Russian sport has never been among the laggards. This is especially true for the boxing world, since fighters from our country in this kind of martial arts have always been in the leading positions in the world classification, including at Olympic tournaments. One of the most outstanding amateur boxers of our time is Oleg Saitov. This man wrote his name in gold letters in history, becoming in his time a two-time Olympic champion. The life and achievements of this outstanding person will be discussed in this article.
Facts only
Saitov Oleg was born on May 26, 1974. The place of his birth is the city of Novokuybyshevsk. In the family of the future champion there was no one who would go in for sports professionally. However, the boy’s father was a fighter in his youth. And it was he who told his son about how these trainings helped him to stand up for himself more than once. It goes without saying that these conversations made a great impression on Oleg, and he made appropriate conclusions for himself.
The beginning of the way
Oleg got into the boxing section of Saitov thanks to his older brother Vadim, who also engaged in this sport. Oleg won his first significant victory at the age of 14, when he was able to take the “silver” of the youth championship of Russia. This achievement allowed the young man to receive special food stamps, and this was very important for his family, since they always lived in poor conditions (father is a driver, mother is a nurse). The first coach of the budding boxer was Konstantin Loginov.
After graduating from eight classes, Saitov went to college to master the profession of a truck crane. At the same time Loginov had already given him less time, which ultimately resulted in Oleg’s independent trips to competitions. This state of affairs affected the results of the fighter, and he realized that he needed to change his life.
Moving to Zhigulevsk
After consulting with his older brother and Dmitry Korsun (European champion among juniors), Saitov moved to Zhigulevsk. Thus, at the age of 16 he began a completely independent life.
In this city, the guy was able to very quickly improve his achievements. This was largely due to the appearance of a new coach, Igor Petrovich Utkin. This man became not only the mentor of the athlete, but also practically the second father.
Working in conjunction with the honored trainer of the RSFSR, Oleg Saitov developed his own style. He learned to get out of any difficult situation in the ring, constantly pulled out an opponent, boosted the pace and carried out successful attacks.
Europe championship
In 1992, Oleg Saitov (a boxer with outstanding data) represented the CIS team at the World Championships. The tournament was held in Scotland. Already in the first battle, the Russian defeated the local fighter, sending him to three knockdowns. This victory allowed Oleg to make it to the semifinals, where the Italian opposed him. The fight with him was also successful for our hero. Ahead of him was the finale. The last battle with the German turned out to be surprisingly easy: Oleg easily outplayed his opponent and won the “gold”. This medal allowed Saitov to become an international master of sports in Russia .
Series of victories
In 1992, Oleg Saitov, whose nationality remains a mystery to many, became the world champion among juniors. It happened in Canada. On the way to the top, he literally dared his opponents. All of them have been knocked down. In addition, at that tournament Oleg was awarded the prize as the most technical fighter.
In 1993, he won the CIS Championship among adults and took third place in the world tournament in Finland.
Test of glory
All of the above successes had a very negative psychological impact on Saitov. Many people began to flatter him, praise for success went from all sides. It is logical that at the age of twenty this all led to the emergence of "star disease". As a result, Oleg began to lose his position. Each competition for him turned into torture, because he could not take first place anywhere. However, the guy was able to gather strength and understand that it is necessary to change the approach to life. He became interested in Eastern philosophy and psychology. This ultimately allowed him to regain lost ground.
Return
In 1995, Oleg went to the World Cup in Berlin. There he took second place, but his final was broadcast to the whole planet. Saitov’s interesting boxing style was able to conquer many. A year later, he became the first in the championship of Russia and the third in the tournament in Denmark. Ahead was waiting for the Olympics.
Hello Atlanta!
The Olympic tournament showed all the skill that Oleg Saitov owned. Boxing, which he demonstrated in the boxing ring, was simply amazing. The first three fights were simple: the results of a successful draw were affected. The semi-final was already quite difficult. Puerto Rican Santos offered decent resistance, but the Russian was still able to snatch victory with a score of 13:11. In the final, Oleg was awaited by his old-time opponent Juan Hernandez. But everything turned out successfully: having survived the onslaught of the Cuban, the Russian fighter was able to build up his advantage and win with a good lead of 14: 9. As a result, Oleg Saitov is an Olympic champion!
Way to the second Olympiad
After a triumph in the USA, Saitov survived a contented mixed period of his sports career. He was again overtaken by both victories and defeats. And Oleg was selected at the last attempt at the Sydney Olympic Games. Not the last role in this was played by the then head coach of the national team Nikolai Khromov, who believed in his ward.
Oleg Saitov (nationality - Mari) in Australia performed just great. The hardest fight for him there was a fight with Ruslan Khairov. But already in the semifinals and finals, the Russian again proved that he is the best. These victories allowed him to become a two-time winner of the Olympiad. At the same time, he was also awarded the prestigious Val Barker Cup, as the most technical boxer of the championship.
Life outside of sports
Saitov after the completion of an athlete’s career was able to fully realize himself in ordinary life.
In 2005, he became the head of the department of physical education and sports in his native Samara region.
From 2013 to 2015, he was the Minister of Sports of the Sakhalin Region.
Married. Raises three children (daughter and two sons). And to this day, he maintains himself in excellent physical shape, regularly playing football, basketball, skiing.