On the final day of the Olympic Games, Akhmed Tazhudinov needed less than two minutes to defeat Georgia’s Givi Matcharashvili at the Champ de Mars arena and win gold in the men’s freestyle -97 kg category – one of the most outstanding events on the international wrestling calendar.
Tazhudinov’s gold medal secured the 21-year-old’s reputation as one of the titans of the sport. He is already the reigning world champion and winner of the Asian Games. At the Olympics, he defeated two-time U-23 world champion Amir Ali Azarpira of Iran, former Olympic gold medalist and three-time world champion Kyle Snyder and finally two-time world medalist Matcharashvili.
Officially, he had made history. As the referee lifted Tazhudinov’s powerful arm, the stadium commentator announced that the gold medal he had won was Bahrain’s first Olympic medal in wrestling. In the crowd, a small group of Bahrainis cheered loudly. Tazhudinov hugged his coach and did a lap around the wrestling mat with the Bahraini flag around his shoulders.
But although the medal table will record a gold medal against Bahrain, Tazhudinov’s identity as a subject of the Middle Eastern monarchy is not even superficial. At the press conference after the medal ceremony, it was clear to all present that Tazhudinov speaks Russian, not Arabic. He is from the town of Gergebil, high in the mountains in the Russian Republic of Dagestan. The coach he hugged after winning the gold medal – Shamil Omaraov – has been training him for over a decade now at the Abdulrashid Sadulaev wrestling club in Dagestan.
Russia is not officially represented at the 2024 Olympics. Athletes from the country were told they must compete as “allied independent athletes” rather than under their country’s flag. Athletes who were found to have supported the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine were denied the right to compete. Russia’s two-time Olympic champion in men’s freestyle wrestling -97kg, Abdulrashid Sadulaev – after whom the club where Tazhudinov trains is named – was prevented from defending his title for the same reason and banned from the Olympic qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Games.
A woman holds a sign reading “Boycott Russian sports at the Olympics” during a march to commemorate the hundreds of Ukrainian athletes killed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Paris, France, on July 13, 2024. | Photo credit: Getty Images
A woman holds a sign reading “Boycott Russian sports at the Olympics” during a march to commemorate the hundreds of Ukrainian athletes killed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Paris, France, on July 13, 2024. | Photo credit: Getty Images
The rules proved annoying and the Russian wrestling team eventually withdrew from the competition altogether. This was seen as a major blow to the competitiveness of men’s freestyle wrestling. At the Tokyo Games, for example, Russian wrestlers won medals in five of the six weight classes, including three golds. At the Rio Games, they won medals in three of six weight classes, including two golds, while in London they won medals in four of seven weight classes, winning two golds.
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But despite Russia’s exclusion from the 2024 Games, there is no shortage of Russians on the podium. Tazhudinov is not the only one. Wrestlers – who came through the Russian wrestling development system not only because of their origins – have won seven medals at the Paris Olympics, including three gold medals in the six weight classes of the men’s freestyle.
From Russia, with love
They include Tazhudinov, representing Bahrain, Razambek Zhamalov, representing Uzbekistan, who surprised the field in the men’s 74kg class, and Magomed Ramazanov – now for Bulgaria – who defeated former Olympic champion Hassan Yazdani of Iran in the 86kg final. Another four – Islam Dudaev (Albania 65kg class), Chermen Valiev (Albania 74kg class), Dauren Kurugliev (Greece 86kg class) and Magomedkhan Magomedov (Azerbaijan 97kg class) – have won bronze.
The results were closely followed back home in Russia. A few minutes after Tazhudinov won gold, Abdulrashid Sadulaev posted a congratulatory message on Instagram.
“Congratulations to Akhmed Tazhudinov and our coach Shamil Omarov on a brilliant and confident victory at the Olympic Games in Paris! You have already written your name in history, Akhmed. Keep it up, this is just the beginning! We are not at the Olympic Games, but, as they say, our business is alive and well. Akhmed Tazhudinov’s gold was the third of six possible gold medals for the graduates of the Russian wrestling school in Paris. This is a strong result!” Sadulaev posted in Russian.
This result speaks for the great talent of Russian wrestling. All of these wrestlers learned their craft in Russia, but have changed nationalities in recent years.
