European Games

Belarus Captures 2 Golds on Final Day of Women's Wrestling at European Games

Friday, June 28, 2019 - 19:26 By United World Wrestling Press

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MINSK, Belarus (June 28) - Belarusian wrestlers Iryna KURACHKINA (57kg) and Vasilisa MARZALIUK (76kg) gave the home crowd something to celebrate on the final day of the women's wrestling competition at the European Games in Minsk, Belarus. 

Kurachkina and Marzaliuk captured gold medals in dominant fashion on Friday at the Minsk Sports Palace. Neither wrestler surrendered a point in the finals.

Kurachkina, a 2017 world bronze medalist, rolled to a 10-0 technical superiority over Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL) in the gold-medal match at 57kg. She used three takedowns in the first period to build a 6-0 lead. Kurachkina closed out the match early in the second period, scoring a fourth takedown, which she followed up with a gut wrench to close her spectacular finals performance.

Marzaliuk, a four-time world medalist, won her second straight European Games gold medal, beating Francy RAEDELT (GER) 9-0 in the finals at 76kg. She controlled the match from start to finish, using a step out and takedown in the first period to go up 3-0 at the break. Marzaliuk pulled away in the third period with three more takedowns.  

Joining Marzaliuk as a repeat winner at the European Games was Mariya STADNIK (AZE) at 50kg. Stadnik, a three-time Olympic medalist and five-time world medalist, handled returning world bronze medalist Oksana LIVACH (UKR) 7-1 in the gold-medal match at 50kg. 

After scoring with a step out, Stadnik scored a takedown on the world No. 2 Livach, which she followed up with a gut wrench to grab a 5-0 lead. She added another takedown in the final period, while giving up just a point off a step out. Stadnik outscored her opponents 23-2 at the European Games.

Yuliia TKACH (UKR), a four-time world medalist, won a gold medal at 62kg, improving on her silver-medal performance at the 2015 European Games. She topped Elmira GAMBAROVA (AZE) 4-0 in the finals. 

Tkach, ranked No.4 in the world, scored a takedown in the first period off a single leg attack to take a 2-0 lead. In the second period, Gambarova attempted an arm throw, which Tkach countered for another takedown, which closed out the scoring. 

Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE) and Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) earned the bronze medals at 50kg.

Mariia KUZNETSOVA (RUS) knocked off world No.1 Taybe YUSEIN (BUL) 7-4 in a bronze-medal match at 62kg. The other bronze at 62kg was won by Kriszta INCZE (ROU).

Epp MAE (EST), a 2015 world bronze medalist, defeated Olympic champion Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) in dramatic fashion to win a bronze medal at 76kg. Vorobeva led most of the match before Mae scored the go-ahead points as time expired to steal the victory, 5-3. Iselin SOLHEIM (NOR) won by fall over Sabira ALIYEVA (AZE) to claim a bronze medal at 76kg. 

RESULTS

Women's Wrestling 

50kg
GOLD - Mariya STADNIK (AZE) df. Oksana LIVACH (UKR), 7-1
BRONZE - Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) df. Anna LUKASIAK (POL), 6-2
BRONZE - Miglena SELISHKA (BUL) df. Viyaleta CHYRYK (BLR), 6-0 

57kg
GOLD - Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR) df. Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL), 10-0
BRONZE - Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE) df. Bediha GUN (TUR), 9-4
BRONZE - Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) df. Grace BULLEN (NOR), 11-4

62kg
GOLD - Yuliia TKACH (UKR) df. Elmira GAMBAROVA (AZE), 4-0
BRONZE - Mariia KUZNETSOVA (RUS) df. Taybe YUSEIN (BUL), 7-4
BRONZE - Kriszta INCZE (ROU) df. Katarzyna MADROWSKA (POL), 8-2

76kg
GOLD - Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR) df. Francy RAEDELT (GER), 9-0
BRONZE - Iselin SOLHEIM (NOR) df. Sabira ALIYEVA (AZE), Fall (1:13)
BRONZE - Epp MAE (EST) df. Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS), 5-3

