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Norway Hosts Freestyle Coaching and Referee Course

Friday, July 21, 2023 - 13:10 By United World Wrestling Press

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OSLO, Norway (June 30, 2023) – The Norwegian Wrestling Federation hosted educational courses for coaches and referees in efforts to grow and develop freestyle wrestling. These courses were conducted in conjunction with UWW, Olympic Solidarity, Norwegian NOC and the Norwegian Wrestling Federation.  The coaching course was led by Mr. Keith Sieracki (USA). The referee course was led by Mr. Vaclav Scheiner (CZE). “We had a great educational time with two knowledgeable instructors. Our coaches and referees had a great time and got a lot of new things in the toolbox to bring back to the clubs.” said Jon Isaksen, Head of Development in the Norwegian Wrestling Federation.

The Coaching Course was held June 26-30 at the Lambertseter Wrestling Hall. During the course, eight participants attended and participated in the Level 1 Course (Introduction to Coaching and Safety). The following topics were covered throughout the course: identifying key factors, improving communication, introducing a new technique, coaching skills, giving feedback, risk management, age and developmental stage characteristics. During the course, the coaches actively practiced and developed their skills through practical evaluations and technical sessions that focused on freestyle wrestling.  The Norwegian Wrestling Federation also hosted a training camp during the same dates. The coaches were able to directly apply the skills they were learning in the course. “The overall attitude was great! Everyone had things to share from past coaching experiences good and bad. The best session was the practical sessions where they could practice their skills and learn new techniques,”  said Mr. Sieracki.

NORParticipants develop their skills through practical evaluations and technical sessions that focused on freestyle wrestling. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

The Introduction to Refereeing Course was conducted June 26-28. The participants learned the foundations of what it takes to be a great referee. The areas covered during the course included: safety of the athletes, evaluation of holds, referee mechanics, positioning, and controlling the bout. The participants were active during the course and were able to practice their skills through practical evaluations and simulated matches. The referees also worked directly with the coaches to help improve their relationship and understanding of the rules.  “The course went very well.  The number of participants was small so I was able to work with them individually. The session with the coaches and referees together was very good. The coaches experienced how difficult the job of the referee can be,” said Mr. Scheiner. “The course went very well. It connected the mutual understanding between coaches and the referees. It has many relevant topics and a good combination of theory and practice. Vaclav was great to keep the course interactive and kept the interest of the participants," said Jon Isaksen (Head of Development for Norwegian Wrestling Federation.

Quotes from Participants:

“The course went very well and we were very happy with the methodology. It was very satisfying to see our own progression on the mat from day to day. We have some cooperation with coaches and it was very good and necessary.  We were very happy with our educator, Mr. Scheiner,” said Marcin Zawistowski

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UWW's 2024 Wrestlers of the Year: Petriashvili, Tosun, Kusaka

Monday, December 16, 2024 - 16:45 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 16) -- United World Wrestling has announced the wrestlers of the year in Freestyle, Women's Wrestling and Greco-Roman. UWW’s 2024 Wrestler of the Year award winners are Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO), Buse TOSUN (TUR) and Nao KUSAKA (JPN).

Freestyle: Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)

The 30-year-old Georgian finished with a style-best 68,200 Ranking Series points through his finishes at the four point-based events of the year -- Olympic Games, European Championships, Croatian and Hungarian Ranking Series -- in which he collected a 13-4 record with 8 wins coming against top 20 ranked opponents.

Petriashvili’s 2024 season didn’t start well, as he finished in fifth place with a 3-2 record at the Croatian Ranking Series. This marked Petriashvili’s sixth consecutive full season in which he started on a losing note before regaining focus and peaking at the most opportune times.

In his next outing, Petriashvili scored three wins before reaching the European finals for the seventh time in his career. However, he fell short against career rival Taha AKGUL (TUR) for silver.

The three-time world champion then went to Hungary for the final tune-up before the Paris Olympics. While at the second Ranking Series event of the year, Petriashvili grabbed three wins, but not before falling to Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) in the semifinals while nursing a left elbow injury.

Petriashvili headed to Paris hungry to improve his 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medal. The father of two did exactly that, picking up four victories including a 10-9 shock win over two-time reigning world champion Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI), becoming Georgia’s third-ever freestyle Olympic gold medalist.
 
Greco-Roman: Nao KUSAKA (JPN)

23-year-old Nao KUSAKA (JPN), finished with a Greco-Roman best 79,200 Ranking Series points after winning golds at the Olympics, Asian Championships, and Hungarian Ranking Series events while also winning a bronze at the Croatian Ranking Series event at the beginning of the season.

After falling in the semifinals of his first competition of the year, Kusaka rallied off 14 consecutive victories -- four of which came against former world champions Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA), Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) and Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) -- on his way to winning golds in Paris, Bishkek and Budapest.

Kusaka’s win in Paris at 77kg, alongside his fellow teammate Kenichiro FUMITA’s gold, ended Japan’s 40-year Greco-Roman Olympic gold-medal drought.

Women's Wrestling: Buse TOSUN (TUR)

Buse TOSUN (TUR) is UWW’s Women’s wrestler of the year after topping the rankings with a style best 60,200 points. She narrowly edged Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) by 200 points for the coveted award.

Tosun, the reigning world champion at 68kg, finished 2024 with an impressive 11-2 record. Of those 11 wins during the season, a staggering eight came against wrestlers in the top 15 of the world rankings.

She dropped her first match of the season to Feng ZHOU (CHN) but went on to win 11 of her remaining 12 bouts, falling only at the Paris Olympics to eventual champion Amit ELOR (USA), en route to winning an Olympic bronze which was just Turkiye's second-ever women’s wrestling Olympic medal.

United World Wrestling congratulates Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO), Nao KUSAKA (JPN), and Buse TOSUN (TUR) for their incredible achievements this year and for being named the 2024 Wrestlers of the Year.