Tajmuraz Mairbekovich Salkazanov (, ; born 6 April 1996) is a Slovak naturalized freestyle wrestler of Russian origins and Ossetian ethnicity who competes at 74 kilograms. He has represented Slovakia since 2018, and is a five-time European champion at 74 kg.
Career
Salkazanov won the gold medal in the men's 70kg event at the 2018 U23 World Wrestling Championships held in Bucharest, Romania. In 2019, he won a bronze medal in the men's 79kg event at the World Wrestling Championships held in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. In 2020, Salkazanov won a bronze medal in the 74kg event at the Individual Wrestling World Cup held in Belgrade, Serbia.
In March 2021, Salkazanov competed at the European Qualification Tournament in Budapest, Hungary hoping to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. He did not qualify at this tournament, and he also failed to qualify for the Olympics at the World Olympic Qualification Tournament held in Sofia, Bulgaria.
In April 2021, Salkazanov claimed the 2021 European Championship.
In 2022, Salkazanov won the gold medal in his event at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2022 held in Rome, Italy. He won the silver medal in the men's 74kg event at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia.
Salkazanov won the gold medal by defeating Frank Chamizo of Italy 3-1 in the men's freestyle 74kg final match at the 2023 European Wrestling Championships in Zagreb, Croatia. He reached the final by defeating Rasul Shapiev of Macedonia 5-0 in the second round, Armenian Hrayr Alikhanyan 3-0 in the quarterfinals and Georgian Avtandil Kentchadze 5-1 in the semifinals.
Salkazanov won the gold medal in the men's 74kg event at the 2024 European Wrestling Championships held in Bucharest, Romania. He defeated Soner Demirtaş of Turkey in his gold medal match. Salkazanov competed at the 2024 European Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan hoping to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. He was eliminated in his third match and he did not qualify for the Olympics. Salkazanov later qualified for the Olympics at the 2024 World Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament in Istanbul, Turkey. He competed in the men's freestyle 74kg event at the Olympics.
Achievements
YearTournamentLocationResultEvent2019World ChampionshipsNur-Sultan, Kazakhstan 3rdFreestyle 79kg 2021European ChampionshipsWarsaw, Poland 1stFreestyle 74kgWorld ChampionshipsOslo, Norway 2ndFreestyle 74kg 2022European ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary 1stFreestyle 74kgWorld ChampionshipsBelgrade, Serbia 2ndFreestyle 74kg2023European ChampionshipsZagreb, Croatia 1stFreestyle 74kg2024European ChampionshipsBucharest, Romania 1stFreestyle 74kg 2025European ChampionshipsBratislava, Slovakia 3rdFreestyle 74kgWorld ChampionshipsZagreb, Croatia 3rdFreestyle 74kg
Freestyle record
! colspan="7"| Senior Freestyle Matches |- ! Res. ! Record ! Opponent ! Score ! Date ! Event ! Location |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Win |91–25 |align=left| Keegan O'Toole |style="font-size:88%"|9–0 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=1|28 February 2026 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=1|RAF 06 |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=1| Tempe, Arizona |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Win |90–25 |align=left| James Green |style="font-size:88%"|4–4 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=1|25 October 2025 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=1|RAF 02 |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=1| State College, Pennsylvania |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Win |89–25 |align=left| Younes Emami |style="font-size:88%"|3–1 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5|14–15 September 2025 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5|2025 World Wrestling Championships |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=5| Zagreb, Croatia |- |Loss |88–25 |align=left| Kota Takahashi |style="font-size:88%"|4–6 |- |Win |88–24 |align=left| Magomedrasul Asluev |style="font-size:88%"|6–0 |- |Win |87–24 |align=left| Anthony Montero |style="font-size:88%"|5–0 |- |Win |86–24 |align=left| Mohammad Aliasghar Mottaghinia |style="font-size:88%"|5–0 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Loss |85–24 |align=left| David Carr |style="font-size:88%"|4–4 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|17–20 July 2025 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|2025 Polyák Imre & Varga János Memorial Tournament |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=3| Budapest, Hungary |- |Win |85–23 |align=left| Murad Kuramagomedov |style="font-size:88%"|5–2 |- |Loss |84–23 |align=left| Kota Takahashi |style="font-size:88%"|6–6 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Win |84–22 |align=left| Murad Kuramagomedov |style="font-size:88%"|3–0 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|8–9 April 2025 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|2025 European Wrestling Championships |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=3| Bratislava, Slovakia |- |Win |83–22 |align=left| Rasul Shapiev |style="font-size:88%"|4–0 |- |Loss |82–22 |align=left| Zaurbek Sidakov |style="font-size:88%"|2–4 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Loss |82–21 |align=left| Chermen Valiev |style="font-size:88%"|0–2 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5|26 February–2 March 2025 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5|2025 Muhamet Malo Tournament |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=5| Tirana, Albania |- |Win |82–20 |align=left| Magoma Dibirgadzhiev |style="font-size:88%"|5–0 |- |Win |81–20 |align=left| Georgi Elbakidze |style="font-size:88%"|5–0 |- |Win |80–20 |align=left| Ramazan Ramazanov |style="font-size:88%"|5–0 |- |Win |79–20 |align=left| Murad Kuramagomedov |style="font-size:88%"|2–1 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Win |78–20 |align=left| David Carr |style="font-size:88%"|4–0 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|5–9 February 2025 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|2025 Grand Prix Zagreb Open |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=3| Zagreb, Croatia |- |Win |77–20 |align=left| Georgi Elbakidze |style="font-size:88%"|TF 11–0 |- |Win |76–20 |align=left| Aghanazar Novruzov |style="font-size:88%"|5–0 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Loss |75–20 |align=left| Mahamedkhabib Kadzimahamedau |style="font-size:88%"|6–6 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2|9–10 August 2024 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2|2024 Summer Olympics |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=2| Paris, France |- |Loss |75–19 |align=left| Razambek Zhamalov |style="font-size:88%"|3–11 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Win |75–18 |align=left| Soner Demirtaş |style="font-size:88%"|4–2 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4|9–12 May 2024 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4|2024 World Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=4| Istanbul, Turkey |- |Win |74–18 |align=left| Jaideep Jaideep |style="font-size:88%"|3–0 |- |Win |73–18 |align=left| Tobias Portmann |style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0 |- |Win |72–18 |align=left| Arslan Amanmyradov |style="font-size:88%"|TF 11–0 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Loss |71–18 |align=left| Mahamedkhabib Kadzimahamedau |style="font-size:88%"|2–4 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|5–7 April 2024 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|2024 European Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=3| Baku, Azerbaijan |- |Win |71–17 |align=left| Miroslav Kirov |style="font-size:88%"|4–3 |- |Win |70–17 |align=left| Vadym Tsurkan |style="font-size:88%"|6–0 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Win |69–17 |align=left| Soner Demirtaş |style="font-size:88%"|5–0 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4|12–18 February 2024 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4|2024 European Wrestling Championships |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=4| Bucharest, Romania |- |Win |68–17 |align=left| Turan Bayramov |style="font-size:88%"|7–1 |- |Win |67–17 |align=left| Mohammad Mottaghinia |style="font-size:88%"|4–1 |- |Win |66–17 |align=left| Hayk Papikyan |style="font-size:88%"|2–1 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Win |65–17 |align=left| Akhmed Usmanov |style="font-size:88%"|4–0 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=1|3 November 2023 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=1|PWL: Dagestan vs. North Ossetia |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=1| Moscow, Russia |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Loss |64–17 |align=left| Georgios Kougioumtsidis |style="font-size:88%"|3–4 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|16–24 September 2023 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|2023 World Wrestling Championships |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=3| Belgrade, Serbia |- |Win |64–16 |align=left| Rasul Shapiev |style="font-size:88%"|4-3 |- |Win |63–16 |align=left| Vasile Diacon |style="font-size:88%"|8–2 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Win |62–16 |align=left| Frank Chamizo |style="font-size:88%"|3-1 |style="font-size:88%"|19 April 2023 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4|2023 European Championships |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=5| Zagreb, Croatia |- |Win |61–16 |align=left| Avtandil Kentchadze |style="font-size:88%"|5-1 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4|18 April 2023 |- |Win |60–16 |align=left| Hrayr Alikhanyan |style="font-size:88%"|3-0 |- |Win |59–16 |align=left| Rasul Shapiev |style="font-size:88%"|5–0 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Loss |58–16 |align=left| Kojiro Shiga |style="font-size:88%"|6-10 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2|1 February 2023 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2|Zagreb Grand Prix 2023 |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=2| Zagreb, Croatia |- |Loss |58–15 |align=left| Younes Emami |style="font-size:88%"|0-6 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Win |58–14 |align=left| Giorgi Sulava |style="font-size:88%"|10-0 |style="font-size:88%"|11 December 2022 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2|Wrestling World Cup |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=4| Coralville, Iowa |- |Win |57–14 |align=left| Mohammed Firouzpour |style="font-size:88%"|9-0 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2|10 December 2022 |- |Win |56-14 |align=left| Kirin Kinoshita |style="font-size:88%"|10-0 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Loss |55–14 |align=left| Kyle Dake |style="font-size:88%"|1-3 |style="font-size:88%"|17 September 2022 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5|2022 World Championships |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=5| Belgrade, Serbia |- |Win |55–13 |align=left| Frank Chamizo |style="font-size:88%"|3-0 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4|16 September 2022 |- |Win |54-13 |align=left| Soner Demirtaş |style="font-size:88%"|3-1 |- |Win |53–13 |align=left| Daichi Takatani |style="font-size:88%"|3-1 |- |Win |52–13 |align=left| Cesar Alvan |style="font-size:88%"|13-0 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Win |51–13 |align=left| Turan Bayramov |style="font-size:88%"|4-0 |style="font-size:88%"|25 June 2022 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4|Matteo Pellicone 2022 |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=5| Rome, Italy |- |Win |50–13 |align=left| Fazlı Eryılmaz |style="font-size:88%"|WO |- |Win |49–13 |align=left| Dmitri Jioevi |style="font-size:88%"|7-1 |- |Win |48–13 |align=left| Khadzhimurad Gadzhiyev |style="font-size:88%"|3-2 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Win |47–13 |align=left| Bat-Erdeniin Byambadorj |style="font-size:88%"|8-0 |style="font-size:88%"|5 June 2022 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|Bolat Turlykhanov Ranking Series 2022 |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=3| Almaty, Kazakhstan |- |Win |46–13 |align=left| Nurkozha Kaipanov |style="font-size:88%"|3-1 |- |Win |45–13 |align=left| Ikhtiyor Navruzov |style="font-size:88%"|3-0 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Win |44–13 |align=left| Frank Chamizo |style="font-size:88%"|7-5 |style="font-size:88%"|30 March 2022 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4|2022 European Championships |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=5| Budapest, Hungary |- |Win |43–13 |align=left| Turan Bayramov |style="font-size:88%"|8-2 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4|29 March 2022 |- |Win |42–13 |align=left| Zurab Kapraev