Austria Develops Wrestling Future at UWW Performance Centre A.C. Wals

Wednesday, June 17, 2026 - 08:50 By Jörg Richter

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WALS-SIEZENHEIM, Austria (June 16) -- Anyone in Wals-Siezenheim, Austria, looking for the local wrestling centre is directed towards the fire station. Standing in front of it, you look up at the tall tower where the hoses are hung up to dry after call-outs, and at the garages housing the emergency vehicles. But the floor above the firefighters belongs to the wrestlers.

The training centre of wrestling champions A.C. Wals was inaugurated in 1994, completely renovated in 2022 and, a year later, declared the sixth United World Wrestling training centre worldwide by UWW President Nenad LALOVIC.

The former mayor of Wals-Siezenheim, Ludwig BIERINGER, visits the training centre almost daily and can recount stories about the development of the wrestling venue, as well as the sporting stronghold of Wals-Siezenheim, home to the Red Bull family.

His words, "if, by building the wrestling centre, we manage to keep even one young person away from drugs, then this investment will have been worth it,” are likely to hold just as much significance today as they did 32 years ago, when the training hall was completed.

h In Austria, wrestlers are battling against the dominance of winter sports; whilst every child knows the ski jumpers, downhill and slalom skiers, wrestlers have to work incredibly hard to also make it into the spotlight of the mainstream media.

In Toni MARCHL, the Austrian Wrestling Federation has a dedicated and passionate leader who has given himself fully to the growth of the sport. His extensive network spans business, politics, and the highest levels of international sport, including UWW European Council President Karl Martin Dittmann and UWW President Lalovic, with whom he has built a strong and trusted relationship.

AC WalsFitness centre at A.C. Wals. (Photo: Austrian National Wrestling Centre)

Back to the training centre in Wals, which was designated a UWW higperformance centre in 2022, wrestlers from all over the world now come together to train. This naturally also benefits the ORSV wrestlers, who can now train alongside the world’s best on a selective basis – and do so at home, on their own mats. What’s more, thanks to the efforts of ORSV wrestlers can now be found in positions supported by the sports programme within the army, as well as in the police, judiciary and customs services.

A small boarding school accommodates male and female athletes from all over Austria who combine school, vocational training or work with the demands of competitive sport in Wals-Siezenheim, whilst also travelling there on an ad hoc basis for centralised training sessions.

A large team of coaches has also been established to pass on their experience to the wrestlers. Georg MARCHL (Freestyle), Jeno BODI and Amer HRUSTANOVIC (Greco-Roman), and Elena PITTL (Women's Wrestling) lead a well-trained and dedicated team of coaches, supported and supervised by sports director Benedikt ERNST, and trained in collaboration with former German heavyweight wrestler Sven THIELE. The medical sector is also well-equipped in Wals-Siezenheim, with physiotherapy and sports medicine staff.

AC WalsA.C. Wals

The UWW Performance Centre is having an impact on the larger Austrian clubs and federations, which are following its example in developing talent under ever-improving conditions, so that an ever-stronger elite is emerging from the existing base. But no champion falls from the sky, no talent becomes a world champion overnight; everything takes time.

The ORSV is firmly committed to the long-term development of its athletes, investing in homegrown talent and building a sustainable future for Austrian wrestling. This philosophy is reflected in the growth of wrestlers such as Markus RAGGINER, Daniel GASTL, Simon MARCHL, Benjamin GREIL, Johannes LUDESCHER, Aker ACHMIDT and, last but not least, 10-time international medallist Martina KUENZ.

Projects like the UWW Performance Centre in Wals-Siezenheim represent exactly the kind of investment that nurtures the next generation, creates lasting foundations for the sport, and ensures that Austria's wrestling future is built from within.

 - by Jorg RITCHER, Ringsport Magazine