Buvaisar Saitiev

Buvaisar Saitiev
Saitiev in 2020
Personal information
Born(1975-03-11)11 March 1975
Khasavyurt, Dagestan ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died2 March 2025(2025-03-02) (aged 49)
Moscow, Russia
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight74 kg (163 lb)
Sport
CountryRussia
SportWrestling
EventFreestyle
ClubMindiashvili wrestling academy
Coached byDmitri Mindiashvili
Retired2008
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing  Russia
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 3 - -
World Championships 6 - -
Wrestling World Cup - - 1
European Championships 6 - -
Total 15 0 1
Olympic Games
1996 Atlanta74 kg
2004 Athens74 kg
2008 Beijing74 kg
World Championships
Atlanta 199574 kg
Krasnoyarsk 199776 kg
Tehran 199876 kg
Sofia 200176 kg
New York 200374 kg
Budapest 200574 kg
European Championships
Budapest 199674 kg
Warsaw 199776 kg
Bratislava 199885 kg
Budapest 200076 kg
Budapest 200176 kg
Moscow 200674 kg
World Cup
Edmonton 199474 kg

Buvaisar Hamidovich Saitiev (Russian: Бувайсар Хамидович Сайтиев, Chechen: Сайт КIант Бувайса; 11 March 1975 – 2 March 2025) was a Russian wrestler and politician. His total of nine world-level gold medals (three Olympics, six World Championships) in freestyle wrestling is second highest, behind Aleksandr Medved's 10. Saitiev is widely considered to be the greatest freestyle wrestler of all time; in 2007, he and Greco-Roman practitioner Aleksandr Karelin were voted the best wrestlers in the history of the sport by FILA.

After his retirement from competition, Saitiev served as an acting deputy from Dagestan in the 7th State Duma from 2016 until he stepped down in 2021. In 2015, he became the President of the Chechen Wrestling Federation, a position he held until his death in 2025.