#YasarDogu2018

Chamizo Outlasts Burroughs in Epic Shootout to Win Yasar Dogu Gold Medal

By Eric Olanowski

ISTANBUL, Turkey (July 28) - Nearly four months ago, Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) posted a photo on Instagram with the caption “If you want to be the king, you have to beat the king.” Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) did just that on Saturday, getting his revenge against the London Olympic champion in front of a sold out Bağcılar Olympic Sport Hall in Istanbul, Turkey.

Chamizo, the two-time world champion was looking to avenge his loss to Burroughs from May’s Beat the Streets in New York City. In that match, Chamizo commanded the early 4-0 lead but was outscored 6-1 in the final four minutes of the bout, losing the match, 6-5. 

Saturday’s bout kicked off a little differently than the outdoor “ice skating” match in New York, as Burroughs scored the match's first point, nearly grabbing a takedown from a low single, but settled for a step out point. The American coaching staff thought Burroughs should have been awarded the takedown and threw the challenge cube. The original call on the mat was confirmed, and Chamizo was awarded a point for the lost challenge, giving the Italian the 1-1 lead on criteria. 

With 45 seconds left in the opening period, Burroughs, the four-time world champion picked up the pace and forced the referees to put Chamizo on the activity clock. The American shot a double, came up to a single and picked up step out point, taking the 2-1 lead into the final three minutes.

Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) defeated five-time world and Olympic champion Jordan BURROUGHS (USA), 10-10 to win the Yasar Dogu. (Photo by Martin Gabor) 

Chamizo surrendered the bouts first takedown after Burroughs snagged his heavy stepping left foot with a low single, extending his lead to 4-1. 

Down by three, Chamizo scored a reversal, cutting Burroughs’ lead to 4-2. But, not before the Italian corner threw the challenge cube, questioning if Burroughs secured the takedown before scoring the reversal. Once again, the referees came together and confirmed the call on the mat, awarding Burroughs a point for the lost challenge, giving him the 5-2 lead. 

After giving up his second step out of the match, Chamizo, who is known for his defense scored his first takedown and cut the Olympic champions lead to 6-4 with one minute remaining in the final period. 

The Cuban turned Italian increased his sense of urgency after Burroughs extended his lead to 8-4 with his second takedown of the bout. 

Chamzio, with his cat-like reflexes, found himself fighting off a Burroughs double, but turned his defense into offense, exposing the American and picking up four points on the out of bounds line, ultimately taking the 8-8 lead on criteria. 

The Rio bronze medalist closed out the bout with his third takedown and took the 10-8 lead. Burroughs would score the final two points, but Chamizo held criteria and was victorious, 10-10. 

With that win, Chamizo evens up the series at one apiece. The next time these two could potentially meet would be in October at the 2018 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. 

RESULTS
57kg 
GOLD - Thomas GILMAN (USA) df. Dzmichyk RYNCHYNAU (BLR), 12-5 

BRONZE - Suleyman ATLI (TUR) df. Taras MARKOVYCH (UKR), 10-6
BRONZE - Vicky VICKY (IND) df. Armen ARAKELIAN (UKR), 9-7 

65kg
GOLD - Mehran NASIRIAFRACHALI (IRI) df. Ali RAHIMZADA (AZE) 

BRONZE - Madiyar BURKHAN (KAZ) df. Hassan MORADGHOLIEI (IRI), 14-9 
BRONZE Daulet NIYAZBEKOV (KAZ) df. Andrii SVYRYD (UKR), 10 - 0

74kg
GOLD - Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA) df. Jordan BURROUGHS (USA)

BRONZE - Nurlan BEKZHANOV (KAZ) df. Saeid DADASHPOURKERIKALAEI (IRI), 4-4
BRONZE - Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ) df. Nurykan AZAMAT (BLR), 3-2 

86kg
GOLD - David TAYLOR (USA) df. Murad SULEYMANOV (AZE), via fall 

BRONZE - Boris MAKOEV (SVK) df. Ahmet BILICI (TUR) 
BRONZE -  Fatih ERDIN (TUR) df. Omar ZIANTDINOV (RUS), 12-2 

97kg
GOLD -  Aslanbek ALBOROV (AZE) df. Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI), 10-0 

BRONZE -  Fatih YASARLI (TUR) df. Valerii ANDRIITSEV (UKR), 1-1
BRONZE - Kyle Frederick SNYDER (USA) df. Riza YILDIRIM (TUR), 11-0 

