European Games

Olympic Champions Attract Gold, Attention at 2nd European Games in Minsk

Monday, July 1, 2019 - 15:08 By Tim Foley

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International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and UWW President Nenad Lalovic, along with members of the UWW Bureau, take in the action at the European Games on Sunday in Minsk, Belarus.

MINSK, Belarus (July 1) – The second European Games attracted the best athletes from the continent, and nowhere was that clearer than the wrestling mats where a number of defending Olympic champions and medalists came to Minsk in search of a Euro Games gold.

Perhaps no star shone brighter than Olympic champion Abdulrashid SADUALEV (RUS) the defending 97kg world champion and 86kg Olympic champion from Rio 2016. Arguably the sport’s most recognizable name, the athletic Sadulaev cruised to a 97kg Europeans Games title on day three, upending Azerbaijan’s Nurmagomed GADZHIYEV (AZE).

In addition to their on-the-mat dominance, wrestling’s stars also attracted off-the-mat dignitaries. IOC president Thomas Bach was in attendance Sunday night as 2016 Olympic champion Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) lifted and tossed his way to his first European Games title at 97kg in Greco-Roman. The 27-year-old Armenian shut out local favorite Aliaksandr HRABOVIK (BLR) 5-0 in the gold-medal match.

Olympic bronze medalist, and recent mother, Sofia Mattsson, made a splash in her return to the mats winning her second European Games gold medal at 53kg in women’s wrestling, defeating Yulia KHAVALDZHY (UKR), 6-4.

Belarus experienced a brief gold rush on the competitions fourth day nabbing a pair of gold medals with Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR) upedned Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL), 10-0 at 57kg and Olympic bronze medalist Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR) dominated Francy RAEDELT (GER), 9-0 at 76kg.

The United World Wrestling calendar continues July 12-14 with the Yasar Dogu Ranking Series tournament in Istanbul. The tournament will be the last Ranking Series event of the year in freestyle and women’s wrestling. 

#WrestlePontevedra

Wrestling legend Medved, three-time Olympic champion, passes away aged 86

Monday, September 2, 2024 - 09:36 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (September 2) -- Aleksandr MEDVED, the most successful Freestyle wrestler with 10 Olympic and World Championships gold medals, died on Monday aged 86 years.

Medved made his international debut at the 1961 World Championships, where he won bronze in the 87kg weight class. A year later, he jumped to 97kg and won the gold medal at the World Championships.

Barring 1965, Medved won all the World Championships gold medals from 1962 to 1971, majorly competing in the +100kg. He was considered small for the weight class, yet he dominated it for more than a decade.

Apart from winning seven gold medals, Medved also won a silver medal (1965) and a bronze medal (1961) at the World Championships.

Aleksandr MEDVEDAleksandr  MEDVED as a referee in a wrestling bout. (Photo: IMAGO / ITAR-TASS)

"The passing of Aleksandr saddens us," United World Wrestling President Nenad LALOVIC said. "He was an ambassador of our sport and his achievements show that the world regarded him as the best."

"It's a great loss to the wrestling world and we are with the Medved family in this time of grief."

Medved won his first Olympic gold medal in 1964 at the Tokyo Olympic Games in the 97kg weight class. He repeated as the Olympic champion in the +97kg at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games, beating Osman DURALIEV (BUL). The two met in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games in the +100kg final and Medved defeated Duraliev again to win his third Olympic gold medal.

He also has three European Championships titles as well.

After retiring from the sport, Medved was actively involved in coaching. He was inducted into the UWW Hall of Fame in 2003.

United World Wrestling expresses its condolences to the Medved family.