Avtandil KORIDZE

Avtandil Koridze from Georgia took up wrestling in 1949 and was selected for the Soviet national team in 1957. In 1960 Koridze was chosen for the Soviet Olympic team and, at the Olympics, surprised everyone by capturing gold in the Greco-Roman lightweight division by winning five matches and drawing with the 1956 Greco-Roman lightweight champion, Kyösti Lehtonen from Finland. At the 1961 World Championships Koridze won gold in Greco-Roman lightweight, but retired from competition after the tournament. Domestically, Koridze never won a Soviet title, but earned Soviet Greco-Roman lightweight silver in 1957 and 1960 and Greco-Roman lightweight bronze in 1958. He died in a car accident together with 1956 Olympic Greco-Roman featherweight bronze medalist Roman Dzeneladze.