Bureau 2020

Candidates Announced for 2020 Bureau Elections

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (July 9) – The official candidacies for the 2020 United World Wrestling Bureau elections have been received and confirmed.

There are seven positions up for re-election in 2020, including six seats on the Bureau and the position of UWW President. Five incumbents have submitted their candidacy for re-election while nine new candidacies have been received for Bureau positions. Successful candidates serve a six-year term on the Bureau.

Incumbent President Nenad LALOVIC (SRB) will be running un-opposed for re-election. The election will be his second six-year term as President.

Elections were scheduled to be held on 6 September 2020 during the Ordinary Congress planned on the eve of the 2020 Junior World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade. Due the pandemic, different options are examined for this year’s congress. An announcement will be made later when the calendar is consolidated.

Present incumbent:

DI BUSSOLO PELLICONE, Marina (Ms) (ITA)

GAMA FILHO, Pedro (BRA)

MAMIASHVILI, Mikhail (RUS)

MESKOUT, Fouad (MAR)

RUZIEV, Akhroldjan (UZB)

New candidates:

CANEVA, Lucio (ITA)

IGALI, Daniel (NGR)

KARSNAK, Jan (SVK)

KHARENKO, Dina (Ms) (UKR)

KORPELA, Marko (FIN)

MACHAIDZE, Edisher (GEO)

RYAN, Don (CAN)

SORYAN, Hamid (IRI)

ZAMBRANO, Johnny (ECU)

The end of the term of the late Mr. Tzenov was this year. A new candidate - with regards to his term as Continental Council President - the Bureau approved Mr Theodoros Hamakos (GRE), Vice-President of UWW-Europe to act as interim President of  the European Council until next year when all Continental Councils hold their elective assemblies to renew all positions.

2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games

Oborududu Named Athlete Role Model for 2026 Dakar YOG

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (June 15) -- Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) was announced as one of the 36 Athlete Role Models for the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games.

Oborududu, a silver medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, has been a stalwart in Nigerian sports and represented the country for close to two decades. In Tokyo, she made history by winning silver medal at 68kg in Women's Wrestling, becoming Nigeria’s first‑ever Olympic medallist in the sport.

The four-time Olympian was also a 14-tim African champion, a record that still stands. She compete at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and finished fifth.

The Athlete Role Models will provide mentoring and workshop training to young athletes on site during Dakar 2026. They will be on the ground in Senegal to engage with competing athletes, providing support and advice around competition and taking part in educational workshops. These workshops cover topics such as career management, injury prevention and mental preparation, among many other things.

The group will also attend training sessions, engage with the local community, support the athletes from the sidelines and be there to congratulate them at victory ceremonies.

The Dakar 2026 YOG will take place from October 31 to November 13, 2026, bringing together around 2,700 young athletes aged up to 17 across three host zones: Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly.