#WrestleParis

IOC announces first AINs for 2024 Paris Olympics, 16 wrestlers eligible

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (June 15) -- The International Olympic Committee on Saturday announced the eligible Individual Neutral Athletes for the Paris 2024 with 16 wrestlers making the cut for the Games.

The list of eligible athletes in the first group of sports that finished their qualifying process for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 is according to the strict eligibility conditions established by the IOC Executive Board in December 2023.

The IOC EB established the Individual Neutral Athlete Eligibility Review Panel (AINERP) in March 2024 to evaluate the eligibility of each athlete with a Russian or Belarusian passport to participate in the Olympic Games Paris 2024, and that of their support personnel. It delegated to the AINERP and the IOC administration the authority to invite an AIN, and their support personnel, to participate in the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

The AINERP reviewed the athletes in accordance with the IOC EB decision and the principles established. The Panel was in a position to benefit from new information from various sources, in particular official lists of athletes affiliated with sports clubs of the military and the security forces published on official websites in Russia and Belarus.

Out of the 16 approved wrestlers, 10 AINs are holders of Russian passports while six are holders of Belarussian passports. During the United World Wrestling qualifying events, AINs with Russian passports earned 16 quotas and holders of Belarussian passports won 10 Paris quotas.

According to the IOC, the number of eligible athletes may be lower than the number of earned quota places. In such cases, these quota places will be reallocated to athletes from other NOCs in accordance with the qualification system of the respective IF.

The wrestlers who are deemed eligible will compete as AINs, without any flags or references to their respective countries. Additionally, the national anthems of Russia and Belarus will not be played in the event of medals being awarded to these athletes.

Participation in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 is subject to the athlete’s acceptance of the individual invitation and signature of the Conditions of Participation applicable to all participants. The form contains a commitment to respect the Olympic Charter, including “the peace mission of the Olympic Movement”.

The following are the eligible wrestlers allowed to compete as AINs at the Olympic Games Paris 2024:

Eligible and invited athletes with a Russian passport:

Freestyle
Nachin MONGUSH
Shamil MAMEDOV
Arslan BAGAEV
Abdulla KURBANOV

Greco-Roman
Alan OSTAEV
Magomed MURTAZALIEV

Women's Wrestling
Natalya MALYSHEVA
Veronika CHUMIKOVA
Alina KASABIEVA
Elizaveta PETLIAKOVA

Eligible and invited athletes with a Belarusian passport:

Freestyle
Yahor AKULICH
Uladzislau KAZLOU

Greco-Roman
Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU
Dzmitri ZARUBSKI

Women's Wrestling
Viyaleta REBIKAVA
Krystsina SAZYKINA

Read the full IOC decision regarding Individual Neutral Athletes here.

#WrestleAlexandria

Eight Golds Power Nigeria to Women's Team Title

By United World Wrestling Press

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (May 2) -- For a second day in a row, Nigeria was stopped from sweeping the gold medals in Women's Wrestling at the African Championships in Alexandria.

After winning four out of five golds on Friday, Nigeria was well on course to win all five remaining golds on Saturday but Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) defeated Ebi BIOGOS (NGR), 6-2, in the 72kg final to halt the march.

UWW Plus

Sghaier, wrestling for the first time since the 2024 Paris Olympics, used a rather dangerous trip to score her first takedown and then rolled Biogos for two more points. Down 4-2, Biogos tried scoring the final few seconds but Sghaier scored a go-behind for the win, her third African gold.

But the evening began with Miesinnei GENESIS (NGR) winning her sixth African title after beating Chahrazed AYACHI (TUN), 6-0, in a controlled 50kg final.

Genesis began with a stepout before using a snapdown to go-behind takedown to lead 3-0. Ayachi was called for passivity and put on the 30-second activity clock. As Ayachi failed to score any points, Genesis got another point to lead 4-0 at the break.

A simple go-behind takedown in the second period for Genesis made it 6-0, a lead she defended for the remaining 1:24 to win the gold medal.

At 55kg, Adijat IDRIS (NGR) won all three bouts in the round-robin bracket without giving up a single point to claim the gold medal, her second straight at the African Championships.

Esther ASAOLU (NGR), making her senior debut, then added the third gold medal by winning all her bouts at 59kg in the round-robin bracket. She began with a victory via fall over Kavelishimwe ABRAHAM (NAM), then a 10-0 win over Gloria NIYONKURU (BDI) before beating Chaima DAHI (TUN) and Mariam MESBAH (EGY) by an identical 10-0 score.

Though she lost to Asaolu, Abraham went on to win her remaining three bouts to claim the silver medal, the first in the history of Namibia in Women's Wrestling. She was also the first woman wrestler from Namibia to ever medal internationally when she won the silver medal at the U20 African Championships in 2023. She repeated in 2024 and on Saturday, she made history at the senior level.

The fourth gold medal for Nigeria came at 65kg after three-time African champion Mercy ADEKUOROYE (NGR) swept through her three bouts, winning 10-0, 10-0 and via fall.

Photo

RESULTS

50kg
GOLD: Miesinnei GENESIS (NGR) df. Chahrazed AYACHI (TUN), 6-0

BRONZE: Ibtissem DOUDOU (ALG) df. Malak AHMED (EGY), 6-3

55kg
GOLD: Adijat IDRIS (NGR)
SILVER: Hagar ELSHAKHS (EGY)
BRONZE: Lobna ICHAOUI (TUN)

59kg
GOLD: Esther ASAOLU (NGR)
SILVER: Kavelishimwe ABRAHAM (NAM)
BRONZE: Mariam MESBAH (EGY)

65kg
GOLD: Mercy ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
SILVER: Ritag ELMALTY (EGY)
BRONZE: Lec ANDE (CAF)

72kg
GOLD: Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) df. Ebi BIOGOS (NGR), 6-2

BRONZE: Rosie TABORA (COD) df. Aimelda NDIFFO (CMR), 12-2
BRONZE: Heba IBRAHIM (EGY) df. Yasmine BOUREGBA (ALG), via fall (6-2)