Freestyle wrestling has been home to some of the most talented athletes on the planet. Names like Jordan Burroughs, Buvaisar Saitiev, and Aleksandr Medved are just a few of the many wrestlers that have dominated in this sport.
Who are the top 25 most decorated freestyle wrestlers of all time? See the list below.
*Ties are broken on a few criteria’s such as Olympic vs World Golds, cumulative medal count, strength of competition, best wins.
*Obviously there are guys that would be on the greatest freestyle wrestlers list, but they do not have the accolades due to a various number of reasons. This list is simply based on their stats.
| Rank | Name | Country | Total Golds | Split |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aleksandr Medved | Soviet Union | 10 | 3 Olympic / 7 World |
| 2 | Buvaisar Saitiev | Russia | 9 | 3 Olympic / 6 World |
| 3 | Sergei Beloglazov | Soviet Union | 8 | 2 Olympic / 6 World |
| 4 | Arsen Fadzaev | Soviet Union | 8 | 2 Olympic / 6 World |
| 5 | Valentin Yordanov | Bulgaria | 8 | 1 Olympic / 7 World |
| 6 | Abdulrashid Sadulaev | Russia | 7 | 2 Olympic / 5 World |
| 7 | Makharbek Khadartsev | Soviet Union | 7 | 2 Olympic / 5 World |
| 8 | Jordan Burroughs | United States | 7 | 1 Olympic / 6 World |
| 9 | John Smith | United States | 6 | 2 Olympic / 4 World |
| 10 | Soslan Andiyev | Soviet Union | 6 | 2 Olympic / 4 World |
| 11 | Kadzhimurat Gatsalov | Russia | 6 | 1 Olympic / 5 World |
| 12 | Levan Tediashvili | Soviet Union | 6 | 2 Olympic / 4 World |
| 13 | Leri Khabelov | Russia | 6 | 1 Olympic / 5 World |
| 14 | Abdollah Movahed | Iran | 6 | 1 Olympic / 5 World |
| 15 | Vladamir Yumin | Soviet Union | 5 | 1 Olympic / 4 World |
| 16 | Bruce Baumgartner | United States | 5 | 2 Olympic / 3 World |
| 17 | Mustafa Dagistanli | Turkey | 5 | 2 Olympic /3 World |
| 18 | Aleksandr Ivantisky | Soviet Union | 5 | 1 Olympic / 4 World |
| 19 | Ali Aliev | Soviet Union | 5 | 0 Olympic / 5 World |
| 20 | Yuji Takada | Japan | 5 | 1 Olympic / 4 World |
| 21 | Besik Kudukhov | Russia | 4 | 0 Olympic / 4 World |
| 22 | Anatoly Beloglazov | Soviet Union | 4 | 1 Olympic / 3 World |
| 23 | Kyle Snyder | United States | 4 | 1 Olympic / 3 World |
| 24 | Elbrus Tedeyev | Ukraine | 4 | 1 Olympic / 3 World |
| 25 | Hassan Yazdani | Iran | 4 | 1 Olympic / 3 World |
Wrestlers that missed out due to accolades-
1- Adam Saitiev
2- David Taylor (Still Active / Injury)
3- Kyle Dake (Still Active)
4- Zaurbek Sidakov (Still Active)
5- Biyal Makhov
6- Cael Sanderson
7- Pavel Pinigin
8- Lee Kemp (Boycott)
9- Ebrahim Javadi
10- Salman Hashimikov
11- Kim Il
12- Artur Taymazov (Doping)
13- Mavlet Batirov