well it CAN BE said 4 olimpic golds for Karelin...for,some time later,fila accepted the decision on the clinch was a mistake and offered Karelin his gold medal which was REFUSED by him.
Karelin won 3 Olympic golds ('88, '92, '96), not 4. And 1988 was the first year he represented Russia on the senior level, so it's not like he would have won in 1984 (would have been 16-17). Karelin retired about the same age as Saitiev, 33, except he didn't finish on top. This makes Saitiev's return all the more striking since he ended on a high note.
In freestyle wrestling Saitiev was the first to win three Olympic golds, so he'd be separating himself even further from the rest. I believe that Baumgartner is the only wrestler with four Olympic medals (two golds, one silver, one bronze). Saitiev did not place in 2000. A 37-year old winning an Olympic title with these one-day contested weight classes (which have as little as 15mins rest in between matches) is hard to imagine.
