BUT.Boltukayev is considered one of the strongest freestyle wrestlers in the category up to 97 kg. He has won the World Cup bronze, winning the European Championship. Withstanding the difficult competition with the strongest wrestlers of the heavy weight category, he did not have the opportunity to often perform at major competitions, but in 2016 he managed to get into the final tournament of the Olympic Games in Rio, where he lost in the early stages.
Long start
Anzor Adamovich Boltukayev was born in 1986 in the city of Grozny. The boy's childhood coincided with a difficult period in the life of the Chechen Republic, in the context of the fighting there was no time for sports.
Анзор Болтукаев относится к тому типу athletes that later reveal their talents. At the World Junior Championships in 2006, a twenty-year-old athlete took only sixth place and seemed unpromising for many professionals. However, for a couple of years, the Chechen wrestler made a qualitative leap in his development and managed to take the bronze medal at the 2008 Russian Championship.
Then, however, followed by a decline in results.One can only note the constant hit in the prizes at the prestigious tournament "Ramzan Kadyrov Cup". I must say that the competition in weight to 97 kg in the Russian national team in wrestling freestyle was particularly acute. The athlete from Grozny was forced to compete with the Athens Olympic champion Khadzhimurat Gatsalov, a strong wrestler Abdusalam Gadisov. In the shadow of these big guys it was hard to make a statement.
Return
Anzor Boltukaev vividly reminded himself only in 2013. He scored a superb form, acted sharply and made an appointment.
The favorites were the undisputed leaders - HadzhimuratGatsalov and Abdusalam Gadisov, however, Anzor emerged from the shadow of legendary athletes and without the slightest respect for the authorities he confidently figured out both on his way to gold.
Becoming the champion of the country, the Chechen wrestler gotthe right to participate in the World Championships in Hungary. Here he was overtaken by an unpleasant injury. Anzor stretched his groin and could not act in the same way as in the championship of Russia. Nevertheless, he did not leave Budapest without a medal, becoming the bronze medalist of the world championship.
Second hike for titles
Almost two years Anzor Boltukayev recoveredafter unpleasant damage and could not show decent results. However, in 2016, he was able to remind professionals and fans of his existence.
На Гран-при имени Ивана Ярыгина жребий сводил его with the most formidable wrestlers: I had to grapple with the Americans Jack Warner and Kyle Snyder, who owned the Olympic and world titles. But the Chechen wrestler acted enthusiastically, was aggressive and dominated on the mat, overcoming both formidable rivals.
After that, he went to the European Championship in 2016 in the status of one of the main favorites.
Having reached the final, Anzor Boltukayev met with Valery Andreytsev, whom he was able to overcome in an equal and hard fight, becoming the first European champion.
Of particular importance was for him the nationalthe championship of that year, after only having won the tournament, the athlete got a chance to go to the Olympic Games. A very bright, but unstable wrestler acted confidently and in the final in one minute defeated the titled Khadzhimurat Gatsalov, who had in his credit the gold of the Olympics and five victories at the world championships.
First Olympiad
На Олимпиаде 2016 года Анзор Болтукаев ranked among the main favorites of the tournament and was in excellent shape. However, the readiness of another strong wrestler was better. Already at the 1/8 final stage, the Chechen wrestler met with Olympic medalist Valery Andreytsev. Anzor had already beaten him in past tournaments, but that evening the Ukrainian athlete turned out to be stronger and knocked out the Russian from the competition.
The last major tournament for Boltukayev today was the European Championship 2017 in Serbia. He went to the tournament not in the best shape, but due to his character and experience, he managed to reach the final.
