Saytiev wins third Olympic freestyle gold

The Russian wrestler Buvaysa Saytiev has won a record equalling third Olympic freestyle gold medal.

Russia's Buvaysa Saytiev (red) grapples with South Korea's Cho Byung-Kwan during their wrestling men's 74kg freestyle 1/8 wrestling final match at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on August 20, 2008. AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA *** Local Caption ***  127966-01-08.jpg
Powered by automated translation

BEIJING // The Russian wrestler Buvaysa Saytiev has won a record equalling third Olympic freestyle gold medal. Saytiev matched his golds of 1996 and 2004 by defeating Soslan Tigiev of Uzbekistan 0-1, 1-0, 3-1 in the 74 kilograms (163 pounds) event. The only previous three-time freestyle gold medallist was the Soviet Union's Alexander Medved in 1964, 1968 and 1972. The 33-year-old Saytiev was forced to wrestle his way back onto the Russian team after being beaten out a year ago by the eventual world champion.

The bronze medals were won by Murad Gaidarov of Belarus and Kiril Terziev of Bulgaria. *AP