Adam Hamidovich Saitiev, also spelled Saytiev, (, born December 12, 1977) is a Russian wrestler of Chechen descent who won gold at the 2000 Summer Olympics for the Russian Federation at 85 kg. Considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Adam also won the Wrestling World Championships in 1999 and 2002. His elder brother Buvaisar Saitiev, also a wrestler, was a three-time Olympic champion and six-time World champion.

Wrestling career

Adam initially started his senior-level international career at 69 kg, or around 152 lbs. He found the weight cut too severe, and soon moved up to 76 kg, where he was world champ in 1999. However, his elder brother Buvaisar also competed in the same weight class, and Adam wanted to compete alongside his brother at the Olympics, not compete against him for a spot on the team. Adam moved up to 85 kg, and despite being undersized, won two world-level titles at the weight. Saitiev competed many times after 2002, but his career was affected by many injuries. Saitiev made a comeback in 2012. He found significant success, but in the Russian freestyle wrestling championships 2012 final match lost to Denis Tsargush (1-0; 1-0).

Awards and honors

Saitiev is a recipient of the Order of Honor (2001) and Order of Friendship (2004).

Match results

{| class="wikitable collapsible" ! colspan="7"| World Championships & Olympic Games Matches ! Res. ! Record ! Opponent ! Score ! Date ! Event ! Location ! style=background:white colspan=7 |2002 UWW world at 84kg ! style=background:white colspan=7 |2000 Olympic at 85kg ! style=background:white colspan=7 |1999 UWW world at 76kg ! style=background:white colspan=7 |1997 UWW world 6th at 69kg