Artur Naifonov
Артур Найфонов

2021 World Wrestling Championships
Personal information
Native name	Артур Эдикович Найфонов
Full name	Artur Edikovich Naifonov
Nationality	Russia
Born	10 May 1997 (1997-05-10) (age 27) Nizhnevartovsk, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia
Height	175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Sport
Country	Russia
Sport	Wrestling
Weight class	86 kg
Rank	International Master of Sport in Freestyle wrestling
Event	Freestyle
Club	Wrestling Academy of Aslan Khadarstev
Coached by	Totraz Archegov, Viktor Rozhkov, Elbrus Dudaev[1]
Medal record Men's Freestyle Wrestling Representing ROC Olympic Games 2020 Tokyo 86 kg Representing  Russian Wrestling Federation World Championships 2021 Oslo 86 kg Representing  Russia World Championships 2019 Nur-Sultan 86 kg European Championships 2021 Warsaw 86 kg 2020 Rome 86 kg 2018 Kaspiysk 86 kg Russian Championships 2022 Kyzyl 86 kg 2021 Ulan-Ude 86 kg 2019 Sochi 86 kg 2020 Naro-Fominsk 86 kg 2018 Odintsovo 86 kg Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin 2020 Krasnoyarsk 86 kg 2018 Krasnoyarsk 86 kg Military World Games 2019 Wuhan 86 kg World U23 Championships 2018 Bucharest 86 kg Junior World Championships 2017 Tampere 86 kg

Artur Edikovich Naifonov (Russian: Артур Эдикович Найфонов, IPA: [ɐrˈtur nɐɪ̯ˈfonəf], Ossetian: Найфонты Эдичы фырт Артур; born 10 May 1997) is a Russian freestyle wrestler, who competes at 86 kilograms.^[2] Naifonov is an Olympic Games medalist, World Championship medalist, three-time European Continental champion and a three-time Russian National champion (four-time finalist).^[3][4][5][6]

Naifonov is a survivor of the 2004 Beslan school siege along with his sister, both receiving shrapnel wounds. His mother was killed in crossfire.^[7]

After coming up short and taking second place at the 2020 Russian National Championships,^[8] Naifonov wasn't able to compete at the Individual World Cup and did not wrestle again until March 2021.^{[citation needed]}

In order to achieve a place on the Olympic Team, Naifonov would have to take first place at the 2021 Russian National Freestyle Wrestling Championships in Ulan-Ude. Winning all of his matches, including against 2020 European Silver Medallist, Magomed Ramazanov whom Naifonov defeated in the semi-final. At one point, Ramazanov was winning with the score 8-1,^[9] before Naifonov made a comeback to win 10-8.

Naifonov would then meet his main rival in Russia, Dauren Kurugliev, representing Dagestan, in the final. Naifonov defeated Kurugliev with the score 2-1,^[10] which won Naifonov the first place on the podium,^[11] gold medal and be invited to compete for his country at the Olympic games in Tokyo.^[12]

Following his Russian National Championships win, Naifonov wrestled at the Olympic Games held in Tokyo. Naifonov made his Olympic debut with a win over Ossetian-Slovakian transfer, Boris Makojev and defeated him 6-0, followed by a 12-1, technical fall over Turkey's Osman Göçen, advancing Naifonov into the semi-final opposite Hassan Yazdani. Yazdani won the match 7-1; however as this match was the semi-final, Naifonov was automatically placed into a third place, bronze-medal match against Dagestan-Uzbekistan transfer, Javrail Shapiev. After controlling all six minutes in a low scoring match, Naifonov won the match 2-0, securing an Olympic Bronze Medal.^[13]

Following his Bronze medal Olympic debut, Naifonov wanted to finish the year wrestling at the 2021 World Wrestling Championships, held in Norway. Naifonov faced Japan's Hayato Ishiguro in the round of 16 and defeated the Japanese wrestler 11-0 with advancement to the quarter-final match against Spanish representative, Taiumuraz Friev, who Naifonov beat 5-2. In the semi-final, Naifonov would, again, Yazdani and lost again, by the score 8-2 and ruining his hopes for gold.