“Russia could not send its main team for political reasons. These wrestlers would have been part of our B or C teams,” says Vyacheslav Abdusalamov, one of Russia’s most respected wrestling journalists, who is currently covering the Olympic Games in Paris.
This claim is backed up by reality. Tazhudinov, for example, lost in the semifinals of the men’s 97 kg category at the 2022 Russian Championships before deciding to change nationality and go to Bahrain later in the season. He had never competed internationally for Russia, not even in an age group competition.
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Even after his Olympic title, Tazhudinov insisted that he was Sadulaev’s younger brother.
“It’s hard to believe that I am the champion. Abdulrashid (Sadulaev) will always be our leader,” says Tazhudinov, who, despite wrestling for Bahrain, continues to live and train alongside Sadulaev and under Omerov in Dagestan.
While Tazhudinov did not get the chance to represent Russia, most of the wrestlers originally from Russia but competing for other countries moved abroad after the war in Ukraine, when there were no longer any opportunities for Russian athletes to compete abroad.
For some wrestlers, the move came even later. Zhamalov only completed his transfer to Uzbekistan in early 2024. He only took part in two international tournaments – the United World Wrestling (UWW) rankings in Hungary, before representing his adopted country at the Olympic Games.
For most people, the reason for changing their nationality is simple.
“The competition to represent Russia at the Olympic Games is very tough,” says Abdusalamov.
“If you’re not the best in Russia, you’ll never get the chance to compete internationally. Most wrestlers who transfer do so because they know this is their best chance to compete at the Olympics,” he says.
This was admitted by Magomed Ramazanov, who never won more than bronze at the Russian national championships.
“I think Bulgaria is my second home. Bulgaria gave me the opportunity to compete in the Olympics. I was waiting for the opportunity to compete in the Olympics and time flew by. When I finally got my passport, I was very grateful,” he said after defeating three-time world champion Yazdani in the final of the men’s 86 kg class.
For others, the relentlessness of the Russian wrestling system was too much. Razambek Zhamalov, a former U23 World Championship gold medalist for Russia, was unable to compete for nearly two years due to a series of injuries before moving to a country with a weaker national structure – which would cause less damage to his body.
“I’ve had six to seven surgeries throughout my career. About two years ago, I thought I was going to end my career. I remember when I was in the operating room, I was thinking about whether I could continue. I’m going to have another surgery on my shoulder soon,” Zhamalov said at a press conference after winning the gold medal in the men’s 74 kg class.
Others are attracted by economic factors.
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“If you win silver or bronze medals at Russian championships, nobody is particularly interested in you. But if you go to another country, it is much easier to earn money. You get scholarships and rewards if you win competitions for them,” he says.
Not everyone is a fan of Russian wrestlers changing their nationality and still managing to dominate world wrestling. UWW President Nenad Lalovic is one of them.
“The old system and rules will be much stricter in terms of nationality changes. We want nations to develop their sport from the grassroots from now on – to work on their own citizens more than before. Countries will be able to accept fewer former foreigners who take up their citizenship. The new rules are very similar to those of the IOC, with a very narrow window of two athletes per year – one man and one woman. This will severely limit nationality changes. From now until the next Olympic Games, teams must not consist of foreigners, but must consist mostly of the nationality of the respective country,” said Lalovic.
But for now, Russian wrestlers continued to dominate the Olympic Games. For the Russians, it didn’t matter which flag was actually raised at the medal ceremony.
Gold medalist Razambek Salambekovich Zhamalov of Team Uzbekistan | Photo credit: Getty Images
Gold medalist Razambek Salambekovich Zhamalov of Team Uzbekistan | Photo credit: Getty Images
“Ultimately, we know that these wrestlers belong to us. When they win an Olympic medal, they all come back home, where they receive gifts and rewards from major private businessmen in Dagestan and Moscow. It doesn’t matter which country they represent. We know that they belong to us,” says Abdusalamov.
This also applies to Tazhudinov. When asked what he would do after winning the Olympics, he initially seemed confused.
“First I will return to Bahrain and celebrate the victory there. And then I will give my gold medal to my parents (in Gergebil). I want to keep it there,” he says.
