Hall of Fame Greco-Roman wrestler Frank Andersson of Sweden, a 1984 Olympic bronze medalist and three-time world champion, passed away on Sunday after complications from heart surgery. He was 62.
Andersson was born in Trollhatten, Sweden, in May 1956. He competed mostly in Greco-Roman, but also had success in freestyle. Andersson represented Sweden at three Olympic Games, competing at 90kg. At the Montreal Games in 1976, he placed fifth in Greco, and seventh in the freestyle competition. In 1980, Andersson placed fourth in Greco at the Moscow Games. In his final Olympic competition, Andersson eared a bronze medal in 1984 at the Los Angeles Games.
In addition to his Olympic medals, Andersson won five world medals, including world gold medals in 1977, 1979 and 1982. He was a world silver medalist in 1978 and 1981. He was also very successful at the European Championships, claiming gold medals in 1976, 1978, 1979, and 1981, and silver medals in 1977, 1980, and 1982.
Following his amateur wrestling career, Andersson embarked on a professional wrestling career, then starred in several TV shows.
In 2006, Andersson was welcomed into the World Amateur Wrestling Hall of Fame.
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (August 7) -- The U20 World Championships are back in Slovakia after eight years. The country hosted the U20 Worlds in 2018 at the Mestska Sports Hall in Trnava.
It was the first U20 World Championships with 10 weight classes in Freestyle, Women's Wrestling and Greco-Roman. Among the 30 U20 world champions from Trnava, a few went on to win Olympic and world gold medals at the senior level.
Idrisov was making his international debut at the 2018 U20 World Championships and he won the gold medal. Idrisov went on a scoring run of 46-6 in five bouts that also included a 9-2 victory over Arsen HARUTYUNAYAN (ARM) in the semifinals.
The Russian wrestler returned for the 2019 U20 World Championships and won bronze. In 2021, he won gold at U23 European Championships but has not competed internationally since.
Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RUS), 61kg U20 world champion. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Max Rose-Fyne)
Magomedov had one of the most dominant runs in Trnava, outscoring his opponents 50-4 in five bouts and winning gold. He had a breakout senior year in 2021 in which he won the gold medals at World and European Championships.
In 2023, Magomedov won silver medal at the World Championships and repeated as the European champion in 2024 before moving up to 65kg. After missing out on making the Russian team, Magomedov won the Russian National Championships in 2026 and will look to win his third world medal in Astana in October.
Saiyn KAZYRYK (RUS), 65kg U20 world champion. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Max Rose-Fyne)
In one of the most memorable finals in the tournament, Kazyryk defeated Amirhossein MAGHSOUDI (IRI), 8-7, to win the gold medal. A year later, he finished ninth at the U23 European Championships. However, Kazyryk failed to transitioned to the senior level.
After a six year gap, Kazyryk managed to break into the Russia team and participated at the World Championships, only to finish 10th after losing to Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN).
One of the wrestler who has a win over Olympic champion Razambek JAMALOV (UZB), Gadzhiyev was one of the most talked about wrestlers at U17 and U20 level. He won gold after a 4-3 win over Jamalov and then moved to 74kg in 2019, finishing with a bronze medal at U20 World Championships and seventh at the World Championships.
In 2021, he managed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics but an injury stopped him from participating. Two years later, he won bronze at the Zagreb and Budapest Ranking Series but has not competed since.
Mekhi LEWIS (USA), 74kg U20 world champion. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Max Rose-Fyne)
Lewis competed at only one United World Wrestling tournament and won gold. Lewis won the 74kg gold after four wins, defeated Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) in the final. He recently competed at the Grand Prix of Spain, finishing fifth at 86kg. Lewis, in 2019, made history as Virginia Tech's first NCAA wrestling champion.
Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN), 79kg U20 world champion. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Max Rose-Fyne)
Ishiguro won the gold medal after a thrilling final against Aaron BROOKS (USA) that he won 11-10. He would go on to be an Olympian. He competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics at 86kg and finished seventh. But his biggest achievement came in 2025 when he won the silver medal at the World Championships. Ishiguro has also won medals at the U23 World and Asian Championships.
Arif OZEN (TUR), red, U20 world champion at 86kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Max Rose-Fyne)
Ozen remains Turkiye's last U20 world champion in Freestyle. He won a close final against Deepak PUNIA (IND), 2-1. He moved up to 92kg but has failed to make the Türkiye team for UWW events. At this year Yasar Dogu tournament, he finished seventh at 92kg.
Abbas FOROUTANRAMI (IRI), 92kg U20 world champion. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Max Rose-Fyne)
The Iranian came to Trnava as U17 world silver and U20 Asia champion. He was among the favorites to win the gold medal and did not disappoint, winning four bouts and outscoring his opponents 40-3.
In 2019, Foroutanrami repeated as U20 world champion at 97kg, and later moved to 125kg in which he won gold at Yasar Dogu.
Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV, then competing for Russia, won 97kg gold. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Max Rose-Fyne)
A bronze medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Magomedov showed his class by outscoring his opponents 53-1 in five bouts, including a fall. That was his only tournament for Russia before he moved to Azerbaijan.
In 2022, Magomedov won gold at the European Championships, silver and bronze at the World Championships before going to Paris. He also has silver medals at European Championships and other Ranking Series medals. Currently, Magomedov is at 97kg but is challenged domestically in Azerbaijan.
Soslan KHINCHAGOV (RUS), 125kg U20 world champion. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Max Rose-Fyne)
Among the five Russian who won gold, Khinchagov won five bouts. He defeated Aly BARGHOUT (CAN), 7-0, in the final. While he did not compete at any UWW competitions since, Khinchagov failed to replicate his success domestically and did not make the senior team.
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