Buvaisar Saitiev
Russian wrestler, politician (1975–2025)
Сайтин Хьамидан кlант Бувайсар · 布瓦伊萨尔·赛季耶夫 · ブバイサ・サイティエフ · 부바이사르 사이티예프
- Born
- 11 March 1975, Khasavyurt
- Died
- 2 March 2025, Moscow
- Citizenship
- Soviet Union, Russia
- Sport
- freestyle wrestling
- Occupation
- amateur wrestler, politician
- Height
- 180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
- Weight
- 74 kg (163 lb)
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.
Competitions
| Competition | Year | Result |
|---|---|---|
| wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – men's freestyle 74 kg | ||
| wrestling at the 2004 Summer Olympics – men's freestyle 74 kg | ||
| 2000 Summer Olympics | 2000 | |
| wrestling at the 2008 Summer Olympics – men's freestyle 74 kg | 2008 |
Awards and honours
- Honoured Master of Sports of Russia
- Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class
- Order of Akhmad Kadyrov
- Order of Al-Fakhr
- Order of Friendship
- Order of Honour
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q313452 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.