| Aleksandr Shemarov | |
| Fullname: | Aleksandr Shemarov |
| Birth Date: | 9 April 1975 |
| Birth Place: | Kaliningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Weight: | 960NaN0 |
| Style: | Freestyle |
| Club: | Trade Union Sports Club (BLR) |
| Coach: | Nikolai Shemarov Valentin Murzinkov |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
Aleksandr Shemarov (also Aliaksandr Shamarau, Belarusian: Аляксандр Шамараў; born April 9, 1975) is a retired amateur Belarusian freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's heavyweight category.[1] He won a bronze medal in the 97-kg division at the 2001 European Championships in Budapest, Hungary, and also achieved a seventh-place finish each in two editions of the Olympic Games (2000 and 2004). Throughout his sporting career, Shemarov trained as a member of the freestyle wrestling team for Minsk Trade Union Sports Club, under his father and coach Nikolai Shemarov.[2]
Shemarov made his official debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he competed in the men's heavyweight division (97 kg). He scored a set of two triumphs to defeat Canada's Dean Schmeichel and Slovak-born Australian wrestler Gabriel Szerda in the opening matches, but suffered a formidable 2–3 overtime defeat against Poland's three-time Olympian Marek Garmulewicz. Finishing second in the prelim pool and seventh overall, Shemarov's performance fell short to put him further into the quarterfinals.[3]
At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Shemarov qualified for his second Belarusian squad, as a 29-year-old, in the men's heavyweight class (96 kg) by rounding out the top ten spot and receiving a berth from the 2003 World Wrestling Championships in New York City, New York, United States.[4] Shemarov delivered a more powerful effort from his previous Games by thrashing Turkey's Fatih Çakıroğlu and Mongolia's Tüvshintöriin Enkhtuyaa to secure a spot for the next round. Fighting against Russian wrestler and European champion Khadzhimurat Gatsalov in the quarterfinal match, Shemarov could not score a single point to push him off the mat, and instead, matched his final standing from Sydney in the process.[5]
Shortly after the Games, Shemarov officially retired from his sporting career, and became a personal coach for his younger brother Alexei, who later competed in the men's super heavyweight division at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[2]