End of the year freestyle rankings

Friday, November 11, 2022 - 11:18 By Eric Olanowski & Vinay Siwach

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (November 11) -- The final set of rankings for the freestyle wrestlers is out. With more than six ranking events and two championships, wrestlers had the opportunity to finish in the top three and collect the prize money.

The wrestlers managed to claim the points from the four Ranking Series events, continental championships and the World Championships. Two Games were also included in the Rankings Series but a total of only four events were counted for awarding the points.

Here are the rankings after the 2022 season.

Thomas GILMAN (USA) claimed the top spot at 57kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

57kg
1. Thomas GILMAN (USA) - $5000
2. Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) - $3000
3. Zanabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL) - $2000

Thomas GILMAN (USA) earned the top billing at 57kg after medaling in three point-earning events. He won the Pan-American Championships and the Zouhaier Sghaier Ranking Series event before closing the season with a runner-up finish at the World Championships. Altogether, the Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist was 10-1 on the season.

Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) grabbed gold in Belgrade and collected 45,000 Ranking Series points, which was good enough to catapult him to the No. 2 spot in the 57kg rankings. With his win over Gilman in the 57kg world finals, the 29-year-old Albanian made history for his country, becoming the first wrestler to win a world title.

Abakarov’s gold in Belgrade also earned a berth on the All-World team for the 2022 Freestyle World Cup, which will take place in Coralville, Iowa, USA, December 10-11.

Zanabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL) finished the season tied with Abakarov with 45,000, but due to the Albanian’s higher placement at the World Championships, the Mongolian ended up in the third position in the 57kg rankings. His 2022 body of work included fifth-place finishes at the Asian Championships and Yasar Dogu Ranking Series event, before finishing the season with a bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships.

Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) won the world title and the top spot at 61kg. (Photo: UWW /Kadir Caliskan)

61kg
1. Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) - $5000
2. Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) - $3000
3. Suleyman ATLI (TUR) - $2000

Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) went 8-0 during his 2022 season and finished the year as the 61kg’s top guy. He won four matches in each of his outings and submitted to the podium at the Asian Championships and World Championships.

Armenian youngster Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) rounds out the year ranked second in the world at 61kg after collecting European gold and a world bronze.

Harutyunyan had his handed raised in 11 of the 12 bouts he competed in this season, and only fell to eventual world champion Higuchi in the world quarterfinals. Despite it not counting towards his senior-level point total, the 23-year-old native of Masis, Armenia, won his second consecutive U23 world title.

Suleyman ATLI (TUR) ended the year ranked third in the world at 61kg with 39,120 points. He was a runner-up at the European Championships and a bronze-medal finisher at the Zouhaier Sghaier Ranking Series. Although he didn’t win a medal, he did finish in the top ten of the World Championships and Yasar Dogu Ranking Series event.

Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) won the Asian and world titles to leapfrong his opponents for the number one rank at 65kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

65kg
1. Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) - $5000
2. Bajrang BAJRANG (IND). - $3000
3. Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) - $2000

Belgrade world champion Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) topped the rankings at 65kg after snagging golds at the Continental and World Championships. During his 2022 campaign, the 20-year-old Iranian youngster beat Tokyo Olympic medalists Haji ALIYEV (AZE) and Bajrang BAJRANG (IND).

Amouzad took out Bajrang, a Tokyo bronze medal winner, to win the Asian title. Then, he cruised to a 9-2 win over three-time world champion and two-time Olympic medalist Aliyev in the world semifinals.

Bajrang edged Hungary’s Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) by 200 points for the No. 2 spot at 65kg.

Bajrang earned a silver medal at the Asian Championships and bronze medals at the Bolt Turlykhanov Cup and World Championships and finished the season with 44,200 points.

Muszukajev won the European Championships and took home a bronze from the World Championships, completing the year with 44,000 points.

Sebastian RIVERIA (PUR) also had 44,000 points but he did not win a medal at the World Championships while Muszukajev did to finish ahead of Riveria.

Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO) finished with 57720 points to claim the top rank at 70kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

70kg
1. Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO) - $5000
2. Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) - $3000
3. Taishi NARIKUNI (JPN) - $2000

At 70kg, 2,720 points were the difference between the first and third-ranked wrestlers.

Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO) edged Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) and Taishi NARIKUNI (JPN) for the top spot with three medals in point-based events. He won European gold in Hungary and finished with bronze medals at the World Championships and Yasar Dogu Ranking Series events.

