Paris 2024: For France wrestling trio, Olympics come home. Literally

Wednesday, July 17, 2024 - 07:40 By United World Wrestling Press

PARIS (July 17) -- To compete at a home Olympics can be an unparalleled career high for the best of athletes. Even more so for the three French wrestlers, for whom the Games have come home — quite literally.

When Koumba LARROQUE, Ameline DOUARRE and Mamadassa SYLLA check in at the Athletes Village in Seine Saint Denis and step on the mat at the picturesque venue in Champs de Mars, it’ll mark a culmination of their stories that took shape just a stone's throw away, at the Club Bagnolet Lutte 93.

Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) at Club Bagnolet Lutte 93.

Indeed, there are many wrestling strongholds in France. Dijon, roughly 320 km from Paris, is one such hub that is home to many young stars. And quite a few of them train at France’s National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance — commonly known as INSEP, a facility that’s also designated as the United World Wrestling Center.

However, the presence of wrestling stars who have honed their skills at Bagnolet, the famous Parisian club, in the French team is steeped in symbolism. Not least because it is located close to the two Olympic landmark sites.

But by competing at the home Games, the trio will also carry forward the commune’s century-long wrestling tradition, which also captures the growth of the sport between the two Olympics Paris has hosted.

Ameline DOUARRE (FRA) will compete at Paris Olympics in 62kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

It was exactly a hundred years ago, in 1924, that the Association Sportive et Gymnasnique de Bagnolet reinvented and transformed itself into a sports club, kick-starting a revolution of sorts in the area not too far from Paris’s city center.

Nothing nails down Bagnolet’s wrestling culture more than the fact that, according to a survey on the club’s website, two out of three youngsters wrestled. However, it was only after an agreement was reached with the department of Seine Saint Denis — the heart of the Games where the Athletes Village is located — that the sport really took off and the Club Bagnolet Lutte 93 came into being in its current form in 2005.

From Mélonin NOUMONVI, the 2014 Greco-Roman world champion, to Olympic gold medalist Steeve GUENOT and his bronze medal-winning brother Christophe as well as the latest sensation, the former U20 and U23 world champion Larroque – many French champions have spent key years of their development at the club.

But Larroque, Douarre and Sylla have a chance to do something none of their predecessors could: compete in their own backyard.

Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA) after his qualification for the 2024 Paris Games. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Sylla, who discovered wrestling at age 15, finished fifth at the European Championships this year and will compete in the 67 kg Greco-Roman category. Douarre is a last-minute entrant to the draw after withdrawals in the 62 kg weight class.

Sylla, who was a second-choice wrestler for the qualification tournament in Baku, became the first wrestler from France to qualify in Grec-Roman since the 2012 London Games, the last time France won an Olympic medal in wrestling, a bronze by 2008 Beijing champion Steve GUENOT (FRA).

Larroque, though, remains the flag-bearer for French wrestling at the Paris Olympics. Introduced to wrestling at age 9, a youth Olympics medallist at 16, and U23 world champion when she was 19 and a senior worlds silver medallist in the same year, Larroque was destined for greatness.

But her career arc suffered a setback. An injury in the 2018 World Championship final meant she was away from the mat for almost a year. Once she recovered, Larroque looked like a shadow of her past self as she could not manage any podium finishes. And although she made it to Tokyo, she was eliminated after the first round itself.

Paris provides the 68kg wrestler a path to redemption. To finish among medals in front of her family and friends — and a short distance away from her club — would undoubtedly be an unparalleled high in Larroque’s career.

#WrestleTirana

Masterful Uguev Repeats as European Champion

Sunday, April 26, 2026 - 23:12 By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (April 26) -- Zavur UGUEV (UWW) became a two-time European champion in Tirana on Sunday. For a wrestler of Uguev's pedigree, the number looks bleak.

But the 31-year-old, who will turn 32 on May 21, doesn't rue the missed golds but says those were the experiences that helped him win gold later.

"Last year I won my first European gold medal," Uguev said. "My first two or three medals, I was still young and things didn’t work out. There were very experienced athletes competing, and I gained experience from them."

In his two appearances at the European Championships in 2017 and 2018, Uguev suffered losses to Giorgi EDISHERASHVILI (AZE). In the 2018 final, Edisherashvili scored a takedown in the last seven seconds to win.