Naifonov faced Kazakh wrestler, Azamat Dauletbekov in the bronze medal match, beating the Kazakh by 3-0 and winning his second world Bronze medal.^[14][15]

He competed at the 2024 European Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan and he earned a quota place for the Individual Neutral Athletes for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, but he missed these games, due to replacements by other NOCs.^[16]

Senior Freestyle Matches
Res.	Record	Opponent	Score	Date	Event	Location
Win	112-10	Azamat Dauletbekov	3:1	December 20, 2022	Poddubny Wrestling League 3	Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Semenov Championship 2022
Win	111-10	Tamerlan Tapsiev	Walkover	November 13, 2022	Semenov Championship	Nefteyugansk, Russia
Win	110-10	Arsen-Ali Musalaliev					November 12, 2022	Semenov Championship	Nefteyugansk, Russia
Win	109-10	Zaur Umalatov	12:1							November 12, 2022	Semenov Championship	Nefteyugansk, Russia
Win	108-10	Georgy Rubaev	Fall	November 12, 2022									Semenov Championship	Nefteyugansk, Russia
Soslan Andiev Memorial 2022
Win	107-10	Zaur Makiev	6:0	November 5, 2022	Soslan Andiev Memorial	Vladikavkaz, Russia
Win	106-10	Tamerlan Tapsiev	10:0				November 5, 2022	Soslan Andiev Memorial	Vladikavkaz, Russia
Win	105-10	Avetik Vereschagin	11:0							November 5, 2022	Soslan Andiev Memorial	Vladikavkaz, Russia
Win	104-10	Ramazan Abuzagidov	3:9	November 5, 2022									Soslan Andiev Memorial	Vladikavkaz, Russia
Dmitry Korkin Memorial 2022
Loss	103-11	Vladislav Valiev	1:2	October 29, 2022	Dmitry Korkin Memorial	Yakutsk, Russia
Win	103-10	Slavil Naniev	11:0				October 28, 2022	Dmitry Korkin Memorial	Yakutsk, Russia
Win	102-10	Zaur Umalatov	13:2							October 28, 2022	Dmitry Korkin Memorial	Yakutsk, Russia
Poddubny Wrestling League 2
Win	101-10	Vladislav Valiev	6:0	October 14, 2022	Poddubny Wrestling League 2	Moscow, Russia
Win	100-10	Arsen-Ali Musalaliev	13:0				October 13, 2022	Poddubny Wrestling League 2	Moscow, Russia
Win	99-10	Roman Chitadze	10:0							October 13, 2022	Poddubny Wrestling League 2	Moscow, Russia
Spartakiada
Win	98-10	Malik Shavaev	2:0	August 26, 2022	Spartakiada	Kazan, Tatarstan
Win	97-10	Slavik Naniev	6:0				August 25, 2022	Spartakiada	Kazan, Tatarstan
Win	96-10	Arslan Bagaev	10:0							August 25, 2022	Spartakiada	Kazan, Tatarstan
Russian National Championships 2022
Win	95-10	Amanula Rasulov	3:0	June 26, 2022	Russian National Championships	Kyzyl, Tuva
Win	95-10	Arsen-Ali Musalaliev	6:0	June 25, 2022			Russian National Championships	Kyzyl, Tuva
Win	94-10	Arslan Bagaev	3:0						June 25, 2022	Russian National Championships	Kyzyl, Tuva
Win	93-10	Slavik Naniev	4:2									June 25, 2022	Russian National Championships	Kyzyl, Tuva
Poddubny Wrestling League
Win	92–10	Dauren Kurugliev	3-2	May 20, 2022
Win	91–10	Roman Chitadze	10-0		May 19, 2022
2021 World Championships at 86 kg
Win	90–10	Azamat Dauletbekov	3-0	October 3, 2021
