Givi K'art'ozia

Georgian Givi K’art’ozia, the world’s best Greco-Roman middleweight wrestler in the 1950s, rose into prominence at the 1951 World Festival of Youth and Students, where he won gold in Greco-Roman middleweight. He also won Greco-Roman middleweight gold at the 1953 edition. In the 1950s K’art’ozia won almost everything there was to win internationally in Greco-Roman middleweight. He was the Olympic Champion in 1956 and won the 1956 World Cup and World titles in 1953, 1955 and 1958. Domestically, K’art’ozia was the Soviet Greco-Roman middleweight champion in 1952-55, while taking silver in 1956 and bronze in 1950 and 1951. Before the 1960 Olympics, K’art’ozia switched to the light-heavyweight class and won a bronze at the Games, retiring soon thereafter. Since 1966, after receiving a license from FILA, K’art’ozia has acted as an international wrestling referee. Since 2010, an annual international wrestling tournament in his honor has been held in Tbilisi.