#WrestleParis

Paris 2024 Olympic Games Greco-Roman Entries

Tuesday, July 9, 2024 - 12:46 By United World Wrestling Press

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PARIS (July 9) -- The 97 Greco-Roman wrestlers scheduled to compete at the Paris Olympics are announced. Four-time Olympic champion Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) will wrestle at 130kg while Tokyo Olympic champion Luis ORTA (CUB) is also entered. He won the gold in Tokyo at 60kg but will be competing in Paris at 67kg, a weight class in which he won the gold medal at the World Championships in 2023.

Tokyo champion Zhan BELEKNUIK (UKR) will be looking to add to his medal tally which also has a silver medal from Rio 2016. Four Tokyo Olympic silver medalists are returning namely Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN), Parviz NASIBOV (UKR), Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) and Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM).

Other Olympic medalists in the fray are Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY), Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE), Sabah SHARIATI (AZE) and Heiki NABI (EST).

Greco-Roman will kick off wrestling at the Paris Olympics on August 5 with 60kg and 130kg. August 6 will have 77kg and 97kg, August 7 will feature 67kg and 87kg. The medals bouts will be held on the next days of the respective weight classes.

PARIS 2024 SCHEDULE | PARIS 2024 NEWS | PARIS 2024 WOMEN'S WRESTLING ENTRIES | PARIS 2024 FREESTYLE ENTRIES

60kg
Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG)
Murad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Liguo CAO (CHN)
Kevin DE ARMAS (CUB)
Moamen MOHAMED (EGY)
Jamal VALIZADEH (EOR)
Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI)
Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN)
Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ)
Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Se Ung RI (PRK)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Georgij TIBILOV (SRB)
Enes BASAR (TUR)
Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB)
Raiber RODRIGUEZ (VEN)

67kg
Ishak GHAIOU (ALG)
Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM)
Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)
Nestor ALMANZA TRUYOL (CHI)
Luis ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB)
Andres MONTANO ARROYO (ECU)
Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY)
Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)
Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO)
Saeid ESMAEILI LEIVESI (IRI)
Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN)
Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Mate NEMES (SRB)
Souleymen NASR (TUN)
Parviz NASIBOV (UKR)

77kg
Abd Elkrim OUAKALI (ALG)
Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)
Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)
Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)
Jair CUERO MUNOZ (COL)
Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB)
Mahmoud ABDELRAHMAN (EGY)
Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN)
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN)
Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI)
Nao KUSAKA (JPN)
Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ)
Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Kamal BEY (USA)
Aram VARDANYAN (UZB)

87kg
Bachir SID AZARA (ALG)
Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Semen NOVIKOV (BUL)
Haitao QIAN (CHN)
Carlos MUNOZ JARAMILLO (COL)
Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN)
Mohamed METWALLY (EGY)
Lasha GOBADZE (GEO)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI)
Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
Arkadiusz KULYNYCZ (POL)
Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB)
Ali CENGIZ (TUR)
Zhan BELENIUK (UKR)
Payton JACOBSON (USA)

97kg
Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN)
Fadi ROUABAH (ALG)
Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM)
Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB)
Mohamed GABR (EGY)
Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Roberti KOBLIASHVILI (GEO)
Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER)
Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON)
Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI)
Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ)
Seungjun KIM (KOR)
Mindaugas VENCKAITIS (LTU)
Mihail KAJIA (SRB)
Josef RAU (USA)
Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB)

130kg
Sabah SHARIATI (AZE)
Kiril MILOV (BUL)
Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI)
Lingzhe MENG (CHN)
Mijain LOPEZ (CUB)
Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY)
Heiki NABI (EST)
Jello KRAHMER (GER)
Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI)
Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ)
Seungchan LEE (KOR)
Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
Oussama ASSAD (MAR)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Muhammet BAKIR (TUR)
Adam COON (USA)

NOTE:

* Czech Republic surrendered its 97kg spot after Artur OMAROV (CZE) was injured. Serbia was awarded the place as next best NOC

* Tunisia failed to find a replacement at 130kg. Lithuania was awarded the spot at 130kg as the next best NOC

#UWWAwards

UWW Breakout Wrestlers of 2025: Hidlay, Farokhi, Onishi

Monday, December 15, 2025 - 12:24 By Eric Olanowski

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 14) -- The 2025 Breakout Wrestlers of the Year were not the ones anyone circled heading into the season. They weren’t the favorites, or the ones analysts picked to walk away from the season as world medalists.

They were the outsiders, largely unproven and underestimated. But that all changed in a single season when they smashed expectations, catapulting themselves into world-wide stardom with world-title runs that nobody saw coming.

Freestyle Breakout Performer of the Year: Trent HIDLAY (USA)

Before 2025, Hidlay had never climbed to the top of a podium at an international event. His  2025 season even began with more doubt than promise, dropping his second match of the year to rising Azeri phenom Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) at the Zagreb Open. But that loss lit a fuse. From that moment on, the 26-year-old didn’t just improve -- he transformed.

Hidlay unleashed a stunning 13-match win streak and collected gold medals at the Pan-American Championships, the Budapest Ranking Series and the World Championships. Along the way, he knocked off giants -- Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE), Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO), and Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE), just to name a few.

Then came the finale: a world finals comeback for the ages. Down and all but finished, Hidlay stormed back to defeat Amanula GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (UWW). In one year, Hidlay didn’t just win -- he arrived.

Greco-Roman Breakout Performer of the Year: Gholemreza FAROKHI (IRI)

When opportunity knocked, Farokhi wasn’t just there to answer it, he was there to kick the door off its hinges. The 23-year-old stepped into Iran’s senior lineup for the first time in his career and tore through anyone in front of him -- whether it was at 82kg or 87kg.

Farokhi bulldozed his way to gold medals at the two World Championships he participated in. He racked up a perfect 17-0 record, including 11 technical superiority wins and six decisions, sweeping gold at the World Championships, U23 World Championships, the Islamic Solidarity Games, and the Zagreb Open Ranking Series.

Women’s Wrestling Breakout Performer of the Year: Sakura ONISHI (JPN)

At 19 years old, Onishi entered the senior circuit with massive goals but had zero experience and zero fear. In mere months, she became a problem no one had an answer for.

Onishi tore through the season with a flawless 15-0 record, capturing titles at the Senior and U20 World Championships, the Asian Championships, and the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series. Her dominance wasn’t subtle -- it was exactly what you’d expect from a Japanese women’s wrestler -- 11 tech falls, three pins, and a decision, outscoring opponents 158-17.