"[From] losing in the finals in the last 7 seconds in Kaspiysk, I gained great experience," he said. "But last year, I was in great shape and I’m happy that in my career I now have two European Championship gold medals."

His second gold in Tirana may have gone under that radar given the return and dominance of Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW), who won his sixth European gold on Saturday and first in six years.

However, if there was an award for the most outstanding wrestler of the tournament, Uguev would handsomely beat all others wrestlers to it.

On Sunday, Uguev defended his 61kg gold medal in Tirana with rather ease after defeating former world champion and home-favorite Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB). The 4-0 win over Abakarov consisted one activity clock, one stepout and a two-point takedown from Uguev.

Even the low-scoring final was a masterclass from Uguev, one of the few who still mixes the art of defense and positioning to win bouts.

At one point, Abakarov would keep trying the two-on-one on Uguev's arm and instead of panicking, Uguev would casually block Abakarov using his head. After the two-minute mark in the match, Abakarov had a similar grip and Uguev was blocking using his head and grip one of Abakarov's wrist.

Abakarov moved to a position from which he could either whizzer or wrist snap Uguev. However, as soon as Abakarov moved sideways, Uguev placed his foot behind Abakarov and let go off his grip, quickly switching to a leg-attack. He scored a stepout to lead 2-0 after one activity period point.

Uguev set up his takedown in the second period when Abakarov took a shot from space and Uguev blocked it using a chest wrap. Instead of scoring exposure from front, Uguev jumped behind and locked Abakarov who tried to break the grip. But Uguev scored a takedown on the edge to lead 4-0, his winning score.

Zavur UGUEV (UWW) pins Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) in the 61kg semifinals. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

It was in the semifinals against Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM), Uguev fell behind 3-2 but he brought down Harutyunyan in danger for two points before holding the Armenian in such a grip that he failed to move despite having split hands. Eventually, he gave up to Uguev's pressure who won via fall.

"The final is always a tough contest, both last and this year," Uguev said. "Last year it was Harutyunyan, a four-time European champion, and this year it’s Abakarov, the world champion. It’s a real pleasure to compete against them. I’ve come here solely to compete against them."

Two months ago, Uguev was in Tirana and he put on a wrestling masterclass, winning the 61kg gold medal. However, it was in Tirana that he lost to phenom Masanosuke ONO (JPN) and Vitali ARUJAU (USA) and finished fifth at the World Championships.

"I was here at the start of February for the ranking tournament, and I suppose I had some thoughts about it [losing World Championships in Tirana]," he said. "But I managed to win that tournament, and I came here with the sole intention of winning. The first attempt [2024 World Championships] didn’t go to plan."

Zavur UGUEV (UWW) after winning the 61kg gold medal in Tirana. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

The three-time world champion and Tokyo Olympic gold medalist at 57kg has been competing at 61kg for three years now. While he will eventually move to 57kg for a run at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Uguev says he is enjoying wrestling at a higher weight and not dieting during competitions.

"I’ll be wrestling in 65kg soon," he said jokingly. "I’ll probably be dropping down to 57kg. I’ll probably compete for another year or so [at 61kg], and then I’ll keep dropping down. I’m not actually that heavy to begin with, and I reckon anyone competing at 57kg is roughly the same weight as me. For now, I don’t see the point in cutting weight, and I think it’s better to stay as I am for the time being, compete for another year or so. I think that this year, or early next year, we’ll start thinking about which weight class to move to.

"Now that I’ve moved up to 61kg, I’m really enjoying the competition. When I was competing at 57kg, I struggled so much. Now, when I watch the wrestlers like Musa MEKHTIKHANOV (UWW), for example, I’m reminded of my own days on the mat. It’s just that when you’re on a diet, you don’t want to think about anything else. All you can think about is food. Now I feel comfortable. I’m not dieting; I enjoy wrestling and I’m managing to do well at it."

As for European Championships golds, Uguev isn't stopping.

"I'm not going to stop here," he said. "I'm not chasing numbers, I'll keep wrestling as long as I have the strength."

Paris 2024: For France wrestling trio, Olympics come home. Literally

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Masterful Uguev Repeats as European Champion