Akmataliev laid it on the line at a pair of Ranking Series events, and the Asian and World Championships. He medaled in three of those events, finishing with gold, silver and bronze at the Bolat Turlykhanov Cup, Asian Championships and World Championships, respectively. He fell short of the top spot by 2,200 points – which could have happened with a mere 10th place or better finish at a Ranking Series event.

Despite winning Asian and world gold, Narikuni fell 2,720 points -- equivalent to a ninth-place finish at a Ranking Series event -- short of claiming the top spot at the weight.

Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) and Kyle DAKE (USA) finished 1-2 respectively at 74kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

74kg
1. Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) - $5000
2. Kyle DAKE (USA) - $3000
3. Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) - $2000

Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) grabbed the No. 1 spot in the world rankings after winning 15 consecutive matches before falling in the world finals to No. 2 Kyle DAKE (USA).

Salkazanov won his second consecutive European title and grabbed Ranking Series titles at the Matteo Pellicone and the Bolat Turlykhanov Cup. He competed in two more competitions than his American foe and outscored him by 13,000 points.

This season, Dake competed at the World and Pan-American Championships and won gold at both events. It was his fourth consecutive gold-medal finish at the World Championships and second title-winning effort at the Pan-Am C’ships. He finished the season with 58,000 ranking points, which was 11,000 points ahead of the third-ranked wrestler.

Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) rounded out the season ranked No. 3 in the world after a trio of top ten finished. He started the season with a gold-medal win at the Yasar Dogu, then finished in fifth and eighth place at the World and European Championships, respectively.

Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) remained untouched at the top spot at 79kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

79kg
1. Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) - $5000
2. Arsalan BUDAZHAPOV (KGZ) - $3000
3. Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) - $2000

There was no one challenging Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) for the top spot at 79kg and he never gave anyone a chance as well. In Belgrade, Burroughs won a record sixth world title. He finished at the top of the rankings with 63000 points with 45000 points coming from the gold in Belgrade. Apart from that, he won the Yasar Dogu event at the beginning of the year for 13000 points before the Pan-Am gold awarded him 5000 points.

The second spot sees a surprise as Arsalan BUDAZHAPOV (KGZ) jumped from 14th to second. He has 51700 points with 31000 points coming from the bronze medal at the World Championships. He was also a bronze medalist at the Yasar Dogu for 10200 points. Another bronze at the Asian Championships awarded him 6500 points. He decided to participate in the Bolat Turlykhanov Cup as well and finished fifth for 4000 points.

But his participation in various events helped him finish better than World Championships silver medalist Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) who has 45000 points. The silver in Belgrade was worth 37000 points and the other 8000 points were won at the Zouhaier Sghaier event as he finished that with a gold medal.

Boris MAKOEV (SVK) outclassed other acclaimed wrestlers at 86kg and won the top spot. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

86kg
1. Boris MAKOEV (SVK) - $5000
2. Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) - $3000
3. David TAYLOR (USA) - $2000

There was little separating the top two at 86kg but Boris MAKOEV (SVK) clinched the top spot with 100 points more than Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ). Makoev finished with 49100 points thanks to his participation in four events. He began with a ninth-place finish at the European Championships for 6500 points before winning silver at Bolat Turlykhanov Cup and bronze at Matteo Pellicone. The two medals were worth a combined 11600 points. He finished the season with a bronze medal at the World Championships for 31000 points.

Dauletbekov also participated in four events with Asian Championships being his first. He won gold at 86kg for 10000 points before adding 4000 points for a fifth-place finish at the Bolat Turlykhanov Cup, perhaps the most crucial tournament in hindsight.

The Kazakhstan wrestler did win the Zouhaier Sghaier event but the gold was worth only 4000 points for him. He matched Makoev for the bronze at the World Championships but failed to overtake him for the top rank.

The third spot was claimed by world champion David TAYLOR (USA) who finished with 45000 points, all of which came from the gold he won in Belgrade.

Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) also finished with 45000 points but in fourth place as Taylor won gold in Belgrade while Yazdani won silver.

Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) finished with 53000 points in 2022. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

92kg
1. Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) - $5000
2. Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) - $3000
3. Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) - $2000

World champion Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) was the clear favorite to finish at the first spot and he did that by winning the gold medal in Belgrade at 92kg. He got 45000 points for the win and 8000 points more from the gold he won at the Bolat Turlykhanov Cup for a total of 53000 points.

Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) made a big jump from the 11th spot to the second by winning a bronze medal at the World Championships. With 49700 points, the made sure he was clear of the other bronze medalist Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE). In the three events he participated in for points, Maisuradze won bronze at the European Championships for 6500 points, the same as Nurmagomedov who also won a bronze.

At the Matteo Pellicone, the two met in the final that was won by Nurmagomedov who got 8000 points while Maisuradze got 6400 points. Both then went on to win the bronze medals at the Worlds.

Maisuradze's 5800 points more than Nurmagomedov came from the Yasar Dogu event in which he finished ninth.

Kyle SNYDER (USA) and Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK) were in the world finals and finished number one and two in the rankings. (Photo: UWW / Kostandin Andonov)

97kg
1. Kyle SNYDER (USA) - $5000
2. Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK) - $3000
3. Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE) - $2000

The world finalists Kyle SNYDER (USA) and Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK) were in a close battle for the top spot and the former clinched it with 500 points more than Tsakulov.

Snyder won the Pan-Am gold medal for 10000 points before winning the Zouhaier Sghaier gold and World gold for 8000 points and 45000 points respectively to finish with 63000 points.

Tsakulov began with a bronze medal at the European Championships for 6500 points before winning two rankings series -- Bolat Turlykhanov and Matteo Pellicone -- for 8000 points and 11000 points respectively. His silver at World Championships was worth only 37000 points as he fell short of Snyder's tally.

Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE) claimed the third spot with 47520 points which he accumulated by winning the European Championships for 10000 points, finishing seventh at Matteo Pellicone for 6520 points and winning bronze at World Championships for 31000 points.

Taha AKGUL (TUR) claimed the world gold and the first rank at 125kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostandin Andonov)

125kg
1. Taha AKGUL (TUR) - $5000
2. Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) - $3000
3. Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) - $2000

Taha AKGUL (TUR) and Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) exchanged the top two spots for a long time but the former raced ahead after winning the European and World Championships. The two gold medals were worth 55000 points and he also won the gold at Yasar Dogu for 13000 points, taking his total to 63000 points.

Petriashvili won silver at the European Championships for 8000 points but won the Matteo Pellicone and Zouhaier Sghaier rankings events, for 8000 points each. With 24000 points, gold at World Championships would have taken him to the top but he finished with bronze and 31000 points to settle for the second spot with 55000 points.

The third spot went to Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) who stunned Petriashvili to reach the World Championships final at 125kg. He reach the final at Yasar Dogu and got 11400 points. A bronze medal at the Bolat Turlykhanov Cup added 5200 points more to his account. With 37000 points from the World Championships, he finished with 53600 points and the third spot.

#WrestleParis

Paris 2024: Lopez secures unprecedented place in Olympic history

Tuesday, August 6, 2024 - 18:53 By Ken Marantz

PARIS (August 6) -- Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) now has a place in a pantheon on his own.

In the 128-year history of the Summer Olympics, no athlete had ever won five gold medals in the same event in any sport. Until Tuesday, when Lopez accomplished the feat at the Paris Olympics with a dominant performance at Greco 130kg.

The 41-year-old Lopez defeated Cuban-born and former training partner Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI) 6-0 in the final before a packed crowd at the Champs de Mars Arena that included International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.

“I'm happy, it has been an important achievement in my life, in my career," Lopez said. "It has also been an achievement of all my coaching team, my mom, my dad, my family in general, that have been helping me in every single one of my tasks in the sport. And what better celebration than to have achieved this gold medal.”

In other finals, Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) captured the Greco 60kg that eluded him at his home Olympics three years ago, while rising star Amit ELOR (USA) triumphed at women's 68kg to become the second wrestler to add an Olympic gold to world titles on all four age-group levels.

After a delay for Bach to be seated and the arena in an expectant buzz, Lopez started the featured match of the tournament by scoring a 2-point roll off par terre in the first period against Acosta, who had made history himself by giving Chile its first-ever Olympic wrestling medal.

Lopez added a takedown in the second period to clinch the victory in his first competition since winning the gold three years ago in Tokyo.

There will be no sixth gold. After slamming his coach to the mat in celebration and acknowledging the cheers of the adoring crowd, Lopez took off his wrestling shoes and left them in the middle of the mat, the universal sign of a wrestler's decision to end his career.

"It's a moment to demonstrate that someone has retired officially from the sport of wrestling and that also leaves a path wide open for the younger generation to continue inspiring others," said Lopez, who dedicated the victory to his late father.

