Russian welterweight Oleg Saitov is among the most successful Olympic boxers, and came close to equalling the feats of Lászlo Papp, Teófilo Stevenson and Félix Savón - who all won three gold medals. Saitov won the welterweight division in Atlanta and successfully defended the title in Sydney. He was additionally honored with the Val Barker Trophy, awarded at each Olympics for the best technical boxer. At the Athens Games, Saitov again reached the semi-finals, but was eliminated in a close bout by eventual champion Bakhtiyar Artayev of Kazakhstan, and thus had to settle for bronze. In addition to his Olympic exploits, Saitov won a full set of medals at the World Championships, including the title in 1997. Saitov also medalled three times at the European Championships, gaining the title in 1998 and 2004. Saitov, a mechanic by trade, never turned professional. After his retirement in 2004, he went into regional politics. In 2009, he became deputy minister of sports, tourism and youth in the Russian Oblast (province) of Samara.
Russian Federation