#UWWAwards

'21 Breakthrough Performances of the Year: Geraei, Zare and Focken

Tuesday, December 7, 2021 - 12:23 By Eric Olanowski

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 7) -- Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI), Amir ZARE (IRI) and Aline FOCKEN (GER) have been named United World Wrestling’s Breakthrough Performance of the Year award winners.

Geraei came into 2021 without having a world or Olympic medal on his resume. The 25-year-old, known as ‘The Iceman,’ defied all expectations and claimed Olympic gold in Tokyo and closed out his improbable ’21 campaign with a world-title run in Oslo.

Zare, at just 20-year-old, had a colossal year. He collected an Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo before upsetting three-time world champ Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) and Olympic gold medalist Taha AKGUL (TUR) en route to gaining heavyweight supremacy at the Oslo World Championships.

Aline Focken picked the perfect time to retire. After missing out on the ’12 London Olympic Games and a ninth-place outing in Rio, the 12-year-veteran ended her career with an upset victory over five-time world champion Adeline GRAY (USA) in the 76kg Olympic finals.

#WrestleCoralville

How to Watch 2026 Pan-American Championships Live

Wednesday, May 6, 2026 - 16:04 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORALVILLE, IOWA, United States (May 6) -- The 2026 Pan-American Championships will be held at the Xtream Arena, Coralville, Iowa from May 7 to 10.

Greco-Roman will kick off the competition with eight weight classes in action on Thursday and Friday will host the remaining two Greco and six Women's Wrestling weight classes. Four Women's Wrestling and three Freestyle weight classes will be on the mat on Saturday before Sunday sees remaining seven Freestyle weight categories.

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Full 2026 Pan-American Wrestling Championships Schedule

Day 1, May 7 (Thursday):

Greco-Roman Qualification Rounds (10:00 hours onwards): 55kg, 60kg, 63kg, 67kg, 77kg, 82kg, 87kg, 130kg
Greco-Roman Semifinals & Repechage (13:00 hours onwards): 55kg, 60kg, 63kg, 67kg, 77kg, 82kg, 87kg, 130kg
Greco-Roman Finals (17:00 hours onwards): 55kg, 60kg, 63kg, 67kg, 77kg, 82kg, 87kg, 130kg

Day 2, May 8 (Friday)

Greco-Roman and Women's Wrestling Qualification rounds (10:00 hours onwards): GR 72kg, 97kg & WW 50kg, 55kg, 57kg, 62kg, 68kg, 72kg
Greco-Roman and Women's Wrestling Semifinals & Repechage (13:00 hours onwards): GR 72kg, 97kg & WW 50kg, 55kg, 57kg, 62kg, 68kg, 72kg
Greco-Roman and Women's Wrestling Finals (17:00 hours onwards): GR 72kg, 97kg & WW 50kg, 55kg, 57kg, 62kg, 68kg, 72kg

Day 3, May 9 (Saturday)

Women's Wrestling and Freestyle Qualification Rounds (10:00 hours onwards): WW 53kg, 59kg, 65kg, 76kg & FS 61kg, 74kg, 86kg
Women's Wrestling and Freestyle Semifinals & Repechage (13:00 hours onwards): WW 53kg, 59kg, 65kg, 76kg & FS 61kg, 74kg, 86kg
Women's Wrestling and Freestyle Finals (17:00 hours onwards): WW 53kg, 59kg, 65kg, 76kg & FS 61kg, 74kg, 86kg

Day 4, May 10 (Sunday)

Freestyle Qualification Rounds (10:00 hours onwards): 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg, 92kg, 97kg, 125kg
Freestyle Semifinals & Repechage (13:00 hours onwards): 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg, 92kg, 97kg, 125kg
Freestyle Finals (17:00 hours onwards): 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg, 92kg, 97kg, 125kg

PAN-AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS 2026 PREVIEW

All wrestling action will be live on UWW+ and you can subscribe to it. Click here to subscribe to UWW+. However, in the United States and Canada, the competition will be live on FloWrestling.

Download the UWW+ app from App Store | Play Store.

The brackets for Freestyle, Greco-Roman and Women's Wrestling will be released by UWW on May 6, 16:00 hours local time.

UWW Preview for the Pan-Am Wrestling Championships: DOWNLOAD PREVIEW | READ HERE | WRESTLING PHOTOS 

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