Women’s Wrestling 
50kg 

GOLD - Oksana LIVACH (UKR) df. Sarra HAMDI (TUN), 10-0 

BRONZE -  Semkiv ILONA (UKR) df. Ritu RITU (IND), 13-7  
BRONZE -  Georgina Suzana SEICARIU (ROU) df. Ciricu EMILIA (MDA), 3-1  

55kg
GOLD -  Pinki PINKI (IND) df. Olga SHNAIDER (UKR), 6-3  

BRONZE -  Nurufe DUMAN (TUR) df. Siwar BOUSETTA (TUN), 8-0 

59kg
GOLD - Olena KREMZER (UKR) df. Sofiia BODNAR (UKR), 4-2 

BRONZE -  Sangeeta BALALI (IND) df. Yuliya PISARENKA (BLR), 14-6 

65kg
GOLD -  Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR) df. Netreba IRYNA (AZE), 14-3  

BRONZE - Geeta GEETA (IND) df. Sofiya Hristova GEORGIEVA (BUL), 3-0 
BRONZE -  Mariia ILCHYSHYN (UKR) df. Elis MANOLOVA (AZE), via injury 

72kg
GOLD - Beste ALTUG (TUR) 
SILVER - Rajni RAJNI (IND) 
BRONZE - Neslihan ULUSOY (TUR)

#UnitedWorldWrestling

Paris Olympics: Wrestling breaks new barriers, expands reach across continents

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (August 22): More than half a million new fans in the digital community. An astounding 100 million engagements. And a remarkable 134 percent increase in social media impressions compared to Tokyo 2020.

At the Paris Olympics, it was a gold medal for wrestling.

UWW

On the mat, legends were born, records were set, and some moments would be remembered for ages. Off it, the sport broke new barriers, expanded its reach and engaged with a diverse audience as the United World Wrestling digital channels witnessed unprecedented growth during the Games.

The UWW’s online platforms recorded an impressive 11.2 percent increase in followers, adding over 508,000 new fans to its digital community. Compared to the growth in followers during the Tokyo Olympics, this figure represents a staggering 125 percent increase.

A large part of this surge was seen on Instagram, where the UWW gained 217,000 new followers. Facebook was a close second, adding 183,000 new followers while TikTok, the platform known for its short, engaging content, added 61,400 new followers. The growth across all platforms highlights the effectiveness of the UWW’s content strategy.

The inspiring clip of Greco-Roman star Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI), who won Iran’s first gold medal in the Paris Olympics drove the maximum engagement on Instagram. Saravi, who won a bronze medal in Tokyo, beat Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) 4-1 in the 97kg final.

Another Iranian, Rahman AMOUZAD, one of the most feared wrestlers in the 65 kg freestyle, went viral with a video in which he proclaimed himself the ‘king’. This post had the second-highest engagement while a slick clip of Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) was the third-most viewed, captivating the viewers and leading engagements as well as interactions.

These videos – and many others shared across UWW’s social media channels – resonated strongly with audiences, garnering record-breaking views. Overall, there were 330 million impressions, a remarkable rise of 134 percent compared to the Tokyo Olympics.

Moreover, the content also achieved 100 million engagements, and a 71 percent increase in reach compared to the previous Olympic Games. This surge in interaction underscores the high level of interest and excitement generated by UWW’s coverage of the Olympic wrestling events.

The video content drove UWW’s social media success. Across all platforms, UWW’s video content garnered over 156 million views, an extraordinary 205 percent increase compared to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

YouTube, in particular, saw significant traction with over 21 million views. This success was fueled by a mix of short and long-form videos apart from live streaming, with shorts emerging as the most popular content format.

With more than one million views, the YouTube video of AMAN (IND) getting his revenge over Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) with a win in the preliminary round. Aman, who won a bronze medal, had lost to Abakarov at the 2023 World Championships.

Chamizo’s video, Don't play with fire #WrestleParis, which went viral on Instagram was also a huge hit on YouTube with hundreds of thousands of viewers, making it the second-most watched video on the platform.

The Day Three highlights show which revisited one of the biggest upsets of the competition – Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) defeating Yui SUSAKI (JPN) in the women’s 50 kg first round – got the third-highest views on YouTube.

The UWW’s vibrant social media strategy was complemented by a robust email marketing campaign, which ran daily throughout the Olympic Games. The ongoing CRM campaigns helped boost engagement across Web, App and UWW+.