Russian athlete with Ossetian roots Alan Karaev successfully performed in two disciplines at once - sumo and arm wrestling. He entered the ring under the nickname Kid. On account of Karaev multiple victories at the world and European championships. Since 2016, he has led the Sumo Federation of Russia.
Biography: early years
Alan Taimurazovich Karaev was born on May 19, 1977 in Digor. This small town is located in North Ossetia, 50 km from Vladikavkaz. Alan's family belongs to the indigenous Digorians (one of the ethnic groups of the Ossetians).
At birth, Karaev weighed more than 7 kg. The athlete's mother recalled that the midwife, having seen such a newborn, was confused. At the age of six months, Alan's weight was already 19 kg.
He began to try himself in the fight from early childhood. Until the age of 17, Karayev outgrew all the weight categories, so he performed in the "absolute". And quite successfully.
Sports career
Alan came to big sport in 1995. Then he was barely 18 years old. Kazbek Zoloev took him under his wing, who by that time was already a respected armwrestling specialist. Karaev quickly found himself in this discipline. From the first trainings, he began to show excellent results.
It took Alan just a year to become a world champion from scratch. In arm wrestling, Karayev won many titles. In an interview, he admitted that at some point he was not interested, because all the peaks in this sport were conquered. So Alan decided to try himself in sumo. In this discipline, he also did not have to wait long for success.
For a long time, Karaev combined two sports, showing excellent results. So, in 2002, he became the first at the world championship in sumo among amateurs. This was followed by a series of victories in other tournaments.
In 2005, Alan was bored with sumo. Then he decided to go into mixed fights. In this sport, he was not so rosy. At the beginning of the journey, he decided not to trifle and go straight to the battle with strong and famous opponents. This has become a mistake. The first two meetings were lost. Rivals lightly sent Karaev to a knockout.
After that, Alan fought with a less powerful opponent and in the first seconds took over him. Then Karaev fought two more battles. He lost one of them. The second fight Alan held successfully, but after him the athlete decided to leave mixed fights. After leaving, Karaev threw all his strength into the sumo.
In 2012, Alan became the world champion in sumo heavyweight. Then his weight was 240 kg. On such a bright note, he decided to gradually leave the big sport.
In 2016, Karaev stood at the helm of the Russian Sumo Federation.
At the beginning of 2019, it became known that Alan had serious health problems. The athlete suffered a heart beat and was recovering in the clinic for a long time.
