Talgat's Story
Victorian Talgat Ilyasov made his Olympic debut in 2016, wrestling in the Men's Freestyle 74 kg division.
The Aussie faced a tough Japanese competitor in his opening bout of the Games, going down 5-0 in round one.
The 35-year-old qualified for his first Games in 2004 being labelled as Australia’s best hope of a wrestling medal in over 68 years.
Before the freestyle wrestler was able to travel to Athens, a spinal injury forced him to withdraw from the Games. Devastated at having missed his Olympic opportunity, Uzbekistani born Ilyasov retired from the sport.
More than 10 years later after being told he would never wrestle again, Talgat made a fantastic return to the sport and a huge 2015 season saw him claim numerous Australian and international titles.
Off the wrestling mats, Talgat has proved successful at Mixed Martial Arts, winning his debut via TKO at Australian Fighting Championships.
