Eldar Kurtanidze

Eldar "Luka" Kurtanidze (Georgian: ელდარ [ლუკა] კურტანიძე) (born April 16, 1972 in Gulripshi, Georgian SSR) is a Georgian wrestler and the Georgian Dream political activist. He has served as the President of the Wrestling Federation of Georgia since December 2012 and Head of Physical Training at the Georgian Police Academy since January 2013.[1]

Eldar Kurtanidze
Medal record
Men's Freestyle wrestling
Representing  Georgia
Olympic Games
1996 Atlanta 90 kg
2000 Sydney 97 kg
World Championships
1993 Toronto90 kg
1997 Krasnoyarsk97 kg
2002 Tehran96 kg
2003 New York City96 kg
2005 Budapest96 kg
European Championship
1993 Istanbul90 kg
1995 Fribourg90 kg
1996 Budapest90 kg
1997 Warsaw97 kg
1998 Bratislava97 kg
1999 Minsk97 kg
2001 Budapest97 kg
2002 Baku96 kg
2005 Varna96 kg
2006 Moscow120 kg

Wrestling career

Kurtanidze has been a senior professional freestyle wrestler since 1992. He was a bronze medalist in both the Men's Freestyle 90 kg at the 1996 Summer Olympics and also Men's Freestyle 97 kg at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He also competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics, but was eliminated early. In addition to his Olympic bronzes, he has two gold medals, two silver medals, and one bronze medal from the FILA Senior World Championships. He has received five gold medals, three silver medals, and two bronze medals from the FILA Senior European Championships. In 2006 he raised his weight to compete in the 120 kg class. He made his mixed martial arts debut at the Pride Fighting Championships show on December 31, 2006 against veteran MMA fighter and former amateur wrestler Kazuyuki Fujita. He was defeated via submission (strikes) at 2:09 of round 1.

Political activism

Kurtanidze became involved in the politics of Georgia since 2011. As an ally of the opposition leader Nino Burjanadze he took part in the May 2011 rally against the government of President Mikheil Saakashvili. During the rally, he was involved in a clash with police and was severely beaten up. In 2012 he joined the Georgian Dream coalition led by the billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili after whose accession to premiership after the 2012 parliamentary election Kurtanidze became the president of Georgia's Wrestling Federation and Head of Physical Training at the Georgian Police Academy. He has been accused of resorting to physical violence against his opponents in the Wrestling Federation.[1][2]

Mixed martial arts record
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 0-1 Kazuyuki Fujita Submission (strikes) Pride Shockwave 2006 December 31, 2006 1 2:09

References
  1. Modebadze, Salome (1 February 2013). "President of the Georgian Wrestling Federation accused of physical assault". The Messenger Online. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  2. Bigg, Claire; Kevanishvili, Eka (3 February 2013). "Wrestlers' Alleged Beating Reveals Political Underbelly Of Georgian Sports". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
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