#WrestleCasablanca

Abdellatif leads Egypt to Greco team title with 8th African gold

By Vinay Siwach

CASABLANCA, Morocco (May 3) — Mohamed ABDELLATIF (EGY) scored three technical superiority wins to win the 130kg and lead Egypt to the Greco-Roman team title at the African Championships in convincing fashion.

Egypt won seven gold and three silver medals to emerge as the best team with 235 points. Hosts Morocco didn’t win any gold but had three silver and six bronze medals to overtake Algeria for the second position with 160 points. Algeria finished third with 125 points, thanks to three golds and other medals.

World bronze medalist Abdellatif won his eighth African Championships gold medal without dropping a point in Casablanca. He defeated Wissam KOUAINSO (MAR) in Round 1, Joel TUKAI (KEN) in Round 2 and tossed around Issah FUSEINI (GHA) in Round 3. He just spent only 2 minutes and 39 seconds on the mat.

That was the final gold for Egypt on Saturday. The gold rush began when Ahmed ALY (EGY) stunned Adem LAMLOUM (TUN) 10-0 in the 55kg final. It was better result than the one when they met in the first round. Aly won the first bout 10-6.

At 60kg, Ahmed SHABAN (EGY) won four bouts in dominant fashion to clinch the gold medal. 

Women’s Wrestling

Medals in five weight classes of Women’s Wrestling were also awarded on Saturday.

Nigeria won four of the five gold medals on offer as Mercy ADEKOUROYE (NGR) became a late withdrawal from the 57kg competition.

RESULTS

Greco-Roman

55kg
GOLD: Ahmed ALY (EGY) df. Adem LAMLOUM (TUN), 10-0

BRONZE: Ayoub SBETE (MAR) df. Bofenda KALUWEKO (ANG), via fall (11-10)

60kg
GOLD: Ahmed SHABAN (EGY)
SILVER: Mouad JAHID (MAR)
BRONZE: Rabby KILANDI (COD)

63kg
GOLD: Mohamed DRIDI (ALG)
SILVER: Youssef MOHAMED (EGY)
BRONZE: Mouncif MESROUR (MAR)

67kg
GOLD: Mohamed ABDELREHIM (EGY) df. Ishak GHAIOU (ALG), 2-0

BRONZE: Oussama NASR (TUN) df. Roland KALAMBAYI (COD), 9-6

72kg
GOLD: Mohamed IBRAHIM (EGY) df. Abdelmalek MERABET (ALG), 3-1

BRONZE: Walid TALBI (MAR) df. Nkosinathi MASHININI (RSA), 9-0
BRONZE: Yamine ATCHIBA (BEN) df. Norvil BUKASA (COD), 7-7

77kg
GOLD: Yehia ABDELKADER (EGY)
SILVER: Radhwen TARHOUNI (TUN)
BRONZE: Souhaib KHDAR (MAR)

82kg
GOLD: Abd OUAKALI (ALG) df. Mohamed DYAB (EGY), 11-3

BRONZE: Elias CHIGUER (MAR) df. Andy MUKENDI (COD), via fall (7-4)

87kg
GOLD: Bachir SID AZARA (ALG)
SILVER: Mahmoud IBRAHIM (EGY)
BRONZE: Wadii OUALAL (MAR)

97kg
GOLD: Mohamed GABR (EGY)
SILVER: Hamza BOUMADIENE (MAR)
BRONZE: Barthelemy TSHOSHA (COD)

130kg
GOLD: Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY)
SILVER: Wissam KOUAINSO (MAR)
BRONZE: Issah FUSEINI (GHA)

Women's Wrestling

53kg
GOLD: Christianah OGUNSANYA (NGR) df. Nogona BAKAYOKO (CIV), 11-0

BRONZE: Chahrazed AYACHI (TUN) df. Zineb ECH CHABKI (TUN), 8-6
BRONZE: Sama MAHMOUD (EGY) df. Matilda KOKERA (RSA), via fall

57kg
GOLD: Chaimaa AOUISSI (ALG) df. Chaima DAHI (TUN), via fall

BRONZE: Mamy RASOANOMENJANAHARY (MAD) df. Mercy ADEKUOROYE (NGR), via walkover

62kg
GOLD: Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR) df. Farah HUSSEIN (EGY), 10-0

BRONZE: Nawel BAHLOUL (ALG) df. Safietou GOUDIABY (SEN), 8-1

68kg
GOLD: Hannah RUEBEN (NGR)
SILVER: Mariam MESBAH (EGY)
BRONZE: Saadia ET TAMMAR (MAR)

76kg
GOLD: Damola OJO (NGR)
SILVER: Amy YOUIN (CIV)
BRONZE: Rayhana BENREZIK (MAR)

#UnitedWorldWrestling

Lopez's coach Trujillo Diaz Joins UWW Development Efforts

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (November 28) -- Raul TRUJILLO DIAZ, longtime coach of Olympic champion Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) and recipient of 2025 International Olympic Committee Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award, has signed a development contract with United World Wrestling.

Following Lopez's appointment last year as the UWW Global Wrestling Promotion Ambassador, now Trujillo Diaz will also work with UWW with a focus on youth development, coach education, and high-performance training systems.

During his visit to the UWW in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Trujillo met with UWW President Nenad LALOVIC for an in-depth discussion on the future of the sport. Their conversation addressed coaching standards, talent retention, and sustainable pathways to support athletes from the youth level through elite competition.

UWW

"We all know the importance of having a good coach," Lalovic said. "We need to keep wrestling talents, especially great coaches, within the sport to ensure knowledge sharing and the long-term development of wrestling."

Trujillo’s new responsibilities will complement the work of Lopez who became the first athlete to win five Olympic gold medals in the same sport at Paris 2024. They will contribute to UWW’s global development initiatives as the organization continues its efforts to grow wrestling worldwide and support the next generation of athletes.