Saitov, Oleg Elekpaevich

Saitov Oleg Elekpaevich was born on May 26, 1974 in the city of Novokuybyshevsk, Kuibyshev region.

Professional athletes in the family of Oleg Saitov have never been. Oleg's parents were ordinary people: father Elekpay Akhmetgareevich (Tatar by nationality) worked as a driver, and mother Yekaterina Nikolaevna was a nurse ^[1] . But Saitov’s father, in his youth, was engaged in wrestling and often told his son about how sport helped him to stand up for himself. Oleg always listened to these stories with great interest.

But it was not his father who brought Oleg to the sports section, but his elder brother Vadim, who was already seriously engaged in boxing , and subsequently fulfilled the standard of the USSR master of sports . The first significant success came at the age of 14, when Oleg became the second at the junior championship of Russia. Saitov considers Konstantin Loginov his first coach. “It was with him that I started to really work and form as a boxer,” Saitov said.

After graduating from 8th grade, Oleg went to study as a truck crane driver at Vocational School No. 55 of Novokuybyshevsk in the Samara Region. Loginov, meanwhile, paid Oleg less attention - Oleg had to go to the competitions alone, and this resulted in an elementary non-enforcement of his well-deserved victories. Having burned himself several times, Oleg realized that something needs to be changed.

On the advice of his brother and European champion among juniors Dmitry Korsun, he moved to Zhigulevsk . So at the age of 16, Oleg Saitov began an independent life.

In Zhigulevsk, Saitov studied at a car mechanic between workouts. The new coach of Oleg Saitov - Igor Petrovich Utkin ^[2] , Honored Coach of the RSFSR, immediately realized that he was facing a promising and talented athlete. And over time, Igor Petrovich became Oleg not only a coach, but actually his second father.

After moving to Zhigulevsk, Oleg Saitov quickly improved his results - he became the second in the championship of the Kuibyshev region among adults.

Gradually, Oleg began to develop his own style - the ability to get out of any dangerous situation, the traditional “whirling” around an opponent with the subsequent acceleration of pace and the final victorious attack. Later, the athlete will call his ability to defend and sting like a wasp his strongest side.

In 1992, Oleg Saitov, representing the CIS national team, became the winner of the European Junior Championship in 63.5 kg, held in Edinburgh, Scotland . No matter how ardently the Scots were ill for their fellow countryman in the battle against Oleg, after three knockdowns the judge stopped the fight due to the obvious advantage of Saitov. Beating the Irish, Oleg reached the semifinals, where he met with the Italian. Oleg Saitov was helped to defeat this opponent by his expectant tactics. In the finals, he easily defeated an athlete from Germany.

In addition to the gold medal, 18-year-old Saitov left Scotland with the fulfilled standard of the international master of sports of Russia . In the same 1992, Oleg Saitov won the world championship among juniors in the capital of Canada - Ottawa. On the way to the final, Saitov left no chance to his rivals, literally in all fights sending them to the knockdowns. In Canada, he was awarded the Cup of the best boxer in the world and recognized as the most technical boxer of the championship. Then there were bright victories, already among adults: at the 1993 CIS Championship - 1st place (weight 63.5 kg) and the 1993 World Championships in Finland - 3rd place (weight 63.5 kg).

In 1994, when Saitov was 20 years old, and behind an impressive list of high-profile victories, he was overcome by a "star disease". Today Oleg does not like to talk about that period - “then I did a lot of things that today are just unpleasant to remember.” Utkin, seeing that something was wrong with his beloved student, tried in every possible way to "return him to the ground", but to no avail. In the same year, Oleg Saitov began to decline in sports achievements - at the Russian Championship he took only 2 place, and at the Goodwill games held in St. Petersburg, he was content with only 3 place.

I did not want to look for the causes of failures in myself - Oleg was inclined to blame the surrounding circumstances for everything. He has a universal recipe for victory: “When I go to major tournaments, I try not to judge anyone and give people as much love and kindness as possible. And what you do in relation to others will definitely come back to you. ”

In 1995, the sports career of Oleg Saitov again went uphill. At the Russian championship, he took 2nd place in the 67 kg weight category. Accordingly, Oleg went second in the Russian team. However, fate decreed that it was he who went to the World Cup in Germany, to Berlin . In Berlin, Oleg quite easily reached the finals , but could not beat the Cuban, who won on points. Meanwhile, this superboy television broadcast throughout the world - Saitov’s light and maneuverable style conquered many.

In 1996, Oleg Saitov won 1st place in the Russian Championship, 3rd place in the European Championship in Denmark and went to his first Olympics. Saitov went to Atlanta as a holiday. True, he didn’t even think about victory: “I knew that I could work on equal terms with people, outwit ... But becoming an Olympic champion was something unrealistic for me, unattainable.” They did not expect Olympic gold from Oleg in the Russian team. The first fight was the most difficult for Saitov - the ring sensation had not yet arrived, and had to box with one hand - the second was broken. But, in spite of everything, Oleg Saitov won this battle and took the highest Olympic award in his weight of 67 kg. “When I realized that I was a champion, a bomb of joy exploded inside me,” Oleg recalled later. Saitov 1996 Atlanta Olympics Welterweight Champion.

1997 was marked for Oleg by victory at the Russian Championship and the World Championship, held in the capital of Hungary - Budapest. At the World Championship, Saitov held five difficult fights, and defeated three-time world champion Cuban Hernandez in the semifinal. Oleg reached the final with severe injuries to both hands, but showed courage and still won the gold medal. In 1998, Oleg Saitov decided not to slow down and won gold at the European Championships in Minsk .

