European Nations Own Nine of Ten Top Spots in Greco-Roman

Monday, May 13, 2019 - 14:18 By Eric Olanowski

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (May 1) – United World Wrestling has released their latest point-based Greco-Roman world rankings, and European nations own nine of the ten top spots heading into the final pair of Ranking Series events before the Nur-Sultan World Championships.

Even more impressive, the Russian Federation owns five of Europe’s nine top spots. The five No. 1-ranked Russian wrestlers are Sergey EMELIN (60kg), Stepan MARYANYAN (63kg), Artem SURKOV (67kg), Musa EVLOEV (97kg), and Sergey SEMENOV (130kg).

In addition to the Russian-five, Azerbaijan’s Eldaniz AZIZLI (55kg), Germany’s Frank STAEBLER (72kg), Turkey’s Emrah KUS (82kg), and Ukraine’s Zhan BELENIUK (87kg) also hold the top spot int their respective weight classes.

The lone non-European top-ranked wrestler is Korea’s Olympic champion Hyeonwoo KIM who is ranked No. 1 at 77kg.

Azizli Lock up Top-Two Seed at 55kg
Azerbaijan’s reigning world champion Eldaniz Azizli (76 points) fell in the semifinals of the European Championships but held onto the No. 1 ranking after collecting 16 Ranking Series points with his 8-0 win over Turkey’s Serif KILIC in the bronze-medal bout in Bucharest.

Azizli, who has 76 points, has locked up a top-two seed at the World Championships.

The only wrestler that has a chance to pass Azizli for the top spot at 55kg is Uzbekistan’s Ilkhom BAKHROMOV (46 points). If the Asian champion wins the final two Ranking Series events (in brackets with 20+ entries) and Azizli sits out, Bakhromov will have a six-point advantage over the Azeri with 82 points.

Kyrgyzstan's 2018 world runner-up Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV sits in third with 40 points. Sharshenbekov will receive 36 points if he were to win the final two Ranking Series events, tieing him with Azizli, but the Azeri would hold the first criteria - which is the highest placement at the World Championships, where Azizli defeated Sharshenbekov to win the gold medal last October.

Turkey’s Budapest bronze medalist Ekrem OZTURK is the fourth-ranked wrestler with 37 points.

55kg Potential Semifinals
SEMIFINAL – No. 1 Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) vs. No. 4 Ekrem OZTURK (TUR)
SEMIFINAL – No. 2 Ilkhom BAKHROMOV (UZB) vs. No. 3 Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ)

Emelin Remains No. 1 at 60kg Despite Falling in European Finals
Russia's Sergey Eemlin, the reigning 60kg world champion, holds the top-seed despite falling in the European finals. Emelin, with his 78 points, has an 18 and 36 point advantage over No. 2 Victor CIOBANU (MDA) and No. 3 Ivan LIZATOVIC (CRO), respectively, and has locked up at least a top-two seed.

The second-ranked wrestler, Ciobanu, avenged his loss from the world finals by dethroning Emelin at the European Championships and became Moldova’s first-ever European champion. The Moldovan will overthrow the Russian for the top seed if he makes it on the podium at the final two Ranking Series events.

The third-ranked wrestler at 60kg is Croatia’s Ivan Lizatovic. The Croatian currently has 42 points and will be tied with Emelin for the No. 1 seed if he wins out in brackets with 20+ wrestlers, but the Russian holds the criteria because of his world-title performance in Budapest.

China’s WALIHAN Sailike sits in the fourth slot with 39 points after his world bronze-medal finish that was worth 25 points and a fifth-place finish at the Asian Championships that was worth 14 points.

60kg Potential Semifinals
SEMIFINAL – No. 1 Sergey EMELIN (RUS) vs. No. 4 WALIHAN Sailike (CHN)
SEMIFINAL – No. 2 Victor CIOBANU (MDA) vs. No. 3 Ivan LIZATOVIC (CRO)

Maryanyan Follows up 63kg World Gold With European Title
The second straight top-ranked Russian comes at 63kg where reigning world and European champion Stepan Maryanyan sits atop of the world rankings.

Maryanyan, who has 80 points, is coming off a continental title-winning performance after bulldozing the competition in Budapest to reach the top of the European Championship podium for the first time in his career. Because Maryanyan has a 52 point lead over the fourth-ranked wrestler, he could sit out of the final two Ranking Series events and still earn a top-three seed in Nur-Sultan.

