Obituary

Olympic champion Macha passes away

Wednesday, May 31, 2023 - 09:40 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (May 31) -- Olympic champion and United World Wrestling Hall of Fame member Vitezslav MACHA (CZE) passed away on May 29 aged 75.

Macha, born in 1948, was the only Olympic champion from the country as he won the gold medal in Greco-Roman 74kg weight class at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. He had defeated Petros GALAKTOPOULOS (GRE) in the final bout. At the next Olympics in 1976, Macha won a silver medal at the Montreal Games to become a two-time Olympic medalist.

In World Championships, Macha stood on the top of the podium twice -- 1974 in Poland and 1977 in Sweden. His European Championships record includes a gold medal at the 1977 edition and four other medals -- two silver and two bronze.

Macha last competed at the 1980 Olympic Games, finishing sixth, before moving into coaching and even holding the post of President of the Czech Wrestling Federation.

UWW expresses its deepest condolences to the Macha family.

#WrestleBratislava

UWW to test new Greco rule at 2025 European Championships

Friday, March 28, 2025 - 11:17 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (March 28) -- United World Wrestling Technical Commission has approved the testing of a Greco-Roman rule change at the European Championships next month.

According to the new rule in Greco-Roman, in case a bout ends 1-1, victory will be awarded to the wrestler who scored the first point. This modification will be implemented exclusively in Greco-Roman and will apply only to matches that end in a 1-1 tie.

The change, which is only being tested, was approved after the new UWW Technical Commission reviewed the current regulations. It unanimously acknowledged that the existing rule, which awards victory to the athlete who scores the last point, may unintentionally encourage passivity at the start of the bout.

Following the discussions, the Commission agreed to test the proposed change of awarding victory to the wrestler who scores the first point during the 2025 Senior European Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia to be held from April 7-13.

Additional senior Continental Championships or international tournaments may also be selected for further testing. United World Wrestling will provide updates should additional test events be required.