China Dominates Women's Wrestling Rankings with 6 Ranked No.1

Thursday, March 8, 2018 - 14:04 By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY (March 8) -- China dominates the 2018 Ranking Series in women's wrestling with six wrestlers ranked No.1.

China's top-ranked wrestlers include Chun LEI (50kg), Xingru PEI (57kg), Ningning RONG (59kg), Feng ZHOU (68kg), Yue HAN (72kg) and Qian ZHOU (76kg).

Other No.1-ranked wrestlers: Yongmi PAK (PRK) at 53kg, Saki IGARASHI (JPN) at 55kg, Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL) at 62kg and Petra OLLI (FIN) at 65kg.

Olli claimed a gold medal at the Klippan Lady Open in February.

Winners of the Ranking Series events each received 8 points, plus an additional point for ever entry in their bracket. Placement points (plus number entries) were also awarded to the rest of the top five finishers: runner-up (6), bronze (4) and fifth place (2).

Points will be automatically uploaded on the UWW homepage following the conclusion of all Ranking Series events, continental and world championships.

In case of a points tie between two or more athletes, the following will determine the highest ranked individual:

- Highest number of participation in the ranking events*
- Highest number of Gold Medals in the ranking events*
- Highest number of Silver Medals in the ranking events*
- Highest number of Bronze Medals in the ranking events*
- The most classification points in the ranking events*
- The most match won by superiority in the ranking events*
- The most technical points scored in the ranking events*

* Continental Championship and UWW Select Ranking Events of the concerned year.

Should top seeded athletes not participate in the Senior World Championships or Olympic Games the same criteria will be applied to determine which athletes move into the seeding for the event.

50kg
1. Chun LEI (CHN) // 24 Points
2. Vinesh VINESH (IND) // 22 Points
3. Yui SUSAKI (JPN) // 21 Points
4. Yuki IRIE (JPN) // 20 Points
5. Narangerel ERDENESUKH (MGL) // 20 Points

53kg
1. Yongmi PAK (PRK) // 22 Points
2. Sumiya ERDENECHIMEG (MGL) // 20 Points
3. Nanami IRIE (JPN) // 19 Points
4. Zhuldyz ESHIMOVA (KAZ) // 18 Points
5. Yu MIYAHARA (JPN) // 18 Points

55kg
1. Saki IGARASHI (JPN) // 21 Points
2. Hyemin OH (KOR) // 19 Points
3. Davaachimeg ERKHEMBAYAR (MGL) // 17 Points
4. Lannuan LUO (CHN) // 17 Points
5. Stalvira ORSHUSH (RUS) // 16 Points

57kg
1. Xingru PEI (CHN) // 22 Points
2. Sara NATAMI (JPN) // 20 Points
3. Sae NANJO (JPN) // 19 Points
4. Battsetseg ALTANTSETSEG (MGL) // 18 Points
5. Yeseul KIM (KOR) // 18 Points

59kg
1. Ningning RONG (CHN) // 22 Points
2. Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB) // 20 Points
3. Bisola MAKANJUOLA (NGR) // 18 Points
4. Shoovdor BAATARJAV (MGL) // 18 Points
5. Sangeeta SANGEETA (IND) // 18 Points

62kg
1. Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL) // 22 Points
2. Xiaojuan LUO (CHN) // 20 Points
3. Yurika ITO (JPN) // 18 Points
4. Sakshi MALIK (IND) // 18 Points
5. Kayla colleen kiyoko MIRACLE (USA) // 17 Points

65kg
1. Petra maarit OLLI (FIN) // 18 Points
2. Kaur NAVJOT (IND) // 18 Points
3. Hannah Amuchechi RUEBEN (NGR) // 17 Points
4. Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) // 16 Points
5. Miyu IMAI (JPN) // 16 Points

68kg
1. Feng ZHOU (CHN) // 21 Points
2. Danielle suzanne LAPPAGE (CAN) // 20 Points
3. Tumentsetseg SHARKHUU (MGL) // 19 Points
4. Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) // 18 Points
5. Alla CHERKASOVA (UKR) // 18 Points

