Obituary

Bendegúz Tóth, Promising Hungarian Freestyle Wrestler, Dies at 22

Saturday, June 6, 2020 - 18:55 By United World Wrestling Press

Share this article

BUDAPEST, Hungary (June 6) -- Bendegúz Tóth, a silver medalist at the 2014 Cadet European championships, died suddenly on Friday during an outdoor training session with his teammates. The cause of death hasn’t been certified, but medical officials at the training session cited sudden heart failure. 
 
Tóth was seen as the centerpiece of Hungary’s growing freestyle wrestling program. He’d won silver medal on the Cadet European Championships in 2014, silver on the U23 European Championships in 2017, and won silver medals in both styles on the University World Championships in 2018. Tóth was also the member of the adult national team and participated on the Senior World Championships in 2019 and on the Senior European Championships in 2020.


“We are deeply pained and words are of no help in expressing the sorrow we feel at this moment,” said Mr Peter Bacsa Bureau Member of UWW and Vice-president of Hungarian Wrestling Federation. “His kind face remains forever in our image. We lost a great person and a fantastic wrestler.”

The Wrestling Federation of Hungary announced that it has also suspended training through next week.

UWW updates competition guidelines for Russia, Belarus wrestlers

Tuesday, January 27, 2026 - 09:06 By United World Wrestling Press

Share this article

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (January 27) -- United World Wrestling will allow wrestlers from Russia and Belarus to compete under their respective national flags up to the U23 age level.

The decision follows a recommendation from the International Olympic Committee that youth athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports should no longer face restrictions on participation in sports events, both individual and team.

The UWW Bureau met last week to discuss the same and decided to implement the IOC recommendation at the U15, U17, U20 and U23 levels.

Russian and Belarusian wrestlers will now compete under their national flags and country initials, “RUS” and “BLR,” respectively. National anthems of both countries will be played at medal ceremonies at UWW events if their wrestlers win gold medals or if a team wins the team championship.

All other standard UWW protocols will be followed at competitions in accordance with international wrestling rules.

Russia

Last year, UWW had updated its criteria for eligible wrestlers and staff from the two countries, allowing them to participate under UWW flag at all competitions.

Despite the updated recommendations, both the IOC and UWW stress that all athletes and their support staff must continue to uphold the Olympic Movement’s mission of promoting unity and peace.

The latest IOC guidance means the March 2023 recommendations regarding Russia and Belarus are no longer mandatory for youth events.

However, the IOC maintains that no government officials from Russia or Belarus should be accredited or invited to international sports events or meetings for either senior or youth competitions.

It also said that International Federations should refrain from organizing or supporting international sports events in Russia, while this recommendation no longer applies to Belarus.