Vakht'ang Balavadze

Georgian Vakht’ang Balavadze found his first fame in sambo, a Soviet wrestling style similar to judo, by winning a Soviet welterweight sambo title in 1952 and silver in 1951, before establishing himself as one of the world’s top welterweight freestylers in the 1950s. Balavadze was World freestyle welterweight champion in 1954 and 1957 and won silver in 1959, but was not as successful at the Olympics. At the two Olympics in which he participated, Balavadze managed only to win bronze in 1956, when he lost to Mitsuo Ikeda and İbrahim Zengin in the third and final rounds and finished a disappointing 11th in 1960 after losing to İsmail Oğan in the first round. Balavadze also won gold in the World Festival of Youth and Students in 1953. Domestically, Balavadze was Soviet freestyle welterweight champion in 1952-55 and 1957, while taking silvers in 1956 and 1959. Balavadze retired from sports after the 1960 Olympics and later worked as a wrestling coach and referee in his native Georgia.