The fight is over. It was the last, final combat. For one of the athletes, it turned into Olympic gold. And the Messegeland audience burst into loud applause and multilingual cries. The victorious wrestler, lifting up his mighty hands, bowed in all directions with a bewildered smile. Apparently, he has not yet fully realized his happiness. Then the incredible happened. The athlete wandered to the middle of the carpet, knelt, bent down and kissed the matte surface. So he said goodbye to the wrestling ring - an impassive witness to the hundreds of disappointments and take-offs that an athlete went through over 15 years of his career.
This man was Alexander Medved - a freestyle wrestler, a three-time Olympic champion in different weight categories. Seven times he won the world championship and three times the European championship. The fighter's piggy bank has nine gold medals of sports and athletics championships of the USSR. This article will present a short biography of the athlete.
Childhood
Alexander Medved was born in 1937 in Bila Tserkva (Ukraine). In childhood, the boy did not have specific sports preferences. He spent his leisure time both on the basketball court and on the football field. Also, Sasha willingly swam, jumped, ran and fought with friends.
Military service
Immediately after school, Alexander Medved went to work at the plant as a fitter. Two years later, the young man was taken into the army. Here Sasha met wrestling. Having barely mastered a number of techniques and mastered tactics, he won the championship of the Belarusian military district.
Study
After the demobilization, the hero of this article decided to stay in Minsk. The Graduate School of Trainers and the Institute of Physical Education are the two educational institutions that Alexander Medved graduated from. Freestyle wrestling became his main specialization. Also, the athlete got very good mentors: Rybalko B.M. and Grigoriev P.V. Under their sensitive guidance, Alexander did not know defeats for many years.
Competitions
In March 1961, the championship in wrestling was held in the USSR. 21 athletes claimed for the gold medal . Among them were such masters as Ivanitsky, Dzarasov, Kandelaki and Kiknadze. After the end of the fifth round, Alexander became the leader, and the seventh revealed the strongest athletes. The bear received gold, Dzarasov - silver, and Ivanitsky - bronze.
The coaches decided to send Alexander to Japan for the World Cup. To get into this competition, the Bear had to wait four whole years. The athlete performed brilliantly on it. But towards the end of the tournament, he met with the German Dietrich. He scored one point more than our athlete, and thereby "pulled" his gold.
First Olympiad
In this competition, Alexander Medved nearly lost the gold award. He prematurely completed the fight with the Swiss Utzeller and Romanian Ballo. And the athlete won against Bulgarian Mustafov in 39 seconds. Only the Turkish Hayk could draw the fight in a draw. The clear superiority over the opponents almost played a cruel joke with Alexander. Even before he went out on the carpet with the Swede Erickson, the Bear was sure of his own victory. The opponent’s clearly bad form was evident. But in reality, everything was different. The Swede almost deprived Alexander of gold. From then on, the Bear decided that he would always respect the opponent. The athlete adhered to this rule throughout his career.
Severe test
Many athletes were scared of the 1968 Olympics. After all, the venue was chosen Alpine Mexico City. Lack of oxygen and rarefied air affected some athletes. Unfortunately, Alexander Medved was among them. But only a close circle of initiates knew about his malaise. As a result, at the insistence of Sasha, it was decided to participate in the competition.
The wrestler chose the following tactics: he demonstrated with his appearance the confidence in victory and the rainbow mood. And the fights themselves tried to finish ahead of schedule. Everything went well until meeting with the old enemy Dietrich, to whom Alexander lost in Japan. The German went ahead, and the unexpected happened. There was a terrible and strong crunch. The fight stopped, and both athletes began to examine themselves. It turned out that the thumb on Alexander's right hand is unnaturally arched. Doctors began scurrying around the ring, preparing dressings. But their help was not needed. The bear corrected the dislocation on its own. A slight click was heard in the hall. “Let's blow the whistle” - this sign was shown to the referee by Alexander Medved. The struggle resumed, but Dietrich seemed to be replaced. After the first attack, the athlete limped. And then he refused to continue the fight.
Conclusion
Alexander Medved, whose biography was presented in this article, continued to live actively after the end of his career. The reason for this was the habit developed over the years about the productive use of every free minute. But the regime did not turn the former fighter into some kind of “hermit”. Alexander Vasilievich perfectly understood that sport is not all life. The former athlete began to devote more time to his family and his hobbies (photography, hunting). Together with his wife Tatyana, he raised two beautiful children - son Alexei and daughter Elena. Alyosha followed in his father's footsteps, winning the world championship in wrestling.