Word: wrestlers
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...first woman to win five track-and-field golds in one Olympics--warming up for the long jump, but before she leaps you can thrill to Ian Thorpe--"Thorpedo"--Australia's 17-year-old swimming sensation. Then there's the amazing Russian super-heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler Alexander Karelin, going for his fourth straight gold medal...
Humans have even less of a chance against Karelin, 32, a super-heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler who has won gold medals in each of the past three Summer Games. In fact, the Siberian native has never lost in international competition. His streak extends 13 years, an astounding record. No wonder Karelin is a bogatyr--a folk hero--in Russia, where he represents his home town in the Duma (the Russian parliament) and holds the rank of colonel in the customs police...
...just what--besides massive size--makes him virtually invincible on the mat? First and foremost, says Mitch Hull, national teams director for U.S. wrestling, "he's maybe inhumanly strong." American wrestler Matt Ghaffari, 38, who has spent his career trying to defeat Karelin, can unhappily vouch for that. In Atlanta the 6-ft. 4-in., 286-lb. Ghaffari wept in frustration on the silver-medal stand after he extended Karelin into overtime, but still lost. "I wrestled my heart and soul out," he says. His performance was so moving that he is now sought as a motivational speaker...
...Jimmy, let's not get into that. But Pedro can fight either style. He's one of the strongest judoka going, and his technique is unique: he was an outstanding collegiate wrestler at Brown, and he's a lefty. He may have to call on both speed and strength. Pedro's biggest competition will come from Russia's crunching Vitali Makarov, while the Japanese will present the defending Olympic champion, Kenzo Nakamura...
...Jimmy, let's not get into that. But Pedro can fight either style. He's one of the strongest judoka going, and his technique is unique: he was an outstanding collegiate wrestler at Brown, and he's a lefty. He may have to call on both speed and strength. Pedro's biggest competition will come from Russia's crunching Vitali Makarov, while the Japanese will present the defending Olympic champion, Kenzo Nakamura...