#WrestleZagreb

Croatia to host 2025 World Championships, non-Olympic Worlds returns

Thursday, February 15, 2024 - 12:59 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (February 15) -- For the first time in wrestling history, Zagreb, Croatia will host the World Championships in 2025. The mega event will take place in Zagreb from September 13-21.

The United World Wrestling Bureau held a meeting Friday to discuss future hosts and the Senior World Championships 2025 was awarded to Zagreb, a regular on the wrestling calendar for a decade now, hosting the European Championships and the Ranking Series regularly. The Zagreb Open has been the season opener for international wrestling on many occasions.

The World Championships will be another historic event in Croatia’s wrestling journey. In August, the country crowned its first-ever world champion when Veronika VILK (CRO) won the U17 World Championships in Istanbul, Turkiye.

Non-Olympic Worlds in Tirana

The Bureau also decided that a World Championships in non-Olympic weight classes will be held in 2024. The World Championships will be held in Tirana, Albania from October 28 to 31, right after the U23 World Championships which will be held in the same venue from October 21 to 27.

Non-Olympic weights World Championships in Tirana this year will be the first time it will be held since 2016 when Budapest became the host. Tirana will see wrestlers in 12 weight classes -- 61kg, 70kg, 79kg and 92kg in Freestyle; 55kg, 59kg, 65kg and 72kg in Women's Wrestling; 55kg, 63kg, 72kg and 82kg in Greco-Roman.

A detailed program of the World Championships will be sent to all National Federations later.

Obituary

Olympian and longtime referee Eberhard Probst passes away

Thursday, February 22, 2024 - 10:11 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (February 22) -- Two-time world bronze medalist and Olympian Eberhard PROBST from Germany passed away at the age of 69 years.

Probst was born on June 4, 1955, in Querfurt, where he grew up and began wrestling in 1966 at his club the BSG Merseburg. He attended the Children's and Youth Sports School in Halle an der Saale. From 1970 to 1985, Probst collected 17 East German championship titles for the Chemie Halle Sports Club, making him one of the most successful national freestyle wrestling champions all over Germany. 

At the international level, Probst won World Championships bronze medals in 1979 and 1982 while finishing fifth at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. He also placed eighth at the 1976 Montreal Games. He also won bronze medals at the European Championships in 1976, 1979 and 1981.

After his active career, Probst began a career as a referee in 1984 and, due to his reserved, factual-calm, and expert manner, also internationally developed into one of the best referees in the world from 1986 onwards.

Probst was nominated for his first Olympic Games as a referee in 2004, the third overall, in Athens. As the only German mat official, he represented Germany at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. At the World Championships in Herning, Denmark, in 2009, he received the Golden Whistle, the highest award for referees by UWW.