The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic GamesAugust 8-24 2008
(BEJING, August 21) -- The Wrestling competition of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games concluded on August 21, after producing one gold medal each in Men's Freestyle 84 kilogram, 96 kilogram and 120 kilogram.
George Gogshelidze grabbed Georgia's second Wrestling gold medal in Beijing by winning the 84kg final. The 32-year-old was 13th in Athens and won the 2005 World Championships. His opponent, Athens ninth place finisher Yusup Abdusalomov, achieved Tajikistan's best Olympic achievement by making it to the final. The 30-year-old collapsed outside the arena after the final, after appearing unwell during the bout.
"He is a strong wrestler and it was not our first meeting. We have met each other twice and the first time I won. Right now I beat him and I would say I was better than him," said Gogshelidze after the final. "It is sport. Everything happens when you have this kind of match in the Olympic final. I hope he will be well and he is healthy and there are no problems. I wish him all the best."
In previous bronze medal bouts, Ukraine's Taras Danko and Russia's Georgy Ketoev defeated their respective opponents.
Russia's Shirvani Muradov took his country's sixth Wrestling gold medal by winning the 96kg final over Kazakhstan's Taimuraz Tigiyev. Muradov, 23, came into the spotlight in recent years, especially after his triumph at the 2007 European Championships.
"Of course I'm very happy to win the Gold medal. These are the Olympic Games. It's a sport of champions," said Muradov afterwards. "Presently, I am not feeling that I have won the gold medal. Maybe later, once I am back to my motherland in Dagestan, I will feel that. There are many Olympic champions coming from this region of Russia so I don't think they will erect a monument for me."
The bronze medalists in this division were Georgia's George Gogshelidze and Azerbaijan's Khetag Gazyumov.
In the 120kg final, three-time Olympian Artur Taymazov of Uzbekistan successfully defended his title by defeating Russia's Bakhtiyar Akhmedov. This gold medal is not only Taymazov's third consecutive Olympic medal (second gold medal), but also Uzbekistan's first gold medal in Beijing.
"I have prepared for this moment for a long time. Nothing except a gold medal can satisfy me," Taymazov commented his victory after medal ceremony. "I think I cannot compare my three Olympics. Each Olympics was difficult for me. I would like to give this gold medal to my country people, and to those who love me, trust me and respect me. I'm very happy I did not disappoint them."
Slovakia's David Musulbes took a bronze medal, Slovakia's first ever Olympic Wrestling medal. He represented Russia in Sydney and won a gold medal for them. "It doesn't matter what color the medal is. I have trained for this competition for a long time. What keeps driving me to perform is my love for wrestling," said Musulbes.
The other bronze medalist was Kazakhstan's Marid Mutalimov.
Within the Wrestling competition, Russia tops the medal list with six gold medals, three silver medals and two bronze medals. They won one more gold medal then they did in Athens. Japan places second, with two medals in each color. Georgia ranks third with two gold medals and two bronze medals.
