You step back from Beslan's closing doors - who do you pull with you?

An eight-year-old walks away as Beslan School Number One’s doors close; years later he fights for a world title. What would you pull with you?

You step back from Beslan's closing doors - who do you pull with you?

In this episode, we follow the narrow moments that separated a child from a massacre and the path that led him to the world wrestling mat; the story traces how a small city’s trauma threaded into a sporting life and asks what you do with a life you almost didn’t have.

Person: Zaurbek Sidakov Event: Beslan school siege Date: September 1-3, 2004 Location: Beslan, North Ossetia-Alania Outcome: Sidakov became 2018 senior world wrestling champion in Budapest

- Zaurbek Sidakov was eight on September 1, 2004, evacuated as Beslan School Number One’s doors closed behind others. - More than 1,100 people were trapped inside the school gym, windows wired with explosives, with no food, water, or ventilation. - The siege lasted three days; Russian special forces entered on September 3 after an explosion triggered a chaotic end. - Sidakov grew up in a town where nearly every family lost someone and many athletes trained alongside or against survivors and the bereaved. - At age 22 in Budapest 2018, Sidakov won the senior world wrestling title by the narrowest margins against top champions: 6-5, 3-2, and a 2-2 victory on criteria.

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