Russian wrestler choked unconscious, wins gold medal anyway

On Monday afternoon, Roman Vlasov stepped on the wrestling mat against Bozo Starcevic in the semi-final of the 75kg Greco-Roman tournament expecting to wrestle his way to victory. Instead, the Russian was introduced to a guillotine choke and was put to sleep.

Yet while the semi-final had to be stopped as the referee attempted to revive Vlasov, the match eventually continued and the Russian was deemed the winner with a 6-3 score. Shortly thereafter, Vlasov faced Mark Overgaard in the gold medal match and came out victorious.

Vlasov expects his win to be the first of many for Russia in Olympic wrestling.

"Despite of the situation, the unfair decision of our athletes from the side of WADA, it's very important to get the biggest quantity of medals that we can," Vlasov told AP.