#ANOCAwards2021

ANOC NEWS: ANOC Awards 2021 Honors Best Athletes of Tokyo 2020

Monday, October 25, 2021 - 12:10 By United World Wrestling Press

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CRETE, Greece (October 25) --- Wrestling's Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) was honored on Sunday night at the ANOC Awards 2021. The Cuban Giant earned the Outstanding Athlete Performance award for becoming the first-ever male wrestler to win four Olympic titles. ANOC News provided a breakdown of Sunday night's award winners.

A breathtaking ANOC Awards 2021 ceremony took place at the Creta Maris Beach Resort tonight, with the world coming together in celebration of some of the leading names in Olympic sport.

The athletes who shone at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 earlier this year were recognised for their inspiring performances. The best female and male athletes, as well as the best female and male teams from team sports were honoured, whilst an outstanding athlete performance was announced. Additionally, female and male award categories were introduced for the best multiple athlete event, which recognises outstanding collective performances by more than one athlete in sports that can also be practiced individually. Finally, there were awards for the outstanding National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Tokyo 2020 and for individual contribution to the Olympic Movement.

The ANOC Awards winners for 2021 are:

  • Best Female Multiple Athlete Event of Tokyo 2020: Estonia Fencing Épée Team
  • Best Male Multiple Athlete Event of Tokyo 2020: Italy Cycling-Track Team Pursuit
  • Best Female Team of Tokyo 2020: New Zealand Rugby Sevens
  • Best Male Team of Tokyo 2020: Japan Baseball
  • Best Female Athlete of Tokyo 2020: Maggie Mac Neil
  • Best Male Athlete of Tokyo 2020: Eliud Kipchoge
  • Outstanding Athlete Performance: Mijaín López
  • Outstanding NOC of Tokyo 2020: Japanese Olympic Committee
  • Contribution to the Olympic Movement: John Coates

The ANOC Awards was created to show appreciation to NOCs and their athletes for their dedication to the Olympic Movement and for promoting the Olympic values all year round. During the ceremony, Diplomas were presented to the breakthrough NOCs that had historic sporting moments at Tokyo 2020.

The ANOC Diploma for Breakthrough NOCs recipients are:

  • Bermuda Olympic Association – Triathlete Flora Duffy became Olympic champion, in doing so making Bermuda the smallest country by population to win a gold medal.
  • Philippine Olympic Committee – Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz made history by winning the women’s 55 kg category to become the first Olympic gold medallist from the Philippines.
  • Qatar Olympic Committee – Fares Elbakh won his country’s first ever Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020 and shortly after, high jump star Mutaz Essa Barshim claimed Qatar’s second gold in what was one of the most memorable moments of Tokyo 2020, as he shared the gold medal with Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi.
  • Burkina Faso National Olympic Committee – Hugues Fabrice Zango became the country’s first Olympic bronze medallist as he claimed third spot in the men’s triple jump.
  • San Marino National Olympic Committee – It was a Games to remember for San Marino. At the start of play, they had never reached an Olympic podium, but by the end of the Games they had won one silver and one bronze.
  • National Olympic Committee of Turkmenistan – Tokyo 2020 saw Turkmenistan win its first Olympic medal, when Polina Guryeva won silver in the women’s weightlifting 59 kg category.

In addition to the ANOC Awards, the Hellenic Olympic Committee dedicated an award to the Best Greek Athlete of Tokyo 2020. Greek Deputy Sports Minister Lefteris Avgenakis presented Tokyo 2020 long jump champion Miltiadis Tentoglou with the award, following his stunning gold medal winning performance at the Games.

Representatives from 155 of the 205 NOCs were joined in-person by other stakeholders throughout the Olympic Movement for a spectacular seventh edition of the ANOC Award, with many others tuning in online. Athletes, NOCs and International Federations were all actively engaged in the ANOC Awards across all social media platforms throughout the evening, as the global celebration demonstrated how shared sporting values continue to unite different countries and cultures.

The awards ceremony was shown live by Greek broadcaster ERT. The event was also streamed live on the ANOC YouTube Channel, ensuring the whole sporting world was able to enjoy captivating mix of sport and culture.

