Olympic medalist
Alexander Karelin
Medal record
Men's Greco-Roman wrestling
Gold	1988 Seoul	Super heavyweight
Gold	1992 Barcelona	Super heavyweight
Gold	1996 Atlanta	Super heavyweight
Silver	2000 Sydney	97 - 130 kg

Alexandr Alexandrovich Karelin, or simply Alexander Karelin, (Russian: Александр Александрович Карелин; born September 19, 1967 in Novosibirsk, Russian SFSR) was a dominant Greco-Roman wrestler for the Soviet Union and later, after its dissolution, for Russia. He won gold medals at the 1988, 1992, and 1996 Olympic Games. Nicknamed the "Russian Dan Gable", and commonly referred to in the media as "The Experiment", he went undefeated in international competition from 1987 until 2000, when he was upset by American Rulon Gardner in the gold-medal match at the Summer Olympics. Karelin went the last six years of his unbeaten streak without giving up a point. Image taken from http://www. ... Wrestling has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics except only the 1900 Summer Olympics. ... The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were held in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. ... Sergei Beloglazov Gold Medal Gary Bohay Ranked 8th Categories: ... The 1992 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were held in 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. ... Categories: | | ... The 1996 Summer Olympics, formally known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and informally known as the Centennial Olympics, were held in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. ... Final results for the Wrestling competition at the 1996 Summer Olympics. ... The 2000 Summer Olympics or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were the Summer Olympic Games held in 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ... At the 2000 Summer Olympics, 2 different Wrestling disciplines were contested: Freestyle Wrestling and Greco-Roman Wrestling. ... September 19 is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years). ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Official website: http://www. ... State motto: Russian: Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! Translation: Workers of the world, unite! Capital Moscow Official language Russian Established In the USSR:  - Since  - Until November 7, 1917 November 7, 1917 December 12, 1991 (dissolution) Area  - Total  - Water (%) Ranked 1st in the USSR 17,075,200 km² 13% Population  - Total   - Density Ranked 1st in the... Alexander Karelin throwing Jeff Blatnick Greco-Roman wrestling is a form of amateur wrestling practiced throughout the world. ... FILA Greatest Wrestler of 20th Century (Greco-Roman) Alexander Karelin throws Olympian Jeff Blatnick with his Karelin Lift Andrell Durden (top) and Edward Harris grapple for position during the All-Marine Wrestle Offs. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Olympics redirects here. ... The book, A Season on the Mat, follows Dan Gable and his team. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... Rulon Gardner (born August 16, 1971 in Afton, Wyoming) is an amateur wrestler in the Greco-Roman discipline from the United States. ... The 2000 Summer Olympics or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were the Summer Olympic Games held in 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ...

He competed at the heaviest weight class of his day, 130 kg (286 lb). His conditioning, quickness, and incredible physical stature for his weight, perhaps combined with his dominance of the sport, led to him being known as "The Experiment" by much of the rest of the world. The term connoted the notion that his strength and skill were the result of some kind of scientific experiment. When asked why he thought he was called that, Karelin noted that others don't understand because "I train every day of my life as they have never trained a day in theirs." Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ... In the scientific method, an experiment (Latin: ex-+-periri, of (or from) trying), is a set of actions and observations, performed in the context of solving a particular problem or question, to support or falsify a hypothesis or research concerning phenomena. ...

Technique

Karelin throwing fellow Olympian Jeff Blatnick with his Karelin Lift

Karelin was famous for his body lift, the "Karelin Lift", where facing the opponent who was lying flat on the mat to keep from being thrown, Karelin was able to lift the opponent from around his waist and throw him all the way over the opponent's shoulders, scoring from 2 to 5 points depending on the height of the throw. Karelin's ability to make this throw against elite opponents weighing as much as 130 kg was amazing to audiences and other participants in and observers of the sport. Image File history File links Alexander Karelin throwing Jeff Blatnick File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Alexander Karelin throwing Jeff Blatnick File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Life and work

Karelin holds a PhD in Physical Education. He is married and has two sons and a daughter. He is also active in Russian politics and is a member of the United Russia party. Vladimir Putin with United Russia emblem in the background United Russia (Yedinaya Rossiya, Russian Единая Россия; the more correct translation is Unified Russia) is a political party in Russia which usually labels itself centrist. ...

See also

• List of people considered greatest fighter ever

There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ...

External link

• Official personal web-site

Videos of Karelin in action

• 2000 Olympics Intro .WMV Version
• 1996 Olympics Intro (poor quality) .WMV Version
• Karelin Lift .WMV Version