Top Stories of the Decade

Cuban Greco-Roman Great Mijain Lopez Wins Third Olympic Gold

Saturday, December 28, 2019 - 22:45 By Andrew Hipps

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 26) -- At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Cuban wrestling great Mijain LOPEZ captured his third Olympic gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling, equaling the record of Alexander KARELIN (RUS, 1988-1996) and Carl WESTERGREN (SWE, 1920-1932). Lopez became the ninth wrestler in history to win three Olympic gold medals.

Lopez, a five-time world champion and eight-time world medalist, earned his Rio gold medal by shutting out Turkey’s reigning world champion Riza Kayaalp, 6-0.

After Kayaalp defeated Lopez at the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas, many wrestling fans were expecting a hard-fought struggle in their Rio gold-medal match, but Lopez all but sealed his victory in the opening 30 seconds.

Lopez snapped Kayaalp down and wrapped up a tight chest-lock from in front and tossed the champ to his back for a quick 4-0 lead. He added a step-out point off an ensuring scramble to go up 5-0.

Lopez added another penalty point in the second period as things got chippy with a frustrated Kayaalp. He appeared to be closing in on a technical superiority with a minute remaining, but Lopez chose to ease home with the victory.

The 6-foot-5 Cuban celebrated his third Olympic gold title by doing a salsa-infused dance on the Mat. “The dance just came natural to me,” Lopez said moments after his match. “Brazil is Brazil, and in Brazil you have to dance!”

2026 U20 European Championships

U20 European Wrestling Championships 2026: Watch Live Streaming, Full Schedule, Results

Saturday, July 4, 2026 - 09:31 By United World Wrestling Press

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SKOPJE, North Macedonia (July 4) -- The U20 European Wrestling Championships 2026 will kick off in Skopje, North Macedonia from July 6 to 12 at the Boris Trajkovski Sports Center.

LIVE MATCH ORDER | WATCH LIVE

The seven-day event will kick off with Greco-Roman, followed by Women's Wrestling before finishing with Freestyle. Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Armenia will be the countries that will be bring some top teams to the event.

Results of U17 European Championships 2026 | Results of Senior European Championships 2026 | U20 Asian Championships 2026 Results | 2025 U20 European Championships Results

UWW+

How to Watch U20 European Wrestling Championships 2026 Live from Skopje: The live streaming of the U20 European Championships will be available on uww.org with UWW+ subscription. Subscribe to UWW+ and download the UWW app.

Download the UWW App - Apple's App Store | Google Play Store

U20 European Championships Entries | U20 European Wrestling Championships 2026 Results

WRESTLING SCHEDULE | NEWS | BRACKETS | TEAM RANKINGS | MEDAL SUMMARY | RESULTS

Full Schedule of U20 European Wrestling Championships 2026

Day 1 - July 6, Monday

Greco-Roman Qualification Rounds: 55kg, 63kg, 77kg, 87kg, 130kg - 10:30 hours onwards
Greco-Roman Semifinals: 55kg, 63kg, 77kg, 87kg, 130kg - 18:00 hours onwards

Day 2 - July 7, Tuesday

Greco-Roman Repechage: 55kg, 63kg, 77kg, 87kg, 130kg - 10:30 hours onwards
Greco-Roman Qualification Rounds: 60kg, 67kg, 72kg, 82kg, 97kg - 10:30 hours onwards
Greco-Roman Semifinals: 60kg, 67kg, 72kg, 82kg, 97kg - 16:45 hours onwards
Greco-Roman Finals: 55kg, 63kg, 77kg, 87kg, 130kg - 18:00 hours onwards

Day 3 - July 8, Wednesday

Greco-Roman Repechages: 60kg, 67kg, 72kg, 82kg, 97kg - 10:30 hours onwards
Women's Wrestling Qualification Rounds: 50kg, 55kg, 59kg, 68kg, 76kg - 10:30 hours
Women's Wrestling Semifinals: 50kg, 55kg, 59kg, 68kg, 76kg - 16:45 hours onwards
Greco-Roman Finals: 60kg, 67kg, 72kg, 82kg, 97kg - 18:00 hours onwards

Day 4 - July 9, Thursday

Women's Wrestling Repechage: 50kg, 55kg, 59kg, 68kg, 76kg - 10:30 hours onwards
Women's Wrestling Qualification Rounds: 53kg, 57kg, 62kg, 65kg, 72kg - 10:30 hours onwards
Women's Wrestling Semifinals: 53kg, 57kg, 62kg, 65kg, 72kg - 16:45 hours onwards
Women's Wrestling Finals: 50kg, 55kg, 59kg, 68kg, 76kg - 18:00 hours onwards

Day 5 - July 10, Friday

Women's Wrestling Repechage: 53kg, 57kg, 62kg, 65kg, 72kg - 10:30 hours onwards
Freestyle Qualification Rounds: 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg, 97kg - 10:30 hours onwards
Freestyle Semifinals: 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg, 97kg - 16:45 hours onwards
Women's Wrestling Finals: 53kg, 57kg, 62kg, 65kg, 72kg - 18:00 hours onwards

Day 6 - July 11, Saturday

Freestyle Repechage: 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg, 97kg - 10:30 hours onwards
Freestyle Qualification Rounds: 61kg, 74kg, 86kg, 92kg, 125kg - 10:30 hours onwards
Freestyle Semifinals: 61kg, 74kg, 86kg, 92kg, 125kg - 16:45 hours onwards
Freestyle Finals: 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg, 97kg - 18:00 hours onwards

Day 7 - July 12, Sunday

Freestyle Repechage: 61kg, 74kg, 86kg, 92kg, 125kg - 16:30 hours onwards
Freestyle Finals: 61kg, 74kg, 86kg, 92kg, 125kg - 18:00 hours onwards

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