Beloglazov, Sergey

▪ Soviet athlete

born Sept. 16, 1956, Kaliningrad, Russia, U.S.S.R.

      Soviet freestyle wrestler who won two Olympic gold medals.

      At the age of 21, Beloglazov became a member of the Soviet national team. That same year, his twin brother, Anatoly, won the world championship at 48 kg (105.5 pounds). Sergey was smaller in height (5 feet ¹/₂ inch [154 cm]) than Anatoly (5 feet 2 ¹/₂ inches [159 cm]) but wrestled in a heavier weight class.

      Both Beloglazov brothers won gold medals at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. With falls in five of his six victories, Sergey earned the bantamweight (57 kg [125.5 pounds]) gold medal by defeating Li Ho-Pyong of North Korea in the finals. Anatoly, who had earned a second world championship, was the flyweight (52 kg [114.5 pounds]) champion, winning four matches by fall, including the championship bout with Wladyslaw Stecyk of Poland. The brothers were unable to defend their Olympic titles at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles because of the Soviet boycott. Sergey returned to Olympic competition at the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea, earning his second bantamweight gold medal by defeating Askari Mohammadian of Iran.

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