#WrestleFaenza

Cadet European Championship Preview

Sunday, June 16, 2019 - 13:31 By Eric Olanowski

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FAENZA, Italy (June 16) – The entry list for the Cadet European Championships boasts over 515 athletes from 37 countries, but five wrestlers in particular head to Faenza, Italy, looking to repeat as cadet European champion. 

There will be five wrestlers looking to defend their titles from last year’s Skopje Cadet European Championships. Freestyle wrestling lacks a returning champion, but Greco-Roman features four 2018 champs, while women’s wrestling has one wrestler looking to repeat. 

Stepan STARODUBTSEV (RUS), who’ll compete at 71kg, will have the toughest road to repeat as continental champion. Last year, Starodubtsev defeated Moldova’s Alexandrin GUTU in the finals to win his first continental title. This year, he’ll likely have to do the same to repeat as a European champion. Since that loss to Starodubtsev in last year’s European finals, Gutu went undefeated and won golds at the Balkans, the cadet world championships then capped his year off with a title-winning performance at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he avenged his loss against Starodubtsev in the gold-medal bout.

The pair begin their run to a European title on Tuesday and close out the Greco-Roman portion of the tournament on Wednesday. 

Greco-Roman’s also has three other returning champions. They are Edmond Armen NAZARYAN (BUL), Dimitri KHACHIDZE (GEO), Mukhammad EVLOEV (RUS). They’ll wrestle at 51kg, 55kg, and 92kg, respectively. 

Women’s wrestling's returning champion, Anastasiya YANOTAVA (BLR), is set to wrestle at 49kg. She’s the only returning medalist in her weight and is expected to repeat as European champions. 

Starting Monday, the Pala Cattani Arena will be the host site for this year’s Cadet European Championships. The seven-day tournament beings on Monday morning and will last until Sunday. You can follow all the action live on www.unitedworldwrestling.org.

SCHEDULE 

#development

UWW Organizes International Training Camp Before African Championships

Tuesday, May 12, 2026 - 09:38 By United World Wrestling Press

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ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (May 11) -- United World Wrestling hosted a international training camp before the 2026 African Championships in Alexandria from April 20 to 26.

The camp, organized with a focus on performance, technical exchange, and sporting cooperation, brought together coaches and wrestlers from across the continent with participants from Burundi, the Central African Republic, Cape Verde, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tunisia, Guinea, Namibia, Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, and Zambia.

One of the major highlights of this edition was the historic participation of Zambia, which took part for the first time in a continental wrestling activity. The participation symbolizes the steady expansion of African wrestling into new nations and confirms the growing development of the sport across the continent. The Zambian delegation included wrestler Martin JERE (ZAM) and Stephen FULANGANI (ZAM), accompanied by their coach Eugine CHIPOKOLO.

Alexandria

Throughout the week, wrestlers took part in specialized sessions combining standing and ground techniques, upper and lower-level attacks, targeted defense drills, technical combinations, aerobic preparation, acrobatic exercises, and individual training. Coaches would also use this gathering as an opportunity to exchange training methods and share their expertise within a high-level international environment.

The camp will bring together several experienced athletes and international competitors in Freestyle, Women’s Wrestling, and Greco-Roman. Among the participating nations were also several Sub-Saharan African countries that continue to strengthen their presence on the continental stage through increasingly strong participation.

Beyond the sporting aspect, the program also included awareness sessions focused on environmental protection in sport through the “Wrestle Green” initiative, as well as workshops dedicated to anti-doping education and athlete protection.

Alexandria

Participants also received dedicated camp equipment, including sportswear, “Wrestle Green” materials, and training accessories intended for daily practice sessions.