The second-ranked wrestler at 63kg is world and Asian runner-up Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB). Tasmuradov, who has 56 points after the Asian Championships, had to pull out of the Asian finals in Xi’an, China, after suffering a lower-body injury.

TUO Erbatu (CHN) and Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) round out the top-four respectively at 63kg.

Tuo, the Asian champion and world fifth-place finisher is ranked third with 50 points, and European fifth-place finisher Slavik Galstyan is ranked fourth with 28 points.

63kg Potential Semifinals
SEMIFINAL – No. 1 Stepan MARYANYAN (RUS) vs. No. 4 Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM)
SEMIFINAL – No. 2 Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB) vs. No. 3 TUO Erbatu (CHN)

Surkov the Third Russian No.1-Ranked Wrestler
Artem Surkov, the third top-ranked Russian sits atop the 67kg rankings with 78 Ranking Series points. Surkov, the reigning world champion at 67kg, fell to eventual champion Atakan YUKSEL (TUR) in the European finals and fought back to win the bronze medal - which was worth 18 Ranking Series points. This gives the Russian a 38 point lead over fourth-ranked Davor STEFANEK (SRB), meaning Surkov has locked up at least a third seed heading into Nur-Sultan.

World bronze medalists Gevorg SAHAKYAN (POL) and Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ) leaped over Budapest world runner-up Davor Stefanek and owns the second and third spots respectively.

Entering the European Championships, Gevorg Sahakyan had 25 points and earned 20 points by making it to the finals. Though he fell to Turkey’s Atakan Yuksel, Sahakyan was able to leap to the second spot with his 45 points.

The third-ranked wrestler Meiirzhan Shermakhanbet also fell in the continental finals but still jumped Stefanek. Shermakhanbet dropped his Asian finals bout to Korea’s Hansu RYU and was awarded 18 points, catapulting him to the third spot with 43 points.

Davor Stefanek is ranked fourth at 67kg but hasn’t competed this season.

67kg Potential Semifinals
SEMIFINAL – No. 1 Artem SURKOV (RUS) vs. No. 4 Davor STEFANEK (SRB)
SEMIFINAL – No. 2 Gevorg SAHAKYAN (POL) vs. No. 3 Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ)

Staebler Ranked First at 72kg But Moving Down to 67kg
Germany’s three-time world champion Frank Staebler (60 points) holds the top-ranking at 72kg but will forfeit his top seed at the World Championships to European bronze medalist Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) (55 points) because of his decision to move down to the Olympic weight of 67kg.

With Mnatsakanian moving up to the one seed, that’ll also bump up Balint KORPASI (HUN) (40 points), Abuiazid MANTSIGOV (RUS) (40 points), and Tarek BENAISSA (ALG) (38 points) to the second through fourth spots respectively.

72kg Potential Semifinals
SEMIFINAL – No. 1 Frank STAEBLER (GER) vs. No. 4 Abuiazid MANTSIGOV
SEMIFINAL – No. 2 Aik MNATSAKANIAN vs. No. 3 Balint KORPASI

Kim Wins Asian Title, Skyrockets to Top Spot at 77kg
Korea’s Olympic champion KIM Hyeonwoo has been one of the most active and consistent wrestlers in the world since his bronze-medal finish at the World Championships. Kim has wrestled in the first two Ranking Series events and the Continental Championships. The Korean wrestler won the Asian Championships, and finished with bronze medals at the Zagreb Open and the Hungarian Grand Prix, giving him the No.1 ranking with 71 Ranking Series points.

Serbia’s world and European bronze medalist Viktor NEMES won the first Greco-Roman Ranking Series event, the Zagreb Open and gained the one-point advantage in the latest rankings over reigning world champion Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (60 points) with his 61 points.

Budapest world bronze medalist Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) slid down to the fourth spot with his 40 points.

77kg Potential Semifinals
SEMIFINAL – No. 1 KIM Hyeonwoo (KOR) vs. No. 4 Tamas LORINCZ (HUN)
SEMIFINAL – No. 2 Viktor NEMES (SRB) vs. No. 3 Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS)

Bacsi Reties, Kus Moves into Top Spot at 82kg
Turkey’s world runner-up Emrah KUS, with help from his bronze-medal finish at the European Championships, overthrew Hungary’s reigning world champion Peter BACSI for the No.1 ranking at 82kg.

But, since Bacsi’s won his world title on home soil in Budapest, the Hungarian has retired. With Bacsi going out on a high note, this leaves the second spot open, moving up the third through fifth-ranked wrestlers.

Come Nur-Sultan, Kus will remain in the first spot, but Saeid ABDVALI (IRI) (38 points), Viktar SASUNOUSKI (BLR) (37 points), and Rajbek BISULTANOV (DEN) (34 points) each receive a bump from Bacsi’s retirement and will be the second through fourth-ranked wrestlers respectively at 82kg.

82kg Potential Semifinals
SEMIFINAL – No. 1 Emrah KUS (TUR) vs. No. 4 Viktar SASUNOUSKI (BLR)
SEMIFINAL – No. 2 Peter BACSI (HUN) vs. No. 3 Saeid ABDVALI (IRI)

Beleniuk Bumps out Basar for First Ranking at 87kg
After two-time reigning world champion Metehan BASAR fell to a twelfth-place finish at the European championships and failed to collect any Ranking Series points, Ukraine’s world runner-up Zhan BELENIUK jumped over the Turkish wrestler for the No. 1 spot at 87kg with his European-title performance in Bucharest.

Hungary’s U23 world champion Erik SZILVASSY finished in third place at the European championships and is ranked No. 3 in the world with 44 points. But, Hungary has a difficult decision to make heading into the World Championships because fifth-ranked Viktor LORINCZ has a pair of wins over Szilvassy and has won the first two Ranking Series events.

Azerbaijan’s European runner-up Islam ABBASOV finds himself sandwiched between both of the Hungarian wrestlers in the fourth spot. Abbasov would benefit from Lorincz getting the starting spot, as he’ll move up to the third seed, with Lorincz coming into the fourth seed.

87kg Potential Semifinals
SEMIFINAL – No. 1 Zhan BELENIUK (UKR) vs. No. 4 Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
SEMIFINAL – No. 2 Metehan BASAR (TUR) vs. No. 3 Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)

Evloev Remains No. 1 at 97kg After Adding European Title to Resume
Russia’s Musa Evloev kept his top-ranking after adding a European title to his resume with a win over Kiril MILOV in the European finals. Evloev has come out on the winning end of the world and European gold-medal bouts against Milov and owns the eight-point lead over the Bulgarian wrestler. Evloev has 82 points and Milov has 74 points heading into the final pair of Ranking Series events.

America’s Tracy HANCOCK and Iran’s Mahdi ALIYARIFEIZABADI are ranked third and fourth respectively.

Hancock, the Pan-American runner-up, has a pair of Ranking Series medals on his resume from this year and has 48 points. The American won the Hungarian Grand Prix and finished with a bronze medal at the Zagreb Open and owns a nine-point lead over fourth-ranked Mahdi Aliyarifeizabadi.

Aliyarifeizabadi, the world and Asian bronze medal finisher, has 39 points heading into the final pair of Ranking Series events.

97kg Potential Semifinals
SEMIFINAL – No. 1 Musa EVLOEV (RUS) vs. No. 4 Mahdi ALIYARIFEIZABADI (IRI)
SEMIFINAL – No. 2 Kiril MILOV (BUL) vs. No. 3 Tracy HANCOCK (USA)

Semenov Sits Atop of Rankings At 130kg
Russia’s reigning world champion Sergey SEMENOV fell in the European semifinals to Georgia’s Iakobi KAJAIA and battled back for a bronze medal – but holds the top ranking with 76 points after the conclusion of the Continental Championships.

Semenov has a 39 point lead over Korea’s fourth-seeded KIM Minseok (37 points) and has locked up at least a top-four seed in Nur-Sultan.

The second-ranked wrestler at 130kg is American Adam COON, who added to his 40-point world silver medal with a Pan-American gold medal. Coon sits 16 points behind Semenov with 60 points.

Estonia’ Heiki NABI and Korea’s Kim Minseok round of the top four of the 130kg ranking with 52 and 37 points respectively.

130kg Potential Semifinals
SEMIFINAL – No. 1 Sergey SEMENOV (RUS) vs. No. 4 Minseok KIM (KOR)
SEMIFINAL – No. 2 Adam COON (USA) vs. No. 3 Heiki NABI (EST)

#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

European Nations Own Nine of Ten Top Spots in Greco-Roman

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Paris 2024: Lopez secures unprecedented place in Olympic history