In 1999, he again became the champion of Russia.

Soon after a series of victories over the past three years, Oleg began to decline, the peak of which was the departure from the first round of the European Championship 2000. At the qualifying rounds for the Olympic Games in Greece, Oleg took the 1st place more familiar to an athlete of his level, but still few people believed that he was able to take Olympic gold in Sydney. “On the one hand, it was insulting, and on the other hand, it was calmer. After all, when you are not particularly counted on, you worry much less, ”Oleg recalls. As a result, Saitov became the second two-time Olympic champion in Russian boxing after Boris Lagutin and was recognized as the most technical boxer of the Olympics — he took away from Australia the most prestigious boxing Cup in the world of Vel Barker . Prior to this, only Valery Popenchenko was awarded this honor from Russian and Soviet athletes in 1964.

Oleg Saitov is the champion of the 2000 Welterweight Sydney Olympic Games. Realizing that a 3rd-degree fitter’s diploma would not be able to provide for his family and realizing the need for higher education, shortly after winning the XXVII Olympiad Oleg entered Kazan State University at the Faculty of Journalism, which he graduated in 2006. To date, Oleg Saitov may well be proud of his journalistic experience. At one of the world boxing championships, he tried himself as a commentator on several fights - those who heard noted that "the attempt was a success."

Oleg Saitov also owns a number of publications on the subject of “Boxing Against Drugs”. Oleg Saitov does not like to think about the future, but does not exclude at all that he can become a sports journalist or commentator. Oleg Saitov has an impressive list of titles:

In 1995, for the sporting achievements of 1992, 1993 and 1995, he was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports of Russia.

In 1996, Oleg Saitov entered the top ten athletes in Russia.

In 1996, Oleg Saitov was named an honorary citizen of the city of Zhigulevsk .

In 1997, Oleg Saitov became a holder of the Order of Friendship for winning the Olympic Games in Atlanta and the best athlete in Russia.

In 1998, Oleg Saitov received the Fair Play prize from the Russian Olympic Committee and the Fair Play committee - “fair play”.

Oleg went to the 2004 Olympics in Athens as a well-deserved favorite. If Saitov could have won the highest award in the Greek capital, he would have become only the fourth boxer in history to become a three-time winner of the games. But, unfortunately, the hopes of a repeat of the result of Laszlo Papp , Teofilo Stevenson and Felix Savon did not come true. Oleg started the tournament not very confidently, having hardly won a victory over not the strongest opponent. However, in the semifinals, Saitov lost only two points to Kazakh Bakhtiyar Artayev , who, in the end, became the best boxer of the Games. Having won bronze, Oleg Saitov became only the second boxer in the history of Russian boxing, who is the owner of two gold and one bronze medal of the Olympic Games. In addition to Oleg, only the great Boris Lagutin can boast of such regalia.

In addition to philosophy, Oleg is fond of music - composes and sings his songs. Playing the guitar gives him great pleasure. He has already released two audio tapes. Oleg writes solely on inspiration and is not going to connect his life with show business . Saitov devotes all his songs to loved ones.

Oleg loves outdoor activities, bath. In addition, he is interested in hunting, fishing and playing chess. Oleg Saitov's favorite sports besides boxing are football , basketball , water skiing .

June 24, 2005, the governor of the Samara region Konstantin Titov Oleg Saitov was appointed head of the Department of Physical Culture and Sports of the region. During the reorganization of the government of the Samara region, the former governor Vladimir Artyakov on May 8, 2009 appointed Oleg Saitov to the post of Deputy Minister of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy of the Samara Region - head of the Department of Physical Culture and Sports, State Secretary of the Ministry ^[3] . The new governor of the Samara region Nikolai Merkushkin appointed Saitov and. about. Minister of Sports of the Samara region.

From February 2013 ^[4] to February 2015 ^[5] - Minister of Sports of the Sakhalin Region .

On September 10, 2017, he was elected a deputy of the Sakhalin Regional Duma ^[6] (Chairman of the Sakhalin Regional Duma Standing Committee on Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy).

Sporting Achievements

• Winner of the European Championship among juniors (1992)
• Winner of the World Junior Championship (1992)
• Winner of the CIS Championship (1993)
• World Championship bronze medalist (1993)
• Silver medalist of the championship of Russia (1994, 1995)
• Bronze medalist of the Goodwill Games (1994)
• Silver medalist of the World Cup (1995)
• Champion of Russia (1996, 1997, 1999)
• European Championship bronze medalist (1996)
• World Champion (1997)
• European Champion (1998, 2004)
• Two-time Olympic champion (1996, 2000)
• Val Barker Cup Winner
• Bronze medalist of the 2004 Athens Olympics

Other rewards

• Order of Friendship , 1997
• Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" IV degree, 2001
• Certificate of Honor of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation, 2013
• Diploma of the President of the Russian Federation, 2014
• Letter of appreciation from the deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, 2017
• Jubilee Medal of the Russian Orthodox Church “100th Anniversary of the Restoration of the Patriarchate in the Russian Orthodox Church”, 2018 ^[7]

• Father - Saitov Elekpay Akhmetgareevich (1944-1997)
• Mother - Saitova Ekaterina Nikolaevna, born in 1947
• Wife - Saitova Ekaterina Alexandrovna, born in 1983
• Daughter - Saitova Sofia Olegovna, born in 2001
• Son - Saitov Ilya Olegovich, 2003 year of birth
• Son - Saitov Lavrentiy Olegovich, 2008 year of birth
• Daughter - Saitova Elizaveta Olegovna, 2011 year of birth

• Department of Physical Culture and Sports of Samara Region
• Article on the website Martial Arts