Loss	89–10	Hassan Yazdani	2-8		October 2, 2021
Win	89–9	Taimuraz Friev	5–2
Win	88–9	Hayato Ishiguro	TF 11–0
2020 Summer Olympics at 86 kg
Win	87–9	Javrail Shapiev	2–0	August 5, 2021	2020 Summer Olympics	Tokyo, Japan
Loss	86–9	Hassan Yazdani	1–7	August 4, 2021
Win	86–8	Osman Göçen	TF 12–1
Win	85–8	Boris Makojev	6–0
2021 European Championships at 86 kg
Win	84–8	Sandro Aminashvili	8–0	AprIl 19–21, 2021	2021 European Continental Championships	Warsaw, Poland
Win	83–8	Boris Makojev	9–0
Win	82–8	Myles Amine	2–0
Win	81–8	Gadzhimurad Magomedsaidov	10–2
2021 Russian Nationals at 86 kg
Win	80–8	Dauren Kurugliev	2–1	March 11–14, 2021	2021 Russian National Freestyle Wrestling Championships	Ulan-Ude, Russia
Win	79–8	Magomed Ramazanov	10–8
Win	78–8	Khabi Khashpakov	2–1
Win	77–8	Nikita Sofronov	TF 11–0
Win	76–8	Magomed Gusbanov
2020 Russian Nationals at 86 kg
Loss	75–8	Dauren Kurugliev	1–2	October 16–18, 2020	2020 Russian National Freestyle Wrestling Championships	Naro-Fominsk, Russia
Win	75–7	Arsen-Ali Musalaliev	8–0
Win	74–7	Magomedsharif Biyakaev	4–0
Win	73–7	Aslanbek Gvaramia	TF 11–0
Win	72–7	Magomed Gusbanov	8–2
2020 European Championships at 86 kg
Win	71–7	Myles Amine	4–0	February 15–16, 2020	2020 European Continental Championships	Rome, Italy
Win	70–7	Boris Makojev	3–0
Win	69–7	Radosław Marcinkiewicz	TF 10–0
Win	68–7	Abubakr Abakarov	8–2
Win	67–7	Akhmed Magamaev	5–0
2020 Ivan Yarygin Golden Grand Prix at 86 kg
Win	66–7	Dauren Kurugliev	2–1	January 23–26, 2020	Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin 2020	Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Win	65–7	Arsen-Ali Musalaliev	2–0
Win	64–7	Zaur Makiev	2–2
Win	63–7	Brett Pfarr	6–0
Win	62–7	Shinetur Narmandakh	TF 10–0
2019 Military World Games at 86 kg
Win	61–7	Ahmed Dudarov	TF 10–0	October 21–24, 2019	2019 Military World Games	Warsaw, Poland
Win	60–7	Adilet Davlumbaev	TF 13–2
Win	59–7	Akhmed Aibuev	7–0
Win	58–7	Lee Seungdong	TF 11–0
Win	57–7	Ahmad Yousef Bazrighaleh	6–3
2019 World Championships at 86 kg
Win	56–7	Myles Amine	6–0	September 21–22, 2019	2019 World Wrestling Championships	Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
Win	55–7	István Veréb	TF 11–1
Loss	54–7	Hassan Yazdani	Fall
Win	54–6	Javrail Shapiev	6–0
Win	53–6	Piotr Ianulov	4–0
Win	52–6	Ville Heino	5–1
2019 Poland Open at 86 kg
Win	51–6	Zbigniew Baranowski	4–1	August 2–4, 2019	2019 Ziolkowski, Pytlasinski Memorial	Warsaw, Poland
Win	50–6	Fatih Erdin	Fall
Win	49–6	Adilet Davlmbayev	8–2
Win	48–6	Radosław Marcinkiewicz	8–1
2019 Russian Nationals at 86 kg
Win	47–6	Vladislav Valiev	4–2	July 5–7, 2019	2019 Russian National Freestyle Wrestling Championships	Sochi, Russia
Win	46–6	Soslan Ktsoyev	4–0
Win	45–6	Zaur Makiev	4–0
Win	44–6	Magomed Ramazanov	7–3
Win	43–6	Matvey Yakomaskin	TF 10–0
2019 Ali Aliev Memorial at 86 kg
Win	42–6	Dauren Kurugliev	2–2	May 1–3, 2019	2019 Ali Aliev Memorial	Kaspiysk, Russia
Win	41–6	Arsen-Ali Musalaliev	4–2
Win	40–6	Javrail Shapiev	3–1