72kg
1. Yue HAN (CHN) // 18 Points
2. Anna jenny eva maria FRANSSON (SWE) // 16 Points
3. Nasanburmaa OCHIRBAT (MGL) // 16 Points
4. Winnie GOFIT (NGR) // 15 Points
5. Tatiana KOLESNIKOVA MOROZOVA (RUS) // 14 Points

76kg
1. Qian ZHOU (CHN) // 21 Points
2. Adeline maria GRAY (USA) // 20 Points
3. Hiroe MINAGAWA SUZUKI (JPN) // 19 Points
4. Yasemin ADAR (TUR) // 18 Points
5. Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ) // 17 Points

#WrestleParis

Paris 2024: Lopez confident in his quest for fifth Olympic gold

Sunday, July 21, 2024 - 06:14 By United World Wrestling Press

PARIS (July 21) -- In the history of the Olympic Games, only one athlete has won the gold medals five consecutive times: Ireen Wüst. At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the Dutch speed skater completed the milestone and etched her name into the history books when she won the 1,500m race.

No Summer Olympian has ever won gold medals in the same individual event five consecutive times. No wrestler has ever won five gold medals. All that could change in Paris. And the man sniffing at the record is Mijain LOPEZ (CUB).

The man they fondly call ‘Gigante de Herradura’ and ‘El Terrible’ currently holds the record of winning the same individual Olympic event four times along with swim legend Michael Phelps, track hero Carl Lewis, the American discus throw hero Al Oerter, the sailor from Denmark Paul Elvstrom and Kaori ICHO (JPN) who, like Lopez, has four gold medals.

Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) winning the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Born on August 20, 1982, the super heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler made his first appearance at the Olympics in 2004. He was accompanied in the contingent by his elder brother Michel, a boxer (his other older sibling, Misael, was a rower). Michel won a bronze medal in the super-heavyweight division in Athens, a medal that continued Cuba’s historic dominance in boxing.

Lopez observed everything quietly at his maiden Games and when he returned to the biggest stage of all, in Beijing four years later, he would take the field by storm. The 6-foot-5-inch tall wrestler won a gold and repeated that feat in 2012, then in 2016 and the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

“I feel like it is a dream,” Lopez said. “I believe that it's a goal that I have had throughout my career. I have won four gold medals. I believe winning an Olympic gold medal is hard. So winning four and five is exceptional.”

Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) defends his gold medal at 2012 London Olympic Games (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

His stranglehold in the super heavyweight division at the Olympics has played side-by-side with his dominance at the World Championships – where he has five titles and three silver medals – and the nine Pan American Championships crowns that are to his name.

Lopez last competed at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. After beating Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) in the gold medal bout on superiority, he stayed away from the mat before resurfacing last year to renew his bid for a fifth Olympic gold.

In May 2023, he announced his intention to come back but didn’t straightaway dive into competition mode although he would have been the favorite to defend his Pan American Games title.

Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) won his third gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Tony Rotundo)

But due to a personal loss in the weeks leading up to the Pan-Am Games, Lopez opted out of the competition and chose to prepare himself for the bigger battle. He watched from the sidelines as for the first time since 2003, a new face stood on the top of the podium at the Pan-Am Games.

All the while, Lopez had been training with single-minded focus at his bases in Varadero, the scenic beach resort roughly 150 km from Havana, and the Pelado High-Performance Centre in Havana.

In Paris, he might have to fight two battles simultaneously. The first against his aging body — he is 41 years old at the moment. And once he manages that, the Cuban will have to navigate through a tough field, especially since he isn’t among the seeded wrestlers in the 130kg category.

Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) won his fourth gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Tony Rotundo)

Lopez has sounded unfazed. If anything, he is itching to better the record of one of his favorite athletes, someone he has called the greatest Olympian of all time – Phelps.

“The preparation is done. I feel in optimal condition and all wrestlers are motivated both in Cuba and internationally. It has been a very important time for me to keep the motivation to get to my sixth Olympic Games and fight for my fifth medal,” he said. “Something I am doing with great focus to be able to show the world that everything you have in mind, and want to achieve, can be achieved. I know it's in my mind, and I believe the possibility of achieving that result is high.”

Lopez wrestles in Paris on August 5 and 6.

China Dominates Women's Wrestling Rankings with 6 Ranked No.1

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Paris 2024: Lopez confident in his quest for fifth Olympic gold