Alexander Alexandrovich Karelin (born 1967) - Soviet and Russian athlete, wrestler of the classical (Greco-Roman) style, statesman and politician, deputy of the State Duma of 5 convocations. Member of the Supreme Council of the political party "United Russia". Honored Master of Sports of the USSR and Hero of Russia.
Multiple winner of various international competitions. He was awarded the "Golden Belt" four times as the best wrestler on the planet. During his sports career, he won 888 fights (887 in wrestling and 1 in MMA), having suffered only two defeats.
It is in the TOP-25 of the world's best athletes of the 20th century. He is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as an athlete who has not lost a single fight for 13 years.
In the biography of Karelin there are many interesting facts, which we will tell about in this article.
So, before you is a short biography of Alexander Karelin.
Biography of Karelin
Alexander Karelin was born on September 19, 1967 in Novosibirsk. He grew up and was brought up in the family of driver and amateur boxer Alexander Ivanovich and his wife Zinaida Ivanovna.
Childhood and youth
At birth, the future champion weighed 5.5 kg. When Karelin was 13 years old, his height was already 178 cm, with a weight of 78 kg.
Alexander's interest in sports manifested itself in childhood. At the age of 14, he began to seriously engage in classical wrestling.
The first and only coach of Karelin was Viktor Kuznetsov, with whom he won a huge number of victories.
The teenager regularly attended training sessions, which were periodically accompanied by injuries. When he broke his leg at the age of 15, his mother began to persuade her son to leave the fight and even burned his uniform.
However, this did not stop Alexander. He continued to visit the gym, where he honed his skills.
When Karelin was barely 17 years old, he managed to fulfill the standard of the Master of Sports of the USSR.
The next year, another significant event took place in the biography of Alexander Karelin. He became the world champion in Greco-Roman wrestling among juniors.
In the eighth grade, the young man left school and entered the technical school. Then he continued his studies at the school of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Later he graduated from the Omsk Institute of Physical Education.
Wrestling
In 1986, Karelin was invited to the Soviet national team, in which he became the champion of the republic, Europe and the world.
After 2 years, Alexander participated in the Olympic Games in Seoul, where he took 1st place. In the final, he defeated the Bulgarian Rangel Gerovski, using his trademark throw - the "reverse belt" against him.
In the future, this throw will help Karelin win gold medals at the World Championships in 1990, and then at the German tournament in 1991.
In 1992, Alexander's sports biography was replenished with a new significant fight. In the final of the next Olympics, he took to the carpet against the 20-time Swedish champion Thomas Johansson.
It took the Russian wrestler less than 2 minutes to put Johansson on his shoulder blades and win the "gold".
The following year, Karelin participated in the World Championship. In a duel with American Matt Gaffari, he seriously injured 2 of his ribs - one came off and the other broke.
Nevertheless, Alexander managed to win the battle. After 20 minutes, he again had to fight Johansson, who was aware of the recent injury.
However, no matter how hard the Swede tried to knock down the Russian athlete, he failed to achieve his goal. Moreover, Karelin performed the "reverse belt" three times, throwing his opponent to the floor.
Having reached the final, Alexander proved to be stronger than the Bulgarian Sergei Mureiko and again became the world champion.
After that, Karelin won one after one victory, receiving new titles and awards. The fantastic winning streak continued until 2000, when the Sydney Olympics took place.
At this Olympics, the "Russian terminator", as Alexander was already called at that time, suffered the second defeat in his sports biography. He lost to American Roll Gardner. Events developed as follows:
At the end of the 1st period, the score remained 0: 0, therefore, after the break, the wrestlers were placed in a cross grip. Karelin was the first to unclench his hands, thereby breaking the rules, and as a result, the judges gave the winning ball to his opponent.
As a result, the American athlete won 1: 0, and Alexander won silver for the first time in 13 years. After an unfortunate loss, Karelin announced the end of his professional career.
As mentioned earlier, the athlete's signature throw was the "reverse belt". In the heavyweight division, only he could perform such a move.
Social activity
In 1998, Alexander Karelin defended his Ph.D. thesis at the Lesgaft St. Petersburg Academy. After 4 years, he became a doctor of pedagogical sciences.
The wrestler's dissertations are devoted to sports topics. Experts say that Karelin managed to develop an effective system of exercises that allows an athlete not only to get in perfect shape, but also helps to achieve success in the field of psychology and stress resistance.
After leaving big sport, Karelin became interested in politics. Since 2001, he has been a member of the Supreme Council of United Russia.
In the past, Alexander Alexandrovich was a member of the committees for health and sports, energy, and was also a member of the commission for geopolitics.
In 2016, the premiere of the sports drama Champions: Faster. Higher. Stronger". The film featured the biographies of 3 legendary Russian athletes: gymnast Svetlana Khorkina, swimmer Alexander Popov and wrestler Alexander Karelin.
In 2018, on the eve of the presidential elections, the ex-wrestler was in the support group for the current President Vladimir Putin.
Personal life
With his wife Olga, Alexander met in his youth. The couple met at the bus stop, after which a conversation ensued between them.
In an interview, Karelin admitted that Olga was not afraid of his frightening appearance, since it was a summer bright evening outside.
In this marriage, the couple had a girl, Vasilisa, and 2 boys, Denis and Ivan.
A very kind, wise and erudite person is hidden behind Alexander's serious, literally stony gaze. The man is fond of the works of Dostoevsky, American and English literature.
In addition, Pyotr Stolypin sympathizes with Karelin, whose biography he knows almost by heart.
The athlete loves motor vehicles, being the owner of 7 cars, 2 ATVs and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Alexander Karelin today
Today Alexander Alexandrovich is still involved in politics, sitting in the State Duma on behalf of the United Russia party.
In addition, the wrestler visits different cities, where he gives wrestling master classes and considers various social projects.
In 2019, the Network was agitated by Karelin's statement about pension reform. The politician said that Russians should stop being dependent on the state and start independently providing for the older generation. He allegedly adheres to the same principle when he helps his own father.
The deputy's words caused a storm of indignation among his compatriots. They recalled that their financial situation will not allow them to take care of the elderly in full, while Karelin's salary amounts to several hundred thousand rubles a month.
By the way, in 2018, the income of Alexander Alexandrovich amounted to 7.4 million rubles. In addition, he is the owner of several land plots with a total area of 63,400 m², 5 residential buildings and one apartment, excluding vehicles.
Karelin Photos