Click the link to read more on the ANOC Olympic site...ANOC Awards 2021 Honors Best Athletes of Tokyo 2020 

#WrestleAmman

Shkarin upgrades silver to gold; Iran wins 2 at U17 Worlds

Tuesday, August 20, 2024 - 20:32 By Vinay Siwach

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AMMAN, Jordan (August 20) -- Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN) has lost only one bout in his international career. The loss in the U17 World Championships final at 80kg last year was so devasting for Shkarin that he made his goal to win the gold medal this year. He doubled his training time, watched videos of his bouts repeatedly and came to Amman with a mindset of a winner.

It was a similar path to the final this year as he won two close bouts, a 9-0 win in the semifinals and faced an Asian opponent in the final. The only change was that Shkarin wrestled a calculated final and became the U17 world champion.

Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN)Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN) celebrates after winning the 80kg final in Amman. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Shkarin defeated Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) 3-0 in the final to upgrade his silver from last year. He was one of the five world champions crowned in Amman on Tuesday.

"I haven’t changed anything," Shkarin said. "I just kept working hard. This gold medal is so valuable to me because last year I lost the final, which was also against an Asian athlete. The semifinal score was 9-0, just like it was this time. These coincidences distracted me a bit."

Unlike the 2023 final in which he played catch up after falling behind 7-0, Shkarin was in no mood to give points to Anapiya on Tuesday. He maintained a lead throughout the final and defended it well.

The U17 European champion explained that the bouts in Amman were tougher than what he experienced at the European Championships in Novi Sad in July.

"The matches here were tougher than at the European Championships, especially the final match," he said. "Back there, I only wrestled for a little over one minute, while here it took me two periods. I could only score three points at the beginning of the match, and then I had to hold onto that lead."

Shkarin, who hails from Lipsetsk, did not have any high-scoring match apart from the semifinal against Emad Reza MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI). He defeated Dinko NEYKOV (BUL) 5-0 in the first bout and Luka KOCHALIDZE (GEO) 3-1 in the quarterfinals.

"Honestly speaking, I have mixed feelings," Shkarin said. "There is euphoria, but at the same time, there is emptiness. I’ve been working so hard to win this gold. I need 2-3 days to fully realize everything. I am extremely happy -- it's the first time in my career that I’ve felt this way."

In other finals, Jayden RANEY (USA) won at 55kg and Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) got the gold at 110kg. But it was Iran who dominated again as it crowned two champions -- Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) at 48kg and Amir SAEIDI (IRI) at 65kg.

Shamsipour continued his dominant run from Monday and posted another technical superiority win to beat Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB), 10-1, in the 48kg final. He outscored his opponents 37-1 in four bouts.

Saeidi won the 65kg gold over Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) after beating him 6-2 in the final. Saeidi launched Pokotylo for a massive four-point throw and never looked in trouble in his win.

Ukraine's gold medalist came at 110kg as Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) handed Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) a 13-4 defeat to win the gold medal. The gold is another addition to his medal collection, which also has the U17 European gold.

"I prepared mentally for each match," Yankovskyi said. "My coaches and I analyzed every opponent. I prepared very professionally for this World Championships. Everything worked out for me. I always train in the gym with people who are older and bigger than me. That's why such training leads to these results."

Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR)Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) won the 110kg gold medal after beating Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) in the final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostandin Andonov)

Yankovskyi did not give up a single point at the European Championships and finished three bouts via technical superiority.

"This is my life. This is a part of me," he said. "I have been dedicated to this sport for so many years. My father passed away four years ago. During this time, I have gained a lot of physical and moral strength. Now, I want to thank my mother for everything, she works hard and earns money to support me. I want to thank my father for raising me as a person and for getting me involved in wrestling."

With the U17 double done, Yankovskyi now has his eyes set on doing the double at the U20, U23 and senior level. He also wants to win the Olympic gold.

