#WrestleParis

Paris 2024: Lopez closer to historic Olympic gold; Fumita, Elor enter finals

Monday, August 5, 2024 - 22:01 By Ken Marantz

Share this article

PARIS (August 5) -- Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) continued his quest for an unprecedented place in Olympic history, swatting aside all in his path on Monday. The last man standing in his way is a former compatriot who has already made history of his own.

Lopez earned a chance to become the first-ever athlete in any sport to win five gold medals in the same event at the Summer Olympics when he advanced to the Greco 130kg final on the opening day of the wrestling competition at the Paris Olympics.

"Very happy, very proud," Lopez said. "It's been a sacrifice for a career lasting so many years, and it's beautiful for the next generations so that they have something to aspire to."

Meanwhile, Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) earned a chance to make up for his disappointing silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics at Greco 60kg -- and gained revenge in the process -- while young Amit ELOR (USA) looks poised to complete the "Golden Grand Slam" of titles by making the women's 68kg final.

Lopez, competing for the first time since winning his fourth gold at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, set up his date with destiny in Tuesday's final by defeating 2016 Rio Olympic bronze medalist Sabah SHARIATI (AZE) 4-1 in the semifinals at the Champs de Mars Arena.

The 41-year-old Lopez got the first chance in par terre and made the most of it with a well-executed gut wrench to go up 3-0 in the first period.

Put on the bottom in the second period, Lopez went beyond just putting up stiff resistance. The Iranian-born Shariati, a veteran himself at 35, managed to lift the Cuban off the mat, but when he tried to force a roll, Lopez nimbly stepped over and gained control for a 1-point reversal.

Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI)Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI) confirmed Chile's first-ever Olympic medal in wrestling by reaching the 130kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Lopez, who has not lost a match since falling to long-time rival Riza KAYAALP (TUR) in the final at the 2015 World Championships, will face Cuban-born Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI) for the gold medal.

"It will be beautiful, special, not only for me but for the whole world," Lopez said of facing Acosta. "It's going to be a final between two Cubans, it's going to be spectacular. A result that the world will enjoy but particularly my brothers in Cuba."

Acosta assured Chile of its first-ever Olympic medal in wrestling when he outlasted Lingzhe MENG (CHN) 1-1 on last-point criteria in the other semifinal.

Acosta got the second of the two passivity points awarded, after which neither was able to turn the other. Meng was given a second chance in par terre with a minute to go but was unable to get any points off a front headlock.

Lopez expressed his joy that Acosta has clinched a medal after coming up just short in Tokyo by placing fifth.

"We've always been brothers, we've always been friends in wrestling, it's going to be beautiful for him, to win an Olympic medal and for me," Lopez said. "He deserves a medal. Chile has asked him to win that medal, and they have given him the support and the chance to compete."

Kenichiro FUMITA(JPN)Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) returned to the final after beating Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At Greco 60kg, Fumita advanced to the final by defeating nemesis Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ), using a masterful 4-point throw to score a 4-3 victory over the two-time reigning world champion.

The victory avenged a loss to Sharshenbekov in the final at last year's World Championships in Belgrade, when the Kyrgyz star prevailed 11-6 in a thoroughly entertaining throwfest that uniquely featured no passivity points.

On Monday, Fumita, a two-time former world champion himself, held tough on the bottom of par terre to go into the second period trailing 1-0. Early in the second period, he locked onto Sharshenbekov's right arm and hit an elegant back suplex for 4.

Sharshenbekov, who had not lost since June 2022 and had put together a streak of 10 consecutive tournament titles, went on the offensive and used a nice duck under for a takedown to cut the gap to 4-3.

But Fumita stood his ground and conceded nothing to clinch the win and earn a chance to make up for his devastating loss in the Tokyo Olympic final to Luis ORTA (CUB) and become Japan's first Greco gold medalist since Atsuji MIYAHARA (JPN) in 1984.

For Fumita, winning an elusive gold in Paris would be particularly special. "Paris is a special place because I won my first world title here in 2017," he told the Japanese media.

"I think that the wrestling gods are telling me that by making the final, I have to win the gold. I have one more match and I will give everything so that it will be said that Fumita is indeed strong."

Facing him in the final will be world bronze medalist Liguo CAO (CHN), who scored an exposure at the buzzer for a stunning 3-3 win on last-point criteria over Asian Games bronze medalist Se Ung RI (PRK).

