John Smith

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• Top 6 Wrestlers of All Time

  Currently #3 · score 0

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• Aleksandr Karelin

  Aleksandr Karelin won Olympic gold in Greco-Roman wrestling at three consecutive Olympics between 1988 and 1996, and he went 13 years without losing a single match at any level of international competition, a streak so dominant that opponents openly discussed the psychological difficulty of even attempting to score a single point against him. Nicknamed "the Russian Bear" and "Alexander the Great" by wrestling media, Karelin's signature "reverse body lift," in which he would lift opponents nearly his own massive size completely off the mat and throw them backward, became one of the most feared individual techniques in the sport's history. His shocking 2000 Sydney Olympics final loss, in which American wrestler Rulon Gardner defeated Karelin to end his 13-year unbeaten streak, is widely regarded as one of the greatest upsets in Olympic wrestling history, given Karelin's near-total dominance across the preceding decade. Karelin's combined three Olympic golds and his 13-year unbeaten international streak have made him the individual most consistently cited as the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler in history, and his eventual defeat remains one of the most celebrated upsets in the sport's Olympic history.

• Buvaisar Saitiev

  Buvaisar Saitiev won Olympic gold in freestyle wrestling across three separate Olympics spanning a decade, from 1996 to 2008, and his combined six World Championship titles place him among the most decorated freestyle wrestlers in the sport's history. His technical fluidity and creative, improvisational approach to wrestling, incorporating techniques and setups that departed significantly from the more rigid, power-based style common among many heavyweight competitors, made Saitiev one of the most aesthetically admired wrestlers of his generation despite competing in the sport's lighter weight classes. Saitiev, an ethnic Chechen, competed for Russia during a period of significant political conflict between Russia and Chechnya, and his continued representation of Russia throughout that tense period made him a notable and sometimes politically complicated figure within his home region. His combined three Olympic golds spanning more than a decade, along with his extensive World Championship title collection, established Saitiev as one of the most technically gifted and sustained freestyle wrestling champions in Olympic history.

• Kaori Icho

  Kaori Icho won Olympic gold in women's freestyle wrestling at four consecutive Olympics, from 2004 to 2016, all in the same weight division, becoming the first female athlete in any sport to win an individual gold medal at four consecutive Olympic Games. Her sustained dominance across 13 years of Olympic competition, remaining undefeated for a period spanning more than a decade at one point, reflected a level of consistency at the highest level of international wrestling that few competitors, male or female, have matched across such an extended competitive window. Icho's technical wrestling style, combining exceptional balance and defensive positioning with decisive, precisely timed scoring attacks, made her one of the most tactically respected wrestlers of her generation among fellow international competitors and coaches. Her four consecutive individual Olympic golds in a single weight class remain unmatched by any wrestler, male or female, and Icho's sustained excellence across more than a decade has established her as the individual most frequently cited as the greatest women's wrestler in Olympic history.

• Saori Yoshida

  Saori Yoshida won Olympic gold in women's freestyle wrestling at three consecutive Olympics, from 2004 to 2012, and her combined 13 World Championship titles remain the most of any wrestler, male or female, in the sport's history. Her sustained dominance included a streak of 119 consecutive match wins at one point during her career, a level of essentially uninterrupted competitive success across international competition that few athletes in any combat sport have approached. Yoshida's technical precision and aggressive, high-tempo wrestling style made her one of the most dominant competitors in her weight class for well over a decade, and her continued excellence into her thirties reflected remarkable career longevity in a physically demanding combat sport. Her eventual silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, ending her streak of consecutive individual gold medals, still capped a career whose combined Olympic and World Championship record — 13 world titles alongside three Olympic golds — makes Yoshida one of the most statistically dominant wrestlers, of any gender, in the sport's history.

• Dan Gable

  Dan Gable won Olympic gold in freestyle wrestling at the 1972 Munich Olympics without surrendering a single point across the entire tournament, a level of dominance so complete that it remains one of the most frequently cited individual performances in Olympic wrestling history. His collegiate wrestling record at Iowa State University included 181 consecutive wins, and his only college loss, in his final collegiate match, is still remembered as one of the most shocking upsets in NCAA wrestling history precisely because of how thoroughly dominant Gable had been up to that point. After his competitive career, Gable became head coach at the University of Iowa, building the program into one of the most dominant dynasties in college sports history, winning 15 NCAA team championships across 21 seasons and establishing Iowa as the standard-bearer for American collegiate wrestling. His combination of a nearly flawless competitive record and his subsequent transformation of Iowa into college wrestling's most dominant program has made Gable one of the most significant figures in the entire history of American wrestling, at both the Olympic and collegiate levels.