"This is my last year as a cadet. There’s more to come. I want to win the European and World Championships as a junior, and then in the U23 and senior age groups. My goal is to make it to the Olympics. This is the dream of my coaches. I'm very grateful. I want to thank the coaches who raised me from childhood. They replaced my father. How could it have been otherwise? My coaches, Viktor Viktorovich and Oleksandr Mikhailovich, are the two people who gave me a ticket to a better life."

Raney, who came back from 6-0 down in the semifinals to win via fall, saw himself leading 6-0 against Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) before the Kazakhstan wrestler mounted a comeback. That was short-lived as Raney posted a 7-5 win.

"It was a little bit under control," Raney said." After the first, I had him on his back and he got really tired. I don't know why."

Wrestling in his first international event, Raney never let the inexperience hurt him. In his five bouts, he won two via fall, one via superiority and one 4-3.

Jayden RANEY (USA)Jayden RANEY (USA) tries to score using an arm-bar in the 55kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

"It's super hard," he said. "These other countries, they do Freestyle and Greco-Roman. So they are extremely good at it. In America, we do Folkstyle too. To do all of them at the same time is different and hard."

Raney's brother, Jordyn won the U17 gold medal last year and will wrestle for bronze this year.

"I wish him luck," he said. "Last year, I was here watching him and he won gold. For him to medal again, even if bronze, super excited to watch him."

sd

RESULTS

48kg
GOLD: Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) df. Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB), 10-1

BRONZE: Amrah AMRAHOV (AZE) df. Yedige TOLEUTAYEV (KAZ), 3-1
BRONZE: Nikolai KRISTOV (AIN) df. Laszlo SZUROMI (HUN), 10-0

55kg
GOLD: Jayden RANEY (USA) df. Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ), 7-5

BRONZE: Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM) df. Amirali HEYDARI (IRI), via fall (4-5)
BRONZE: Sardor KHOLMURZAEV (UZB) df. Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN), 1-1

65kg
GOLD: Amir SAEIDI (IRI) df. Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR), 6-2

BONZE: Dzhabrail UMKHADZHIEV (AIN) df. Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE), 9-4
BRONZE: Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM) df. Fayozbek ESHMIRZAEV (UZB), 1-1

80kg
GOLD: Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN) df. Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ), 3-0

BRONZE: Emad Reza MOHSENNEJAD (IRI) df. Dinko NEYKOV (BUL), 6-0
BRONZE: Vladyslav SOLODCHUK (UKR) df. Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE), 9-6

110kg
GOLD: Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) df. Zoltan CZAKO (HUN), 13-4

BRONZE: Aliasghar DADBAKHSH (IRI) df. Haorui WANG (CHN), 3-1
BRONZE: RONAK (IND) df. Emrullah CAPKAN (TUR), 6-1

Semifinals

45kg
GOLD: Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM) vs. Aslanbek KOSTOEV (AIN) 

SF 1: Aslanbek KOSTOEV (AIN) df. Damir ABILDA (KAZ), 5-1
SF 2: Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM) df. Umidjon KAROMOV (UZB), 8-0

51kg
GOLD: Kutman KALBAEV (KGZ) vs. Turan DASHDAMIROV (AZE)

SF 1: Turan DASHDAMIROV (AZE) df. Yerassyl MUSSAN (KAZ), 4-1
SF 2: Kutman KALBAEV (KGZ) df. Abolfazl KARAMIEGAEI (IRI), 8-7

60kg
GOLD: Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) vs. Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE)

SF 1: Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE) df. Jordyn RANEY (USA), 2-1
SF 2: Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) df. Ilias LAAOUINA (NED), 8-0

71kg
GOLD: Vladislav BYRLIA (AIN) vs. Kiryl VALEUSKI (AIN)

SF 1: Kiryl VALEUSKI (AIN) df. Behruzbek VALIEV (UZB), 7-4
SF 2: Vladislav BYRLIA (AIN) df. Giorgi ALADASHVILI (GEO), 3-1

92kg
GOLD: Danial IZADI (IRI) vs. Ole STERNING (GER)

SF 1: Ole STERNING (GER) df. Serkan BAKIR (TUR), 3-1
SF 2: Danial IZADI (IRI) df. Lyova SHUKHYAN (ARM), 5-0