Beach wrestling

No Beach, No Problem

Sunday, October 7, 2018 - 07:10 By Marc Berman

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SARIGERME, Turkey (October 6th and 7th) --  St. Louis, USA to Sarigerme, Turkey is a long trip- don’t tell that to Michael PETERS (USA).  He was happy to make the trip if it would mean another chance to compete for his first world championship title. After being stopped short for a 5th place finish in the Senior Men’s 70kg last year, Peters has his eye on gold.

“This year my strategy is to slow the matches down and be more selective with my shots. The footing is different in the sand, your reaction time is slower.”

Training for the beach style is not always a simple task logistically, with no beaches near by his home, to find sand to practice on Michael makes use of a local volleyball court. “Half of my training time is spent with my college team in folkstyle and half is independently on the sand on the volleyball court. In the sand, I focus on practicing throws that can work on the beach because some throws do not work as well.”

Being used to traveling around the United States to find tournaments in folkstyle and freestyle, Michael is excited for the potential of taking part in the Beach Wrestling World Series starting next year and traveling to beaches around the world.

Watch the medal rounds live tomorrow in United World Wrestling. The matches start at 7am GMT.

 

#WrestleBratislava

Adar, the woman of firsts in Turkiye wrestling, retires

Friday, April 11, 2025 - 09:17 By Vinay Siwach

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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 10) -- Turkiye's first-ever Olympic medalist, first-ever world and European champion in Women's Wrestling, Yasemin ADAR (TUR)retired Thursday after 16 years of international wrestling.

A winner of seven gold medals at the European Championships did not have a fairytale ending as she lost the 76kg final against Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) on Thursday at the European Championships in Bratislava.

Despite the loss, Adar undoubtedly retires the trailblazer in Women's Wrestling for Turkiye. In 2016, she won her first European title to create history before adding the world title in 2017. In 2021, she became the first Turkish wrestler in Women's Wrestling to win the bronze medal when she pinned Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) to claim the medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

"I had an incredible career in the 76kg category," Adar said after the European Championships final. "I had many successes and many firsts. I became a two-time world champion. I was at the Olympics with bronze medal. So I have an incredibly beautiful career and I am proud of myself. I can't believe it. It's very difficult to describe. I am very emotional today."

Adar, who had tears in her eyes while was taking off her shoes on the mat to mark her retirement, is aptly called the "woman of firsts" in Türkiye. With her teammates and family in the stands cheering for her, the final match became even more emotional for Adar.

"I finished my wrestling and believe me it was not easy at all," she said. "I even rehearsed it many times before coming here. I said this is where I will finish my career. In my speech, I always wanted to be considered as the legend of 76kilograms. This match was more nervous for me. I had planned it beforehand, I knew that this match was the last match. Even though I couldn't earn the gold medal, I ended it with silver. But believe me, there are really great successes in my career."

On how she came to the decision of retiring at the European Championships, Adar was clear that she wanted to pass on the baton to the younger generation.

"Even if you don't want it, wrestling starts to leave you," she said. "Although there are those who say I am very good, I try to compare it to a situation like this. I am 34-years-old with an 18-year-old athlete and unfortunately we cannot have the same performance."