Obituary

Bulgarian Olympic Champ Dobrev Passes Away

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY (April 3) -- Bulgarian wrestler Dimitar Dobrev, a 1960 Olympic champion and multiple-time Olympic medalist in Greco-Roman, passed away on April 1. He was 87 years old. 

Dobrev competed at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, claiming a silver medal in the middleweight division. Four years later, Dobrev captured a gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Italy, competing at middleweight. In addition, he placed in the top five at the World Championships three times. Dobrev was the first and only Bulgarian to serve as the national coach of both freestyle and Greco. 

Born in Ezerche, Bulgaria, Dobrev participated in gymnastics before his competitive wrestling career. He later became a mathematician.

#WrestleTirana

Tirana to host 2023 U23 World Championships

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (September 15) -- United World Wrestling has decided to reallocate the 2023 U23 World Championships to Tirana, Albania. The event was originally scheduled to be held in Tampere, Finland.

The World Championships in Tirana will run from October 23 to 29, 2023 with Freestyle kicking off the competition followed by Women's Wrestling and Greco-Roman. The deadline for the entries has been set for October 5, 2023.

Albanian Wrestling Federation hosted the 2023 U17 European Championships and was the best among the candidacies received by UWW.

UWW acknowledges the inconvenience these changes may cause the National Federations. UWW wants to emphasize that all the decisions made were centered around the well-being of the athletes and their opportunity to participate in wrestling events worldwide. It also appreciates the understanding and cooperation during this transition.

NFs are requested to contact UWW for further questions or assistance.