Ri appeared headed to a 3-1 victory after getting a gut wrench from par terre in the first period and holding out on the bottom in the second. But Cao managed to get behind from standing in the waning seconds and, with Ri keeping a solid base and his knees off the mat, Cao pulled him back and over for a 2-point exposure just as time expired. In the final, Cao will look to avenge a 3-1 loss to Fumita in the quarterfinals in Belgrade.

Elor stormed into the women's 68kg final with a 10-0 victory over teenager Sol Gum PAK (PRK) as she looks to join Yui SUSAKI (JPN) as the only wrestlers to add an Olympic gold to titles on all four age-group levels at the World Championships.

Elor, a two-time world champion at 72kg who moved down to the Olympic weight, used a snapdown to get behind Pak for a takedown, then applied a lace lock and reeled off four rolls to end the match at 1:44.

"I've been training a lot with my coach to make sure that after I get a takedown, I don't overlook the thought of getting a turn," the 20-year-old Elor said. "Turns make a huge difference, and I think a lot of times, I'll get a takedown and I'll think, 'Oh, no no, let's just go back to our feet.'

"But it makes a huge difference, and you saw that in a match like that. One takedown, four turns, and the match is over. My immediate thought was, bring her legs together, you have to get at least one lace. And it worked for me."

Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ), blue, defeated Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) to enter the semifinal at 62kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Looking to stop Elor will be Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ), who won a clash of Tokyo Olympic medalists in the other semifinal to move one win away from becoming Krygyzstan's first-ever Olympic gold medalist in any sport.

Zhumanazarova scored a second-period takedown, then fended off a late attempt by veteran Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) to score a 3-1 victory. That avenged a 3-2 loss to Oborududu in the quarterfinals in Tokyo, where the Nigerian went on to take the silver medal and Zhumanazarova came home with a bronze.

Earlier, Zhumanazarova pulled off a major coup by defeating two-time world champion Nonoka OZAKI (JPN), building up a 6-0 lead before holding on for an 8-6 win.

Elor said she had prepared to face any opponent. "I like to focus on one opponent at a time, but before this competition, I thoroughly watched and analyzed all of my opponents," she said. "I honestly think that each and every opponent has their own challenges, and so however the bracket came out, I knew that I was ready for anybody."

Day 1 Results

Greco-Roman

60kg
SF 1: Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) df. Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ), 4-3
SF 2: Liguo CAO (CHN) df. Se Ung RI (PRK), 3-3

130kg
SF 1: Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) df. Sabah SHARIATI (AZE), 4-1
SF 2: Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI) df. Lingzhe MENG (CHN), 1-1

Women's Wrestling

68kg
SF 1: Amit ELOR (USA) df Sol Gum PAK (PRK) by TF, 10-0, 1:44
SF 2: Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) df. Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) 3-1

#BeachWrestling

Beach Wrestling: Iran's return to top; Puerto Rico, Azerbaijan win first golds

Sunday, September 28, 2025 - 13:44 By United World Wrestling Press

Share this article

KATERINI-PIERIA, Greece (September 27) -- Iran’s return to Beach Wrestling after an eight-year absence could have been cautious. Instead, it was commanding.

Iran won four medals, including two golds, to claim the men’s team title at the U17 World Beach Wrestling Championships after a close race with Georgia, which finished second with 75 points to Iran’s 80. Azerbaijan was third with 62 points.

In the women's category, hosts Greece managed to go past France to finish first with 50 points while France ended up second with 42. The United States was third with 32 points.

The U17 World Championships is a significant stop in Beach Wrestling as it will be taken into consideration for while awarding the quotas for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games.

IranIran's two gold medalists in Greece, Mahdi FOTOUHI (IRI), left, at 90kg and Youssof HOSSEIN (IRI), right, at 70kg.

Gold medalists for Iran, Youssof HOSSEIN (IRI) at 70kg and Mahdi FOTOUHI (IRI) at 90kg, were competing in Beach Wrestling for the first time but never let their inexperience affect their performances.

Hossein, who defeated Stefan MUNTEAN (MDA) in the knockout match, was placed in Group D with Yuki UEDA (JPN), Nikolaos PAPADOPOULOS (GRE) and Ilie TURCAN (MDA). He defeated Papadopoulos 3-1 in the group bout before blanking Turcan 3-0 in just 40 seconds. He was quicker against Ueda, winning in 34 seconds.

Facing Luka MAKHARADZE (GEO) in the quarterfinals, Hossein scored a 3-1 victory and took only 40 seconds to beat Rashad ALIYEV (AZE) in the semifinals.

