Ruslan Ashuraliyev

Ruslan Ashuraliyev took up wrestling in 1965. A freestyle wrestler, Ashuraliyev competed in the first part of his career as a lightweight and won bronze at the 1972 Olympics. After the Olympics, he switched to welterweight and was the World Champion in that class in 1974 and 1975 and European Champion in 1974. He also won silver at the 1973 World Championships, won a World Cup in 1976 and also participated at the 1976 Olympics, where he finished an unfortunate fourth. At the Soviet Championships, Ashuraliyev won five Soviet titles (1971, 1973-74, 1976-77). After finishing his sporting career, Ashuraliyev worked as a wrestling coach and later also entered local politics, serving two terms in the Republic of Dagestan parliament. From 2000 until his death in 2009, Ashuraliyev worked as a director of Dagestan Polytechnic College.