Ildar Hafizov
Ildar Hafizov is an Uzbek-American Greco-Roman wrestler of Tatar heritage, who competes in the featherweight category. Before his change of domicile to the United States in 2014, Hafizov represented his native Uzbekistan at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and has picked up the silver medal in his respective division at the 2011 Asian Wrestling Championships, coincidentally in his home city Tashkent, losing out to Kyrgyzstan's Arsen Eraliev.
Hafizov competed for the Uzbek wrestling squad in the men's 55 kg class at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He lost the first prelims match to Russia's Nazyr Mankiev, who was able to score three points each in two straight periods, leaving Hafizov with a single point. Because his opponent advanced further into the final match, Hafizov offered another shot for the bronze medal by entering the repechage bouts. He was defeated by Serbia's Kristijan Fris in the first round, with a technical score of 1–5.
In May 2015, Hafizov enlisted in the United States Army. Along with serving as a motor vehicle operator within the U.S. Army, he is also a member of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program.
At U.S. Open 2017 he won a gold medal at 59 kg categories.
