Malmgren warms up for senior Euros with U23 gold

Thursday, March 16, 2023 - 15:00 By Vinay Siwach

BUCHAREST, Romania (March 16) -- Jonna MALMGREN (SWE) could not have asked for a better warm-up for the European Championships where she will enter as the defending champion at 53kg.

In a battle of two European champions, Malmgren defeated Andreea ANA (ROU) at 55kg to win her first U23 European title in Bucharest, Romania.

Malmgren, a regular at 53kg, scripted a thrilling 5-4 win over home wrestler Ana in the final, a month before the European Championships which begin in Zagreb, Croatia on April 17.

Malmgren won the 53kg gold medal while Ana won the 55kg title in the Budapest edition of the European Championships last year.

With the gold in Bucharest on Thursday, Malmgren added a U23 European title to her resume which already boasts of U17 and senior titles along with U20 world and Youth Olympic Games gold medals.

Malmgren, who lost in the quarterfinals of the Ibrahim Moustafa Ranking Series last month, entered the tournament as the favorite to win at 55kg. She began in a similar fashion, winning her two bouts on Wednesday via fall. From the other side of the bracket, Ana was equally dominant with two wins via technical superiorities.

In the final, Malmgren had to script a comeback after Ana took a 4-2 lead. Malmgren was called passive but she scored a takedown in the final second of the activity period to lead 2-0 till the break. Ana returned the favor with a nice slideby to make it 2-2 and added another to make it 4-2 with a single-leg sweep.

Malmgren did not panic despite trailing and hit a high double-leg which Ana escaped but Malmgren never let go of her one leg and scored a takedown to take a 4-4 criteria lead. Ana managed to disposition Malmgren in the final few seconds and hit an underhook but Malmgren never tilted over 90 degrees to be considered in danger position.

Romania did challenge the call but lost as Malmgren was declared a 5-4 winner.

Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR) celebrates after winning the 59kg gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Ukraine wins 2 golds

Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR) and Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) won two of the five gold medals that were on offer on Thursday as Ukraine took lead in the team race with five more gold medals to be decided.

Wrestling at 59kg, Vynnyk is now a U23 European champion along with her U17 and U20 continental titles. After outscoring her opponents 34-2 in three bouts on Wednesday, Vynnyk wrestled Amel REBIHA (FRA) in the final and pinned her first period to claim the gold.

Vynnyk began with a single leg and scored a takedown to lead 2-0 before hitting a powerful double leg. She used an armbar to secure the fall just before the break.

Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) after securing the fall over Kamila GAUCAITE (LTU). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Alpyeyeva won the 76kg gold with a fall over Kamila GAUCAITE (LTU) who finished with a silver medal for the second year in a row.

The 2021 U23 world champion showed a gulf in the class at the competition as none of her opponents were able to score a point on her.

Gaucaite too was never close to getting a point on Alpyeyeva who scored using leg attacks throughout the final. Gaucaite, trailing 4-0, tried hitting a double leg on Alpyeyeva who countered by throwing her sideways and securing the fall four seconds before the break.

Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA) defended her 50kg gold medal at U23 European Championships. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Luttenauer repeats

Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA) defended her 50kg title in Bucharest by beating Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA), 5-4 in a heated gold medal bout.

With victories over Emine OSMAN (BUL) in the opening bout, Amanda TOMCZYK (POL) in the quarterfinals and Zehra DEMIRHAN (TUR) in the semifinal, Luttenauer was expected to win the gold.

However, Liuzzi too had a good run to the final with wins over Khrystyna BASYCH (SVK), Ana Maria PIRVU (ROU) and Gabija DILYTE (LTU).

And despite Lutteauer's 5-0 lead in the gold medal bout, Liuzzi bounced back with a snap down for two points and later with an inside trip for another takedown.

Luttenauer was smart enough to avoid a fall on her back and gave up only two points instead of a possible four. Liuzzi failed to score a point she needed to win in the remaining 30 seconds as the French wrestler became a two-time U23 European champion.

The fifth gold of the night went to U23 world champion Nesrin BAS (TUR) who defeated Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK), 4-0, in the gold medal bout.

Both wrestlers were slow to start off but Bas created more attacks than Molnar who was called passive two minutes into the final. She tried a cradle in the activity time but failed to finish it as Bas circled around and got a takedown along with the passivity point.

Molnar was once again warned for passivity in the second period and Bas was happy to take one more point after the period finished.

Bas easily kept Molnar at bay for the remaining time and captured the gold medal, her first at U23 European Championships.

RESULTS

50kg
GOLD: Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA) df. Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA), 5-4

BRONZE: Ana PIRVU (ROU) df. Gabija DILYTE (LTU), via fall
BRONZE: Zehra DEMIRHAN (TUR) df. Amanda TOMCZYK (POL), 6-1

55kg
GOLD: Jonna MALMGREN (SWE) df. Andreea ANA (ROU), 5-4

BRONZE: Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE) df. Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA), 14-7
BRONZE: Mariia VYNNYK (UKR) df. Immacolata DANISE (ITA), 10-0

59kg
GOLD: Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR) df. Amel REBIHA (FRA), via fall

BRONZE: Ebru DAGBASI (TUR) df. Othelie HOEIE (NOR), 4-1
BRONZE: Ana PUIU (ROU) df. Fatme SHABAN (BUL), 17-10

68kg
GOLD: Nesrin BAS (TUR) df. Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK), 4-0

