Obituary

Nico Coetzee, UWW Educator and Head Coach of South African Wrestling, Dies at 56

Thursday, May 27, 2021 - 15:03 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (May 27) -- Nico Coetzee, head wrestling coach of South Africa and UWW Educator, died suddenly on Tuesday. He was 56.

Coetzee was active in all aspects of wrestling in Africa. He was the head wrestling coach for South Africa since 2009, and for the past several years was a UWW Instructor tasked with assisting in the education and development of wrestling across the continent.

"We are deeply saddened to learn of Nico's death," said United World Wrestling president Nenad LALOVIC. "He was one of the sport's best leaders on Africa and we will miss his input. I send my condolences to his family, his wrestlers, and all those who called him a friend."

Coetzee grew up in the then small-town Boksburg, in South Africa. After finishing school, he completed his Honours Degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Pretoria. At school Coetzee participated in long distance running, rugby, boxing, and wrestling.

When his son was born, Coetzee's passion for wrestling, and specifically coaching, was ignited. He joined the Boksburg Wrestling Club as a coach and climbed the ladder to coaching excellence very fast. In 2006 he became the provincial head coach and three years later became the head coach for the South African Wrestling Federation.

In 2019, coach Coetzee was awarded the Gauteng Sports Coach of the Year. He had been instrumental in the development of the National Coaching Framework of the South African National Olympic Committee, SASCOC, now SASCA (The South African Sports Coaching Association), where he was elected a board member.

In addition to his many leadership roles in South Africa, Coetzee was also a sport-specific mentor for the WSLA High-Performance Coach program, which provides leadership training opportunities to women in sport.

"Nico was a lovely man and oversaw several projects developing wrestling on the continent and around the world," said Development Director Deqa Niamkey  "I always appreciated his positivity and energy. He's the kind of person who really did make a difference in our sport and used it as a way to enhance humanity as a whole."

"We are devastated."

#WrestleAthens

Wrestling U17 World Championships: Day 6 Freestyle Live

Saturday, August 2, 2025 - 07:46 By Vinay Siwach

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ATHENS, Greece (August 2) -- The final full day of the U17 World Championships will see the final five weight classes in Freestyle. Wrestling will continue in 45kg, 51kg, 60kg, 71kg and 92kg.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 5 RESULTS

The semifinals of these weight classes will begin at 17:00 hours local time and medal bouts in 48kg, 55kg, 65kg, 80kg and 110kg will begin at 18:00 hours local time.

14:45: Samuel SANCHEZ (USA) is back in the semifinals, at 51kg, after taking out Temuri TUTARASHVILI (GEO) 12-1. Sanchez is chasing his second straight world title.

14:40: Mirjalol MUKAMMILOV (UZB), down 1-1 on criteria, spins behind and gets Riku FURUSAWA (JPN) down for a two-point takedown and a 3-1 win at 45kg. He will wrestle in the semifinals.

14:35: Keegan BASSETT (USA) breaks Bakdaulet AGABEK (KAZ) and gut wrenches Agabek for 15-4. He celebrates like he is breaking a stick with his knee

14:25: Yeghishe MOSESYAN (ARM) hits a front headlock in the final second to beat Omer GUL (TUR) 9-8 and enter the 71kg semifinals. Mosesyan never gave up attacking and got his win.

14:10: SITENDER (IND) with a counter attack for four and sends Arian MEHRALIZADEH (IRI) flying for four points and wins his 60kg bout 5-5. Mehralizadeh is devasted and runs off the mat.

13:30: Ulugbek RASHIDOV (UZB) is into the quarterfinals at 51kg! He blanks Ramal MIRHUSEYNOV (AZE) 11-0 using a lace. Comfortable win for the world champion!

13:20: Samuel SANCHEZ (USA) is looking extremely good at 51kg. The world 45kg champion gets past Bugra KAVAK (TUR) 9-3 and is now into the quarterfinals.

13:00: Yeghishe MOSESYAN (ARM) stuns Zubair BAGILOV (UWW) at 71kg, 8-3! Bagilov could never finish his shots and Mossyan had a huge four-pointer in the second period which changed the momentum of the match. 

12:45: In a battle of European silver medalist and bronze medalist, Omer GUL (TUR) takes out silver medalist Ihor OLIINYK (UKR) at 71kg. Gul was trailing 4-0 but front headlock for four and later another headpinch for four to win 9-4. 

12:40: Not to be for European silver medalist Hasan HASANOV (AZE) at 60kg. Rihito HIURA (JPN) blanks him 7-0 to advance to the quarterfinals. Hiura looks the one to beat at this weight class.

12:25: Nathan NASH (CAN) is absolutely ecstatic after getting a fall over Hamlet ANTONYAN (ARM) at 60kg! Nash is a Pan-Am bronze medalist this year.

11:45: European U17 champion Said PASHAYEV (AZE) must have been struggling off the mat otherwise there is no reason to explain his 5-4 win against Abderrahmane MEZITI (ALG) at 92kg. He was down 4-3 with five seconds remaining but manages to get a takedown on the edge to win 5-4.

11:30: Two world champions and two dominating wins! World 45kg champion Samuel SANCHEZ (USA) smashes Georgi SPASOV (BUL), 10-0 and then Ulugbek RASHIDOV (UZB) gut-wrenches Dhanraj JAMNIK (IND), 10-0, as well. Both Sanchez and Rashidov are at 51kg.

11:15: Hasan HASANOV (AZE), European silver medalist, keeps Fakhriddin NASRIDDINOV (UZB) at bay and wins his 51kg bout 6-2. Nasriddinov made several attempts to score points but Hasanov was solid in defense.

11:00: Arian MEHRALIZADEH (IRI) takes out returning silver medalist Frederick BACHMANN (PUR) at 51kg, 8-4. Bachmann got two takedowns in the match but Mehralizadeh was never looked in trouble.

10:50: Bekassyl ASSAMBEK (KAZ), Asian U17 champion, uses the gut-wrench and wins his 60kg bout Ashton BESMER (USA)

10:30: Welcome to another day of U17 World Championships in Athens, Greece. The five Freestyle weight class in action are 45kg, 51kg, 60kg, 71kg and 92kg.