He won the gold medal in the freestyle 96 kg class in the 2004 Summer Olympics, defeating future UFC Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier in the semi-finals.

In 2013, he moved up to the 120 kg class and won a gold medal at the FILA Wrestling World Championships.

[1] As of November 2022, Gatsalov was appointed as the head coach of the Russian National Freestyle team.

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