In an all-Iran final, Hossein fell behind 1-0 against Ilyar VEGHARI (IRI) but stormed back with two straight points with a knee and head touch from Veghari. He used a lateral drop as his final move to win 5-1. Veghari's lost challenge added to Hossein's score and made it 6-1.

Fotouhi was even more dominant at 90kg, winning all three of his group bouts via fall. Charilaos CHAITIDIS (GRE) survived getting pinned in the quarterfinals but Fotouhi was strong enough to win 3-0 and advance to the semifinals.

After winning the semifinal 2-1 against Elgun KARIMLI (AZE), Fotouhi was back to his dominant self and slammed Joni SHAORSHADZE (GEO) to pick his fourth fall in six bouts and the gold medal for Iran.

Fotouhi began with a step out to earn his first point of the final. Both wrestlers arm-locked each other and tried to throw at the edge but it was Shaorshadze who touched outside first which gave Fotouhi his second point.

In one of those moments when his Freestyle instincts took over, Fotouhi went for duckunder and touched his knee on the sand which gave Shaorshadze a point to make the score 2-1. The Georgian tried a fireman carry in the final 10 seconds but Fotouhi pancaked him for a fall.

At 60kg, Mykyta KUZMENKO (UKR) defeated Rati BERIDZE (GEO) twice, first in the group stages and then in final, to claim the gold medal.

Kuzmenko blanked all his opponents barring Beridze who managed to score one point when the two met in the Group B bout. However, the Ukrainian improved and gave no chance to Beridze in the final, winning 3-0.

The Ukrainian was quick to score two step-outs and lead 2-0 and when Beridze tried to score a point, Kuzmenko snapped him down and scored his third and winning point.

Georgia had another silver medalist, Nuradin MUSTAFAEV (GEO), who suffered a one-sided loss in the 80kg final to Nihad SULEYMANLI (AZE), who had represented Azerbaijan at the U17 World Championships in Athens in August.

Suleymanli did not give up a single point in the tournament and won the final against Mustafaev 3-0. He scored a step-out to open the scoring in the final before Mustafaev fell on the ground to give a second point. The Georgian wrestler tried tripping Suleymanli but instead gave a takedown for one point to drop the final.

AzerbaijanAzerbaijan's first-ever gold medalist Ulviyya MUSAYEVA (AZE) with other team members.

Historic golds for Puerto Rico, Azerbaijan

In the women's category, Puerto Rico and Azerbaijan earned historic golds as four different countries crowned champions.

Heklanys RIVERA (PUR), the first woman to compete in Beach Wrestling for her country, made a stunning run to the gold medal at 45kg. She did not give up a single point in six bouts including the final.

Taking on Kaltouma SALISSOU (FRA) in the final, Rivera was put on the 30-second activity clock. With eight seconds remaining, Rivera used an underhook to get the first takedown for a point.

The second point was awarded to Rivera when Salissou committed a foul by grabbing Rivera's shorts. The winning takedown was similar to the first one as Rivera moved from underhook to tripping Salissou.

For Azerbaijan, 15-year-old Ulviyya MUSAYEVA (AZE) needed only 16 seconds to create history. She defeated last year's champion Reisa KOJIMA (JPN) via fall in the 55kg final. Kojima tried hitting a lateral drop in the final but fell on her back, which gave Musayeva three points for the win.

Earlier, Musayeva had lost one of the group bouts against Mia KOVAC (CRO) via fall but rebounded to win all remaining bouts to make the final and then capture the gold medal.

Hosts Greece, which won the team title, earned the gold medal at 75kg through Elena ZAIMIDOU (GRE) who scored a 32-second victory via fall over Madeline HAYDEN (USA) in the final.

Zaimidou, who has competed and won gold in Grappling at the European level, secured three victories via fall, and a victory via superiority over Merily VAESTER (EST) in the semifinals.

In the gold medal bout, Hayden stunned the local fans when she hit a beautiful over-the-head suplex on Zaimidou. Hayden went for a second suplex, but Zaimidou blocked her, using a headlock, and Hayden fell on her back which gave Zaimidou three points and the victory.

Hayden challenged the scoring but the points were confirmed on review and Zaimidou was awarded a point for lost challenge, which made her score 4-1.

European bronze medalist in Women's Wrestling, Alexandra MOISEI (MDA) earned the gold medal at 65kg after some nervous wins. She defeated Thea ROUSSEL (FRA), 3-0, in the final in 49 seconds using three easy snapdowns.