BRONZE: Irina RINGACI (MDA) df. Laura GODINO (ITA), 10-0
BRONZE: Karolina POK (HUN) df. Nigar MIRZAZADA (AZE), 10-2

76kg
GOLD: Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) df. Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU), via fall

BRONZE: Fanni NAGY NAD (SRB) df. Marion BYE (NOR), 4-3
BRONZE: Mehtap GULTEKIN (TUR) df. Elena MARGAS (ROU), 10-2

#JapanWrestling

Olympic champ Fumita joins Ono as late withdrawal from Emperor's Cup

Wednesday, December 17, 2025 - 07:42 By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (December 17) -- Five days after former world champion Masanosuke ONO made the stunning announcement that he was pulling out of the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships, another high-profile star aborted a long-awaited return to action by joining him on the sidelines.

Olympic champion Kenichiro FUMITA announced Wednesday on the eve of the tournament that he was withdrawing due to an injury, keeping him out of what would have been his first tournament since his triumph at the Paris Olympics.

Fumita, who won the Paris gold at Greco 60kg but was entered at 63kg, made the announcement on his X account. Without disclosing the injury, he said it "was not a major injury that will have an effect on my wrestling career, but I feel it is not worth the risk at this time so I decided to withdraw."

The Emperor's Cup is also serving as the domestic qualifier for the 2026 Asian Championships, and as the first of two national domestic qualifiers for this year's World Championships and Asian Games. The latter holds particular significance in that Japan will be hosting the event.

Fumita, the silver medalist at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and a two-time former world champion, had only competed at 63kg once in his career, at the 2023 German Grand Prix, where he placed second as a warmup for the World Championships, where he took home the silver.

The 30-year-old was due to take the mat on Thursday, the first day of the four-day tournament at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym.

"I deeply apologize to everyone who was looking forward [to seeing me] and to all those involved [with the tournament]," Fumita said. "I will make the utmost effort to be in top condition and be able to perform at the next competition."

Last Friday, Ono announced that he had withdrawn for health reasons, a move that indefinitely delays his return to the mats of his native country.

Ono revealed on social media that he had been diagnosed with a kidney problem, possibly linked to cutting weight to get down to 57kg, according to a report by Japan's top wrestling website Wrestling Spirits.

Ono has been competing at either 61kg or 65kg in recent years, and the stress of getting down to 57kg might have taken too big a toll. Ono said that he had gotten near 57kg the previous week when he experienced thickening of the urine, which can be regarded as a sign of dehydration.

Upon consultation with a doctor, it was decided "I will play it safe this time," Ono said.

The 22-year-old Ono has become a worldwide sensation, first by winning the senior world title at freestyle 61kg in 2024 with one-sided victories that included beating a past Olympic gold medalist and the reigning world champion, then for leaving the comfort of Yamanashi Gakuin University for the challenge of competing in American folkstyle at powerhouse Penn State University.

The Emperor's Cup would have provided a rare chance for Ono to compete in a freestyle tournament again, the first step on the path to getting back to the World Championships.

Ono said he will now return to Penn State, where he will resume his introduction into folkstyle. While he is redshirting this year -- the system that allows him to train with the team but not enter official competitions to preserve a year of eligibility -- he plans to enter an open tournament in January.

As pointed out by Wrestling Spirits, the big issue facing Ono now is whether or not he will be afforded a spot in the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships in May next year, which will be the second domestic qualifier for the worlds and Asian Games.

As the name implies, the field is limited to invitees, using criteria set by the Japan Wrestling Federation based on results from major competitions over the past year. There are exceptions made for a wrestler who has been out of action for an extended time but has achieved "particularly outstanding results."

In the past, this has been interpreted to mean medaling at an Olympics, as the majority of wrestlers take time off following Olympic success. The question the federation will have to answer is, will a world title in 2024 earn Ono an invitation?

Asked directly by Wrestling Spirits, Kenji INOUE, the federation's chairman of the technical enhancement committee, replied, "At this stage, nothing has been decided."

There is one incentive for the publicity-starved JWF to include Ono in the Meiji Cup field -- it could set up a classic match-up between him and Paris Olympic champion Rei HIGUCHI.

Higuchi has not competed since winning the Paris gold, but has already stated he plans to return at the Meiji Cup with eyes on a first Asian Games appearance.

Ono has not competed in Japan since June 2024, when he participated in the East Japan Collegiate League, a team competition in which he helped Yamanashi Gakuin win the Division I title.

After winning the gold at the Non-Olympic Weight Class World Championships in Tirana in October 2024, he revealed he had been dealing with a broken ankle.

That kept him out of competition for awhile, then early in 2025, he headed across the Pacific to begin training with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. In March, he made the blockbuster announcement that he would enroll at Penn State.

Ono had been entered at 57kg at the Bill Farrell Memorial Invitational in New York in November, but was a late withdrawal for undisclosed reasons.

At the Emperor's Cup, Olympic weight classes will be contested over two days in the same format at the World Championships, while non-Olympic weights will be finished in a single day.

Although Fumita will no longer be competing, fellow Paris gold medalist Yuka KAGAMI will be making her return to the mat for the first time since her Olympic triumph at women's 76kg, which gets started on Thursday.

Malmgren warms up for senior Euros with U23 gold

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Olympic champ Fumita joins Ono as late withdrawal from Emperor's Cup