#WrestleParis

Paris 2024 Olympics Women's Wrestling Entries

By United World Wrestling Press

PARIS (July 10) -- Women's Wrestling in Paris will see only one returning Olympic champion in Yui SUSAKI (JPN). Five new Olympic champions are set to be crowned as 96 wrestlers compete in six weight classes over a week at the Paris Olympics. Wrestling will be held from August 5 to 11 with Women's Wrestling scheduled each day.

Susaki won the gold medal at 50kg in Tokyo and is looking to defend that. Japan, which won four golds out of six in Tokyo, will hope to clean sweep in Paris with world champions Akari FUJINAMI (JPN), Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) and Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) entered. Nonoka OZAKI (JPN), a world champion at 62kg and 65kg, is going up to 68kg for Paris. At 62kg, Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) is a silver medalist from the World Championships.

The United States and Mongolia joined Japan as the only other teams to qualify all six weight classes for Paris. India, Nigeria, Turkiye and China managed to qualify five.

Two-time world 72kg champion Amit ELOR (USA) is down at 68kg in a bid to complete the slam of winning world titles and the Olympic gold. Only Susaki has achieved this feat when she won the U23 world title in 2022. Helen MAROULIS (USA), Rio 2016 champion and bronze medalist in Tokyo, is coming for her third medal.

Four-time Olympic medalist Mariya STADNIK (AZE) is going for her fifth medal, a feat no one has achieved in wrestling before. Kaori ICHO (JPN) has four medals, all golds. In total, 10 Olympic medalists are entered in the field of 96 wrestlers.

Paris 2024 will also mark the first time Algeria, Lithuania, New Zealand and Uzbekistan will send a woman wrestler to the Olympics.

PARIS 2024 SCHEDULE | PARIS 2024 NEWS | PARIS 2024 GRECO-ROMAN ENTRIES | PARIS 2024 FREESTYLE ENTRIES

50kg
Ibtissem DOUDOU (ALG)
Mariya STADNIK (AZE)
Ziqi FENG (CHN)
Alisson CARDOZO REY (COL)
Yusneylis GUZMAN LOPEZ (CUB)
Nada MOHAMED (EGY)
Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER)
VINESH (IND)
*Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA)
Yui SUSAKI (JPN)
Gabija DILYTE (LTU)
Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL)
Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Oksana LIVACH (UKR)
Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA)
Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB)

53kg
Qianyu PANG (CHN)
Lucia YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU)
Annika WENDLE (GER)
Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE)
Mia AQUINO (GUM)
ANTIM (IND)
Akari FUJINAMI (JPN)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL)
Christianah OGUNSANYA (NGR)
Hyo Gyong CHOE (PRK)
Andreea ANA (ROU)
Jonna MALMGREN (SWE)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Dominique PARRISH (USA)
Betzabeth ARGUELLO VILLEGAS (VEN)

57kg
Chaimaa AOUISSI (ALG)
Giullia PENALBER (BRA)
Hannah TAYLOR (CAN)
Kexin HONG (CHN)
Luisa VALVERDE (ECU)
Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER)
Rckaela AQUINO (GUM)
ANSHU (IND)
Aurora RUSSO (ITA)
Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)
Khongorzul BOLDSAIKHAN (MGL)
Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
Anhelina LYSAK (POL)
Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR)
Helen MAROULIS (USA)

62kg
Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL)
Ana GODINEZ (CAN)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Luisa NIEMESCH (GER)
Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
*Hanbit LEE (KOR)
Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL)
Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR)
Grace BULLEN (NOR)
Kriszta INCZE (ROU)
Johanna LINDBORG (SWE)
Siwar BOUSETA (TUN)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR)
Kayla MIRACLE (USA)

68kg
Linda MORAIS (CAN)
Feng ZHOU (CHN)
Koumba LARROQUE (FRA)
NISHA (IND)
Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL)
Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Tayla FORD (NZL)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL)
Sol Gum PAK (PRK)
Buse TOSUN (TUR)
Tetiana SOVA RIZHKO (UKR)
Amit ELOR (USA)
Soleymi CARABALLO (VEN)

76kg
Yuliana YANEVA (BUL)
Justina DI STASIO (CAN)
Juan WANG (CHN)
Tatiana RENTERIA (COL)
Milaimys MARIN POTRILLE (CUB)
Genesis REASCO VALDEZ (ECU)
Bernadett NAGY (HUN)
REETIKA (IND)
Yuka KAGAMI (JPN)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL)
Hannah RUEBEN (NGR)
Catalina AXENTE (ROU)
Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)
Yasemin ADAR YIGIT (TUR)
Kennedy BLADES (USA)

Note:

* 50kg: Son Hyang KIM (PRK) was originally entered at 50kg. However, DPR Korea surrendered its quota which went to the next best NOC -- Italy

* 62kg: Hyon Gyong MUN (PRK) was originally entered at 62kg. However, DPR Korea surrendered its quota which went to the next best NOC -- Korea

#wrestlemanama

Bahrain to host 2026 World Championships

By United World Wrestling Press

ZAGREB, Croatia (September 16) -- For the first time in history, the World Championships are headed to Bahrain.

The 2026 World Championships will be held in Manama, Bahrain from October 24 November 1, United World Wrestling announced on Tuesday, during the ongoing World Championships in Zagreb.

No Arab country has ever hosted a World Championships but Bahrain will etch its name in history with the 2026 edition.

Secretary General of the Bahrain Olympic Committee Faris AL-KOOHEJI attended the press conference at the Arena Zagreb for the historic announcement. UWW President Nenad LALOVIC and Al-Kooheji announced the host together and signed the agreement.

"Bahrain has a superstar in wrestling," UWW President Lalovic said. "They probably want to use this opportunity to promote the sport through this superstar [Akhmed] TAZHUDINOV (BRN). But he's not the only one.

"They also want to develop the local Bahrain born athletes to compete because they have the role model of the top achievement in wrestling. This is something that we considered and that is why we made this decision.

Bahrain won its first-ever gold medal in Olympics in Paris when Tahzudinov ran-through the 97kg weight class and captured the gold medal. A year before that, he won the world title in the same weight class.

Tazhudinov is also an Asian champion, Asian Games champion and winner of other Ranking Series events.

Lalovic on the fact that wrestling wants to change the host continent of the World Championships more regularly.

 "We also want to change the continent regularly," he said. "A state that can organize the Asian [Youth] Games like they will do now in October, they will not face any problem with the championships, especially that we give all the assistance possible for the execution"

Manama, Bahrain will host the Asian Youth Games in which wrestling will be held from October 28 to 30.

Expressing its gratitude to UWW and readiness to host the mega event, Al-Kooheji said that the tournament will help Bahrain take wrestling to the grassroot levels in the country.

"For us, wrestling is a long term project," Al-Kooheji said. "Wrestling is a growing sport. It's a strategic sport for us. We got a gold medal in Paris, and we're looking to getting more medals. That gold medal started to inspire a lot of people, locally, to pursue wrestling, which is why part of the discussions with United World Wrestling is to even help us add wrestling in schools."

The Bahrain Olympic Committee expects that the World Championships will have a positive impact in growing the sport in the country.

"Strong economic impact [from the event]," he said. "We're going to get lots of travel spectators from Iran, the United States, and other countries as well. It's going to encourage the local community. They will understand more wrestling."