SI "Faces In the Crowd".
Sazhid Khalilrakhmanovich Sazhidov is a Russian Olympic wrestler who represented his country at the world-level from 2003 to 2006. He won the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Ismail Abilov-Nizamoğlu is a Bulgarian freestyle wrestler and Olympic champion.
Levan Tediashvili is a former Soviet (Georgian) wrestler and Olympic champion in Freestyle wrestling in 1972 and 1976. He remained undefeated between 1971 and 1976. Besides freestyle wrestling, he was also a Soviet and world champion in sambo.
Ivan Sergeyevich Yarygin was a Soviet and Russian heavyweight freestyle wrestler. Between 1970 and 1980 he won all his major international competitions, except for the 1970 and 1974 European championships where he placed second. Yarygin was an Olympic champion in 1972 and 1976, being the first wrestler to go through an Olympic competition with straight pin victories and no foul points, a world champion in 1973, a World Cup winner five times, has never lost a single match in World Cup competition, and a European champion in 1972 and 1975–76, and won a world cup in 1973, 1976–77 and 1979–80. He also set a record for the fastest pin victory in the World Cup history at 27 seconds. After retiring in 1980, he headed the Soviet freestyle wrestling team from 1982 to 1992 and the Russian Wrestling Federation from 1993 until his untimely death in a car crash in 1997. An exceptional upper-body wrestler, Yarygin was widely regarded for his tremendous physique and high-strength aggressive style, always aiming to pin down his opponents, with most of his stoppage wins came by way of fall achieved through rapid fireman's lift and slamming the opponent to the mat. One of the most prestigious tournaments in the World was put together in his honor - The Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin Tournament is held annually in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, and has the reputation of being one of the hardest tournaments in the World. The Yarygin Memorial annually sees the world's best wrestlers come to Siberia, with the added element that Russia's autonomous oblasts and republics such as Dagestan and Chechnya field independent teams alongside an All-Russia selection.
Wilfried Hartung is a retired German swimmer. Born in East Berlin, East Germany, he competed at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay in 1972. He is the divorced husband of two-time silver Olympic swimmer Gabriele Wetzko.
Zagalav Abdulbekovich Abdulbekov is a retired Russian featherweight freestyle wrestler of Avar heritage. He won the world title in 1971 and 1973 and an Olympic gold medal in 1972. At the European Championships, he earned a silver in 1973 and a bronze in 1969 and 1975.
Wilfried Dietrich was a German heavyweight wrestler. Between 1956 and 1972 he took part in five Olympics and six world championships, often entering both the freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling contests – a feat unmatched by any other wrestler. He won five Olympic and five world championship medals, becoming an Olympic (1960), World (1961) and European champion (1967). Between 1955 and 1962 he won all his freestyle bouts.
Jabrayil Hasanov is a male freestyle wrestler from Azerbaijan who has competed in the 66, 74 and 79 kg categories. He is an Olympic bronze medalist and multiple World Championships medalist. He is the winner of Yasar Dogu Grand-Prix.
Boris Mikhaylovich Gurevich was a Soviet wrestler.
Bárbaro Julio Morgan Soroa was a heavyweight wrestler from Cuba, who competed in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, winning a bronze medal at the 1978 World Championships in men's freestyle. He competed in men's freestyle at the 1972, 1976 and 1980 Summer Olympics and placed fifth-eighth. Morgan won three silver medals in freestyle wrestling at the Pan American Games in 1971–1979 and a gold medal in sambo in 1983 – the only year when sambo tournament was held at those games.
Burke "Buck" Deadrich was an American wrestler, born in Oakland, California, who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics.
Wrestling has deep historical roots in Armenia. Wrestling was practiced in the Armenian Highlands since ancient times. Armenians have their own variant of the sport called Kokh. It was recorded that King Tiridates III of Armenia won the Ancient Olympic Games in wrestling in 281 AD. During the Soviet era, wrestling became one of the most practiced sports in Armenia and remained popular after Armenia's independence in 1991. Armenian athletes have been successful at international competitions in the last two decades. Many have become World and European champions, both in Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling. Over half of the fifteen Armenian Olympic medalists and the two gold medal winners have been wrestlers. The sport is overseen by the Wrestling Federation of Armenia.
Ottó Zsolt Aubéli is an amateur Hungarian freestyle wrestler, who played for the men's super heavyweight category. In 2005, he won two bronze medals at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, and at the European Championships in Varna, Bulgaria.
Dániel Ligeti is an amateur Hungarian freestyle wrestler, who competes in the men's super heavyweight category. He won the bronze medal for his division at the 2011 European Wrestling Championships in Dortmund, Germany, and silver at the 2012 European Wrestling Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. Ligeti stands 1.92 metres tall and weighs 115 kilograms (254 lb). He is also currently a member of TuS Adelhausen in Rheinfelden, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, and is coached by Istvan Gulyas from the national wrestling team.
Davyd Bichinashvili is an amateur Georgian-born German freestyle wrestler, who played for the men's light heavyweight category. He is a three-time Olympian, and a four-time medalist for his division at the European Wrestling Championships.
Serhii Anatoliyovych Priadun is a retired amateur Ukrainian freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's super heavyweight category. He won three medals at the European Championships, scored a fourth-place finish in the 120-kg division at the 2003 World Wrestling Championships in New York City, New York, United States, and also represented his nation Ukraine at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Throughout his sporting career, Priadun trained full-time for Tavira Wrestling Club in Simferopol, under his personal coach Vitali Karassov.
Zurabi Iakobishvili is a Georgian freestyle wrestler. He won a gold medal at the 2017 World Wrestling Championships. He won a bronze medal at the 2017 European Wrestling Championships. He competed in the men's freestyle 65 kg event at the 2016 Summer Olympics, in which he was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Frank Chamizo.
This page lists notable people from Dagestan.
