Gogi KOGUASHVILI

Georgian Gogi Koguashvili, who decided to compete under the Russian flag after the fall of the Soviet Union, was considered one of the world’s best light-heavyweight, and later heavyweight, Greco-Roman wrestlers during the 1990s, although he never won Olympic gold. The five-time World and four-time European Champion struggled greatly in the Olympic arena, winning only one medal at four Olympics: light-heavyweight bronze in 1992. Koguashvili won his World titles in 1993 and 1994 in light-heavyweight and in 1997-99 in heavyweight and his European titles in 1994-96 in light-heavyweight and in 2002 in heavyweight. He also captured light-heavyweight bronze at the 1995 World Championships and heavyweight silver at the 2000 European Championships, and won the 1991-92 World Cup. Koguashvili retired from sports after the 2004 Olympics and later worked as a wrestling coach, becoming head coach of the Russian national Greco-Roman team. In 2007 he was elected to the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame.