#WrestleBudapest19

Furuichi Wins Seventh World Gold, Paliha Defends U23 World Title at #WrestleBudapest

Thursday, October 31, 2019 - 22:19 By Taylor Miller

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Photo of Masako FURUICHI (JPN) by Sachiko Hotaka.

BUDAPEST, Hungary – Masako FURUICHI (JPN) won her seventh World title on Thursday in convincing fashion at the 2019 U23 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Wrestling at 68 kg, Furuichi, a 2019 Senior World bronze medalist, wrestled 2018 Cadet World champion and two-time Junior World silver medalist Macey KILTY (USA) in the gold-medal finals.

Furuichi used three takedowns to give her a 7-2 victory and another World gold medal, which she added to her three Junior World titles and three Cadet World titles.

Japan won two other U23 gold medals on Thursday, coming from Kika KAGATA (JPN) at 50 kg and Yumeka TANABE (JPN) at 59 kg.

2017 Junior World champion and two-time Cadet World champion Kagata edged out Ziqi FENG (CHN) in a nail biter. Feng led by one point with less than a minute left, but Kagata pulled out a clutch takedown and held on for a 7-6 win.

At 59 kg, Tanabe, a two-time Cadet World champion, shut down 2018 Junior World champion and two-time Junior World silver medalist Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) in the gold match, 4-0.

Tanabe used a second-period takedown to separate herself from Nichita to win the title.

Photo of Paliha PALIHA (CHN) by Kadir Caliskan. 

China claimed gold medals at the other two weights.

Paliha PALIHA (CHN) defended her 2018 U23 World title with a 1-1 win on criteria in the 76 kg finals over Yuka KAGAMI (JPN), who was the 2019 Junior World champion and two-time Cadet World champion.

Paliha and Kagami traded passivity points, and it was Pahlia who earned the win on criteria by scoring the last point. She finishes off a successful international season with a Senior World bronze and a second-straight U23 World championship.

At 55 kg, 2018 Senior World bronze medalist Lannuan LUO (CHN) knocked off returning U23 World champion Saki IGARASHI (JPN) in a 2-2 criteria bout.

Luo struck first with a takedown near the edge from a single and took a 2-0 lead into the break. In the second period, Igarashi scored on passivity and caution-and-one against Luo, but it was not enough as Luo won on criteria, scoring a two-pointer.

Women’s freestyle action continues on Friday at 10:30 a.m. local time live on unitedworldwrestling.org.

Finals matchups                                                                              
50 kg
GOLD - Kika KAGATA (JPN) df. Ziqi FENG (CHN), 7-6
BRONZE - Jade DUFOUR (CAN) df. Mariia VYNNYK (UKR), 7-4
BRONZE - Nadezhda SOKOLOVA df. (RUS) Jyoti JYOTI (IND), 10-0

55 kg
GOLD - Lannuan LUO (CHN) df. Saki IGARASHI (JPN), 2-2
BRONZE - Andreea ANA (ROU) df. Khrystyna DEMKO (UKR), 8-6
BRONZE - Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ) df. Karla GODINEZ GONZALEZ (CAN), 5-0

59 kg
GOLD - Yumeka TANABE (JPN) df. Anastasia NICHITA (MDA), 4-0
BRONZE - Tianna KENNETT (CAN) df. Yuliya PISARENKA (BLR), 6-5
BRONZE - Anhelina LYSAK (UKR) df. Alena SANGADIEVA (RUS), 3-1

68 kg
GOLD - Masako FURUICHI (JPN) df. Macey KILTY (USA), 7-2
BRONZE - Natalia STRZALKA (POL) df. Albina KAIRGELDINOVA (KAZ), fall
BRONZE - Yingying WANG (CHN) df. Alina RUDNYTSKA LEVYTSKA (UKR), 10-3

76 kg
GOLD - Paliha PALIHA (CHN) df. Yuka KAGAMI (JPN), 1-1
BRONZE - Hui Tsz CHANG (TPE) df. Bernadett NAGY (HUN), fall
BRONZE - Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) df. Ariunjargal GANBAT (MGL), 12-8

 

#UnitedWorldWrestling

Cuba’s Trujillo Diaz honored with IOC Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award

Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 09:29 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (November 24) — Wrestling coach Raul TRUJILLO DIAZ (CUB) received the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award on Monday during a ceremony at the Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The award was presented by IOC President Kirsty COVENTRY and Sergii BUBKA, Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Entourage Commission.

Trujillo Díaz has been one of the key figures in the inexorable rise of Cuba as one of the leading nations in Greco-Roman, with more than 52 years of coaching experience. He coached the Cuban and Portuguese national teams across five editions of the Olympic Games.

Cuba

“I am very honoured to receive this extraordinary recognition, Trujillo Diaz said. “I would like to thank the IOC, all the athletes I have coached over the past 50 years, the other wrestling coaches and people who worked tirelessly behind the scenes in the sport to which I have dedicated my life. All were my motivation and example. I also want to take the opportunity to thank United World Wrestling (UWW). And a big thank-you to someone very special who has always been with me – my family – for their great support.”

One of the legends he has trained is five-time Olympic champion Mijain LOPEZ (CUB), who at Paris 2024 became the first athlete in any sport to win five consecutive Olympic gold medals in the same event. Others who have been trained by Trujillo Diaz are Rio 2016 champion Ismael BORRERO (CUB) and Luis ORTA (CUB), the 60kg champion at Tokyo 2020.

As well as introducing training innovations that have helped lead his nation to success, Trujillo Díaz has published numerous research papers and articles on wrestling science and pedagogy. He has also worked widely for UWW across Latin America as an educator, bringing the breadth of his knowledge and experience to new generations of athletes and coaches.

Alongwith Truillo Diaz, volleyball coach Lang PING also received the IOC Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award.

"It's really special to be here with all of you and to celebrate our two coaches for their incredible commitment and their lifetime of work in serving their athletes to become the best athlete, but also the best humans that they can be," said IOC President Kirsty Coventry during the ceremony. "So many of us who compete in sport know and understand that the lessons that we learn in sport will guide us in our everyday life after and this is where the role of coaches is so important,” she added.