Coming into Paris, Lopez had been one of six athletes who had won four golds in the same event along with fellow wrestler Kaori ICHO (JPN), sailing's Paul ELVSTROM (DEN), athletics' Al OERTER (USA) and Carl LEWIS (USA), and swimming's Michael PHELPS (USA). Swimmer Katie LEDECKY (USA) and shooting's Vincent HANCOCK (USA) joined the group in Paris.

Amazingly, Lopez was appearing in his sixth Olympics, having finished fifth in his debut at the 2004 Athens Games. He was also a five-time world champion and three-time silver medalist dating back to his first title in 2005. His last defeat came in the final of the 2015 World Championships to rival Riza KAYAALP (TUR).

Reflecting on his remarkable career, Lopez commented, "To achieve all of these results, one has to love their sport, love their job, and demonstrate to the world that with so little you can achieve great things."

Asked to describe each gold medal in one word, he replied: "Beijing: youth. London: transcendence. Rio: effort. Tokyo: sacrifice. Paris: joy."

Before Lopez made history, Fumita won the Greco 60kg gold that had been an obsession since that tearful day at the Tokyo Olympics, when he lost in the final to Luis ORTA (CUB).

Fumita put together a masterful match, scoring from par terre in the first period and keeping Liguo CAO (CHN) at bay throughout to notch a 4-1 victory and end a 40-year drought for Japan in Greco at the Olympics.

"The number one thing that clearly comes to my mind now is the final from three years ago," Fumita said. "[The three years] was a difficult period that I had never experienced before. But there were also good times in there as well. In total, there were more plusses, which is why I could win the title today."

In the intervening years, the 28-year-old Fumita, a former two-time world champion, got married and became a father. He also lost in the final at last year's World Championships in Belgrade to Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ), a loss that gave him a new perspective on his career -- and which he avenged in the semifinals in Paris on Monday.

He said he was motivated by his family and a large group of supporters who made the trip to Paris. "If it wasn't for my family, I might not have tried again [for the Olympics]," he said. "All the people who have helped me along the way have made this special."

As for becoming Japan's first Greco champion since Atsuji MIYAHARA (JPN) won the 52kg gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Fumita responded, "It's something to accomplish a feat for the first time in 40 years. But honestly speaking, my bigger feeling is of disappointment that we haven't won for 40 years. I hope that Japan Greco makes great progress in the next 40 years."

Fumita had previously won world titles in 2017 and 2019 before winning a bronze in 2022 and a silver last year. Including his Tokyo silver, none will ever compare with the gold he just won.

"I don't know how many grams its weighs, but it's heavier than any medal I've won up to now," he said. "But it's not just its actual weight. The long time I have aimed at getting it, all of the emotions that went into it, I feel [the weight of it] all hanging from my neck."

In the final match of the night, two-time world 72kg champion Elor put up a wall of defense that Tokyo bronze medalist Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) was unable to penetrate in a 3-0 victory in the women's 68kg final.

"It was one of the best moments in my life," Elor said. "And when I experience something like that, it just reminds me that everything is worth it. All the hard days the grind, it's all worth it for moments like these."

The 20-year-old Elor, who cut weight for the first time in her life to make her first Olympics, scored the lone technical points of the match with a takedown off a counter, then added an activity point as she kept the 2021 world champion at bay with an underhook that thwarted any tackle attempts.

"I actually wrestled her a few times in international training camps when I was younger," Elor said of the 24-year-old Zhumananarova. "She's a little bit older than me, so those were pretty tough bouts. I know she is an extremely solid, strong wrestler, so my mindset going into the match was to be patient, stay in good position, and to trust in my style of wrestling and in my skills."

With the Olympic gold, Elor joins Yui SUSAKI (JPN) as the only wrestlers who have completed the "Golden Grand Slam" of titles, having previously won the world cadet (U17) in 2021 and the world U20, U23 and senior titles in 2022.

"I think the number one thing that's helped me develop mentally has been experience," Elor said. "For the past two years, I've done three world championships in one summer. Those experiences have not only helped me stay focused and solid under pressure, they've also helped me improve as a wrestler and as a person."

Elor became the third American woman to win Olympic gold after Helen MAROULIS (USA) at Rio 2016 and Tamyra MENSAH-STOCK (USA) last year in Tokyo, while preventing Zhumanazarova from becoming Kyrgyzstan's first Olympic gold medalist in any sport.

Elor already has an added incentive to defend her title in 2028. "Other than becoming an Olympic champion, my biggest dream of all time is to go to the 2028 Olympics, because I'm from California.

