Obituary

Olympic champion Mustafa Dagistanli passes away

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY (September 20) -- Two-time Olympic champion and member of the United Wrestling Hall of Fame Mustafa DAGESTANLI (TUR) passed away on Monday. He was 91 years old.

Born in 1931 in Soguroinar village of Carsamba, Turkey, Dagistanli won gold medals at the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games. He was also a three-time world champion with gold medals in 1954, 1957 and 1959.

In the 1956 Melbourne Games, Dagistanli won gold in the 56kg weight class. Four years later in Rome, he jumped up to 62kg and finished on the top of the podium.

Dagistanli made his debut for Turkey in 1953 but quickly became one of the most dominant wrestlers in the world and won the first world title in Tokyo in 1954.
 
In his 320 recorded bouts in Turkey, Dagistanli won 319 out of 320 bouts and 70 out of 73 at the international level. The achievement puts him among the best wrestlers walking on the planet during his active days.

After his retirement, he worked as a coach and was part of the Turkish Wrestling Federation. He also served in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey as the Samsun Deputy of the Justice Party for two terms between 1973-1980 and received the State Distinguished Service Medal.

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Losonczi awarded share of 87kg world title

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (November 13) -- The UWW Bureau gathered on November 10, 2023, to review several matters of importance, including the outcome of the final match in GR 87kg of the Senior World Championship in Belgrade. 

In their discussions, the Bureau recognized that a serious refereeing mistake had been committed which changed the outcome of this bout. 

Following a thorough expert analysis, according to the current wrestling rules, a fall performed by David LOSONCZI (HUN) on his opponent and announced by the referee should have been confirmed by the mat chairman as it was actually controlled according to the experts’ review.

Considering that the refereeing mistake was indisputable according to the experts’ analysis, on an exceptional basis, the Bureau agreed that fairness required that a second gold medal be awarded in this category to Losonczi and that he is also declared as 2023 World Champion in Greco-Roman Wrestling (87kg). 

The final ranking in this category will be modified and the corresponding ranking points will be awarded to Losonczi.