Win	39–6	Rasul Tsikhayeu	4–3
Win	38–6	Denis Balaur	3–1
2018 Alans International 8th at 86 kg
Loss	37–6	Slavik Naniev	Fall	December 7–9, 2018	2018 Alans International	Vladikavkaz, Russia
Win	37–5	Arseniy Khubaev	6–0
2018 U23 World Championships at 86 kg
Loss	36–5	Kamran Ghasempour	1–4	November 12–18, 2018	2018 U23 World Wrestling Championships	Bucharest, Romania
Win	36–4	Murad Süleymanov	TF 14–4
Win	35–4	Alex Moore	TF 11–0
Win	34–4	Uphar Sharma	TF 10–0
Win	33–4	Michał Bielawski	TF 10–0
2018 Dmitry Korkin Memorial at 92 kg
Win	32–4	Anzor Urishev	4–3	September 6–8, 2018	2018 Dmitry Korkin International Memorial	Yakutsk, Russia
Win	31–4	Turtogtokh Luvsandorj	6–0
Win	30–4	Paredes Villagómez	TF 10–0
2018 Russian Nationals at 86 kg
Loss	29–4	Dauren Kurugliev	1–2	August 3–5, 2018	2018 Russian National Freestyle Wrestling Championships	Odintsovo, Russia
Win	29–3	Zelimkhan Minkailov	3–0
Win	28–3	Alik Shebzukhov	TF 10–0
2018 European Championships at 86 kg
Win	27–3	Alexander Gostiev	1–1	May 5–6, 2018	2018 European Continental Championships	Kaspiysk, Russia
Win	26–3	Fatih Erdin	4–2
Win	25–3	Shamil Kudiyamagomedov	7–6
Win	24–3	Zbigniew Baranowski	9–2
Win	23–3	István Veréb	5–0
2018 Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov Memorial at 86 kg
Win	22–3	Taimuraz Friev	INJ	March 22–25, 2018	2018 Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov Memorial	Sofia, Bulgaria
Win	21–3	Georgy Rubaev	DQ
Win	20–3	Shamil Kudiyamagomedov	5–4
Win	19–3	Ahmet Bilici	TF 10–0
Win	18–3	Vladislav Valiev	3–2
2018 Ivan Yarygin Golden Grand Prix at 86 kg
Win	17–3	Yurieski Torreblanca	2–1	January 28, 2018	Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin 2018	Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Loss	16–3	David Taylor	Fall
Win	16–2	Dauren Kurugliev	3–2
Win	15–2	Zushen Lin	TF 10–0
2017 Alans International at 86 kg
Win	14–2	Vladislav Valiev	1–1	November 17–19, 2017	2017 Alans International	Vladikavkaz, Russia
Win	13–2	Alexander Gostiev	4–4
Win	12–2	Batyrbek Tsakulov	11–4
Win	11–2	Gulaev Akhsarbek	FF
2017 Alrosa Cup as Team RUS at 86 kg
Win	10–2	Alexander Gostiev	PP	November 9–13, 2017	2017 Alrosa Team Cup	Moscow, Russia
Win	9–2	Pavel Untila	TF
Win	8–2	Davit Khutsishvili	PP
2017 Yugra Cup at 86 kg
Win	7–2	Arseni Khubaev	6–2	October 28–29, 2017	2017 Yugra Cup	Nefteyugansk, Russia
Loss	6–2	Zaur Makiev	5–12
Win	6–1	Aleksandr Zelenkov	6–1
Win	5–1	Kanat Berdiyev	TF 10–0
2017 Stepan Sargsyan Cup at 86 kg
Win	4–1	Batyrbek Tsakulov	4–0	October 7–8, 2017	2017 Stepan Sargsyan Cup	Vanadzor, Armenia
Win	3–1	David Khutsishvili	TF 10–0
Win	2–1	Saba Chikhradze	TF 12–2
Win	1–1	Vahe Tamrazyan	8–1
2017 Ivan Yarygin Golden Grand Prix 17th at 86 kg
Loss	0–1	Akhmed Magamaev	1–6	January 28, 2017	Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin 2017	Krasnoyarsk, Russia

• Artur Naifonov at United World Wrestling
• Artur Naifonov at the International Wrestling Database
• Artur Naifonov at Olympedia