Medved was smaller, at 190 cm and 100+ kg, yet big enough to fit into his last name, which means bear in Russian (and with minor variations in Belarusian and Ukrainian languages).

[2][6] He was close to losing at the 1971 World Championships in Sofia, where Duraliev led the match 4:3 with 43 seconds left.

[7] After retiring from competitions in 1972 Medved moved to Belarus, where prior he served with the Soviet Army in the late 1950s.

In 2001 he was chosen as the best Belarusian athlete of the 20th century and in 2003 became one of the first 10 inductees to the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Yelena was a Belarusian tennis champion, while Aleksei won a junior world title in wrestling in 1987.