 Duraliev in 1971 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 15 January 1939 Vladimirovtsi, Razgrad, Bulgaria | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 25 April 2011 (aged 72) Istanbul, Turkey | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 125 kg (276 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Freestyle wrestling | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Ludogorez Razgrad | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Osman Duraliev (Bulgarian: Осман Дуралиев; 15 January 1939 – 25 April 2011) was a Bulgarian freestyle wrestler with Turkish origin. Between 1967 and 1972 he won ten silver medals at major international competitions, including the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics.[1] An archrival of the Soviet Aleksandr Medved, to whom he lost eight high-profile finals (two Olympic, four World, and two European,) subsequently winning only the Silver medals.[2][3] He came close to winning at the 1971 World Championships in Sofia, where he led the match 4:3 with 43 seconds left. Yet Medved equalized the score and won the title because of his lower body weight.[4] Considering that Medved was named one of the greatest wrestlers in history and is the most decorated men's freestyle wrestler of all time, Duraliev could be deservedly placed in the same rostrum with Medved and a select few others.
In 1989 Duraliev immigrated to Turkey, where he died aged 72.[4]