"To have the opportunity to compete and represent not only my country, but my state, and to compete in my own state, is incredible. I have been excited about that ever since I heard about it."

Sharshenbekov, Mirzazadeh, Ozaki take home bronzes

Sharshenbekov added an Olympic bronze to his two world golds when he got the roll in par terre in the first period and defeated Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) 3-1 at Greco 60kg.

Sharshenbekov completed a gut wrench from par terre in the first period, then held his ground while on bottom in the second to close with a victory after seeing his streak of 10 consecutive tournament titles ended by Fumita in the semifinals.

In the other bronze-medal match at Greco 60kg, Raiber RODRIGUEZ (VEN) saw his bid to become Venezuela's first-ever Olympic medalist in wrestling end in just over a minute when he was soundly defeated by Se Ung RI (PRK) 10-0.

Ri, a Youth Olympic champion back in 2014 who returned to global competition at the 2023 Asian Games and came home with a bronze medal, followed a takedown with three successive rolls to end the match in 1:11.

At Greco 130kg, reigning world champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) secured the bronze medal that he missed out on in Tokyo with a 4-0 win over Iranian-born Sabah SHARIATI (AZE), the 35-year-old who was looking to add to his bronze from the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Mirzazadeh went ahead 3-0 with a gut wrench from par terre in the first period, then picked up a fourth point by keeping the pressure on and receiving a second passivity point. Although he was unable to turn Shariati again, he was never in danger and went on become Iran's first-ever Olympic medalist in the heaviest Greco weight.

Shariati, who suffered a gash over his right eye that had to be bandaged during the match, got a ride on the shoulders of Mirzazadeh after the match as a sign of respect. Shariati then left his shoes on the mat.

Lingzhe MENG (CHN) won the other 130kg bronze, scoring two takedowns in the second period to defeat Abdellitif MOHAMED (EGY) 5-2 and avenge a loss to the Egyptian in the bronze-medal match at last year's World Championships.

At women's 68kg, world champion Buse TOSUN (TUR) finally managed to finish off a takedown and it came at the buzzer to defeat teenager Sol Gum PAK (PRK) 4-2.

Tosun had two stepouts sandwiched around Pak's second-period takedown to trail on criteria 2-2. But with the seconds ticking down, she fought off Pak's whizzer and got behind just as time ran out, denying Pak's bid to become the first-ever women's Olympic medalist for DPR Korea.

Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) assured she would have something to show for her ordeal of moving up two weight classes to be in Paris by defeating Tokyo silver medalist Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) 3-0 for the other women's 68kg bronze.

Ozaki scored with a sweeping single that sent Oborududu directly to her back in the first period. She added an activity point in the second and never allowed Oborududu an opening.

Ozaki was the 2022 world 62kg champion who missed out on Japan's Olympic spot in that weight class. After a stop at 65kg last year to add a second world title, she secured her ticket to Paris at 68kg with a last-second victory over Ami ISHII (JPN) in a domestic playoff.

Despite winning the gold at the Asian Championships in April in her international debut at 68kg, she struggled in Paris against the naturally heavier opponents and saw her gold-medal hopes end with a late loss to Zhumanazarova in the quarterfinals.

Day 2 Results

Greco-Roman

60kg
GOLD: Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) df. Liguo CAO (CHN), 4-1

BRONZE: Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) df. Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI), 3-1
BRONZE: Se Ung RI (PRK) df. Raiber RODRIGUEZ (VEN) by TF, 8-0, 1:11

77kg
SF 1: Nao KUSAKA (JPN) df. Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM), 3-1
SF 2: Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) df. Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE), 6-1

97kg
SF 1: Artur ALEKSANYAN df. Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB), 5-3
SF 2: Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) df. Mohamad GABR (EGY), 6-0

130kg
GOLD: Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) df. Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI), 6-0

BRONZE: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) df. Sabah SHARIATI (AZE), 4-0
BRONZE: Lingzhe MENG (CHN) df. Abdellitif MOHAMED (EGY), 5-2

Women's Wrestling

50kg
SF 1: Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) df. Yusneylis GUZMAN (CUB), 5-0
SF 2: Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) df. Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL), 5-0

68kg
GOLD -- Amit ELOR (USA) df. Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ), 3-0

BRONZE -- Buse TOSUN (TUR) df. Sol Gum PAK (PRK), 4-2
BRONZE -- Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) df. Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR), 3-0

End of the year freestyle rankings

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Paris 2024: Lopez secures unprecedented place in Olympic history