#WrestleTokyo

Lopez, Kayaalp Set for #WrestleTokyo Semifinal Collision Course

Saturday, July 31, 2021 - 05:32 By United World Wrestling Press

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TOKYO, Japan (July 31) --- A blockbuster day awaits wrestling fans on the opening day at the Tokyo Olympics as three-time defending champion Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) is set for a collision with Rio Olympics silver medalist Riza KAYAALP (TUR).

The two were drawn on the upper side of the bracket at 130kg weight class and are on path to meet in the semifinal at the Makuhari Messe, Chiba on Sunday.

The first set of draws was completed in Tokyo for two weight classes, 60kg and 130kg, in Greco Roman and one in women's wrestling – 76kg.

Lopez will take on Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU) in the first round while Kayaalp will be up against Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU).

Fourth seed Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) will have to overcome Lopez in the quarterfinal if he wants to reach the semifinal.

At 60kg, home favorite and world champion Kenchiro FUMITA (JPN) has drawn Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG) and fourth seed Ali Reza NEJATI (IRI) is up against Armen MELIKYAN (ARM) in the first round.

The other side can see two young stars U23 world champion Kerem KAMAL (TUR) and Individual World Cup champion Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KAZ) meet in the quarterfinals. The winner can possibly wrestle second seed and former world champion Sergey EMELIN (ROC) in the semifinal.

Wrestlers at 76kg in women's wrestling also received their draws and five-time world champion Adeline GRAY (USA) will be wrestling Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) in her first bout while defending champion Erica WIEBE (CAN) will wrestle European champion Epp MAEE (EST) in her first round.

Former world champion Yasemin ADAR (TUR) can wrestle Gray in the second round. The semifinal can see former Olympic champion Natalia VOROBEVA (ROC) wrestle one of them. But she has to go through Samar HAMZA (EGY), Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ) and Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ).

In another top first-round bout, Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER) will take on Rio Olympic fifth-placer and former world silver medalist Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR).

World silver medalist and local hope Hiroe MINAGAWA (JPN) begins her campaign against veteran wrestler Burmaa OCHIRBAT (MGL). Ochirbat is wrestling in her third Olympics and was one of the wrestlers from Athens Olympics as well.

#UnitedWorldWrestling

Paris Olympics: Wrestling breaks new barriers, expands reach across continents

Thursday, August 22, 2024 - 14:05 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (August 22): More than half a million new fans in the digital community. An astounding 100 million engagements. And a remarkable 134 percent increase in social media impressions compared to Tokyo 2020.

At the Paris Olympics, it was a gold medal for wrestling.

UWW

On the mat, legends were born, records were set, and some moments would be remembered for ages. Off it, the sport broke new barriers, expanded its reach and engaged with a diverse audience as the United World Wrestling digital channels witnessed unprecedented growth during the Games.

The UWW’s online platforms recorded an impressive 11.2 percent increase in followers, adding over 508,000 new fans to its digital community. Compared to the growth in followers during the Tokyo Olympics, this figure represents a staggering 125 percent increase.

A large part of this surge was seen on Instagram, where the UWW gained 217,000 new followers. Facebook was a close second, adding 183,000 new followers while TikTok, the platform known for its short, engaging content, added 61,400 new followers. The growth across all platforms highlights the effectiveness of the UWW’s content strategy.

The inspiring clip of Greco-Roman star Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI), who won Iran’s first gold medal in the Paris Olympics drove the maximum engagement on Instagram. Saravi, who won a bronze medal in Tokyo, beat Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) 4-1 in the 97kg final.

Another Iranian, Rahman AMOUZAD, one of the most feared wrestlers in the 65 kg freestyle, went viral with a video in which he proclaimed himself the ‘king’. This post had the second-highest engagement while a slick clip of Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) was the third-most viewed, captivating the viewers and leading engagements as well as interactions.

These videos – and many others shared across UWW’s social media channels – resonated strongly with audiences, garnering record-breaking views. Overall, there were 330 million impressions, a remarkable rise of 134 percent compared to the Tokyo Olympics.

Moreover, the content also achieved 100 million engagements, and a 71 percent increase in reach compared to the previous Olympic Games. This surge in interaction underscores the high level of interest and excitement generated by UWW’s coverage of the Olympic wrestling events.

The video content drove UWW’s social media success. Across all platforms, UWW’s video content garnered over 156 million views, an extraordinary 205 percent increase compared to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

YouTube, in particular, saw significant traction with over 21 million views. This success was fueled by a mix of short and long-form videos apart from live streaming, with shorts emerging as the most popular content format.

With more than one million views, the YouTube video of AMAN (IND) getting his revenge over Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) with a win in the preliminary round. Aman, who won a bronze medal, had lost to Abakarov at the 2023 World Championships.

Chamizo’s video, Don't play with fire #WrestleParis, which went viral on Instagram was also a huge hit on YouTube with hundreds of thousands of viewers, making it the second-most watched video on the platform.

The Day Three highlights show which revisited one of the biggest upsets of the competition – Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) defeating Yui SUSAKI (JPN) in the women’s 50 kg first round – got the third-highest views on YouTube.

The UWW’s vibrant social media strategy was complemented by a robust email marketing campaign, which ran daily throughout the Olympic Games. The ongoing CRM campaigns helped boost engagement across Web, App and UWW+.