Russian domination spread, not dead

BEIJING (Reuters) - Russia's dominance of Olympic wrestling is alive and well, even if it was not the Russian flag that was hoisted at all of the 18 wrestling medal ceremonies in Beijing, medalists say.

"The result is there for all to see," said Uzbekistan's Artur Taymazov, who won the Olympic gold medal in the men's 120kg freestyle wrestling on Thursday.

"Since time immemorial, countries like Russia, the United States, Turkey and Iran have been very strong in wrestling. They've always fought each other."

But in Beijing, Russian has been the common language among many of the medalists, who hail from former Soviet Union states east of the Caucasus mountains, and who often train under the same coaches in a tight network known as the Russian school.

No fewer than 15 of the 22 countries that won medals in wrestling's 18 Olympic events are former members of the defunct Soviet Union.

Together they took nine of the 18 gold medals, 13 of the silvers and 25 bronzes. Russia took the lion's share.

Bakhtiyar Akhmedov of Russia, who won silver in the 120kg, and former Russian champion David Musulbes, who won bronze for Slovakia, said wrestling was a very strong tradition in their part of the world, and all were linked to the Russian school.

Marid Mutalimov of Kazakhstan won the other bronze.

"Here you see at the table three representatives who fight in accordance with the Russian school of fighting," Akhmedov told a medalists' news conference.

"This is very popular sport in Russia, particularly in the Caucasus and in other parts of the federation. You could almost call this a national sport."

It was the second Olympic gold for 29-year-old Uzbek Taymazov, who won gold in Athens in 2004 and took silver four years earlier in Sydney.

He appeared to have little difficulty putting his greater experience to effect to score technical points over the young Russian Akhmedov, 21, who was world junior champion in 2007.

"We are all opponents on the mat but we are friends off the mat," Taymazov said.

(Editing by Alison Williams)