COVID-19

IOC Refugee Scholarship Holders Oboadi, Alwad in Training Videos

Thursday, April 30, 2020 - 17:09 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY (May 1) -- IOC Refugee Scholarship recipient and Greco-Roman wrestler Aker Al OBOADI shared a video of himself training during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Oboadi who left his home in Iraq for Austria, is preparing for the opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Games in Tokyo set to start July 23, 2021.


AL OBOADI and Ali ALAWAD, originally from Syria, are the first two wrestlers in the history of our sport to wear the UWW flag at the continental and world competitions. Thanks to the initiative of the IOC and National Olympic Committees of  Austria and Egypt, wrestling refugees are entitled to take part in the sport and pursue their Olympic dream. Both athletes plan to compete in their respective continental qualifiers in 2021, and if necessary, the "Last Chance" Olympic qualifier.

Stay tuned to United World Wrestling for more news, highlights, and updates.

Istanbul, Buenos Aires to host next two U17 Worlds

Friday, May 27, 2022 - 13:32 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (May 25) -- For the first time, the U17 World Championships will be held in South America after the capital city of Argentina, Buenos Aires, was chosen as the host of the 2024 edition.

The announcement was made after the meeting of the UWW Bureau Monday, where host cities for a few continental competitions in 2023 and 2024 were finalized.

The beautiful city of Istanbul, Turkey, which recently hosted the Yasar Dogu Ranking Series event, will be the venue for the 2023 U17 World Championships. In the following year, the U17 World Championships will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a step that will boost the development of wrestling in South America.

The 2021 U17 World Championship, held in Budapest, saw Georgia claim the Greco-Roman team title, finishing just ahead of Ukraine, while the USA won the women’s team title. India went home from that tournament with its first-ever freestyle team title.

The Bureau Members also allocated the 2023 U17 European Championships to the Albanian capital Tirana.

Meanwhile, a request from the organizers of the 2023 Oceania Championships to change the dates of the tournament was approved as well. The championship will now take place in Sydney, Australia, in August, with the exact dates to be finalized in the coming weeks.

The 2024 Veterans World Championships – meant for wrestlers between 35 and 60 years, who will be divided into five age categories – will be held in the Croatian coastal town of Porec.

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