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Pataridze, Kawai Highlight End-of-the-Year Age-Group Awards

Thursday, December 13, 2018 - 12:30 By Eric Olanowski

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 13) -- United World Wrestling has awarded a pair of cadet, junior and U23 wrestlers the 2018 Age-Group Wrestlers of the Year.

The U23 age-group wrestlers of the year went to the duo of Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO) and Yukako KAWAI (JPN).

Pataridze won his sixth overall Greco-Roman age-group world title, scooping up the 2018 U23 world title at 130kg in Bucharest, Romania. The Georgian big-man has two cadet golds, a trio of junior titles, and a U23 world championship.

Kawai, the sister of the three-time world and Olympic champion, Risako KAWAI (JPN), won the 62kg gold medal at the U23 World Championships after falling in the finals of the Senior World Championships. Kawai’s gold and silver medal performances at the World Championships are improvements from a season ago when she took eighth-place at the Senior World Championships and ninth-place at the Junior World Championships.

The Russian twosome of Aleksander KOMAROV (RUS) and Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) earned the junior age-group wrestlers of the year after obtaining gold medals in Trnava, Slovakia at the 2018 Junior World Championships.

Komarov, one of the most dominant Greco-Roman age-group wrestlers in the world, remained undefeated in his international career and won his second junior world title. Komarov’s resume is now chalked up with a pair of cadet and junior world titles, totaling four overall age-group world titles.

Komarov’s Russian partner, Khanum Velieva, who is still eligible to compete at the junior level, also won her fourth overall age-group world title. In the 68kg finals, Velieva picked up her fourth shutout victory of the World Championships and knocked off reigning cadet world champion, Macey  KILTY (USA), 6-0.

The cadet age-group wrestlers of the year are Alihasan AMIRLI (AZE) and Yuka KAGAMI (JPN). Amirli and Kagami each departed Zagreb, Croatia with their second straight cadet world titles.

Azerbaijan's Amirli rebounded from a bronze medal finish at the European Championships to win back-to-back cadet world titles. He wrapped up his 48kg gold medal performance at the World Championships with a 6-1 finals victory over the United States’ Richard FIGUEROA (USA).

For the second year in a row, Japan’s Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) blanked her opponents on her way to a world title. Over two years, Kagami outscored her eight world championship opponents 83-0. In 2017, she outscored her Athens opponents 41-0, and shutout her Zagreb counterparts 42-0.

The next award that will be released by United World Wrestling will be the 2018 History Makers. The History Makers for 2018 will be coming out this Sunday.

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UWW partners with Spring Media for worldwide distribution

Wednesday, September 11, 2024 - 13:18 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (September 12) — United World Wrestling has appointed Spring Media as the global media rights partner for all its events across the 2025-2032 cycle, excluding the United States and other specific territories. This includes international wrestling competitions for Greco-Roman, Freestyle, and Women’s Wrestling, with its flagship Senior World Championships, the Ranking Series, and the Senior Asian and European Championships.

“We are pleased to announce a partnership with Spring Media that holds immense potential to expand our broadcast reach across new countries and elevate wrestling’s global profile. This collaboration not only strengthens our commitment to bring world-class wrestling to a broader audience but also positions us to grow the sport internationally, engaging fans like never before,” said Gordon Templeman, UWW Commercial & Communications Director. “Together, we are ready to take wrestling to the next level and inspire a passion for wrestling in every corner of the globe."

Spring Media facilitates a range of distribution in selected territories for Olympic federations like Karate, Judo, Taekwondo and Gymnastics, and holds a world-leading position as a distributor of fight sports through its sub-brand, Fight Globe.

“We are thrilled to be part of shaping the continued growth of these thrilling events through our global distribution arm,” said Sabine Kesseler, Commercial Director, Spring Media. “We see great potential in wrestling and applaud the new concepts that the UWW is introducing in the next cycle, making it even more eye-catching to its millions of fans - existing and new alike.”

About Spring Media group
Spring Media is an international full-service sports agency that serves some of the biggest leagues, federations, teams and broadcasters in the world. Its business is built around four core areas including Rights Management, Production Services, Streaming Solutions and Growth Marketing. Spring Media group has more than a hundred employees and global reach with offices throughout the Nordics, Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Asia. The group distributes, sells and produces more than 100 000 hours of live sports annually and works with over 500 broadcast partners. More info at: https://www.spring.media/
 

About UWW
UWW is the international governing body recognized by the International Olympic Committee (“IOC”) for the sport of wrestling. The organization oversees approx. 7000 matches per year in different wrestling styles. With its vision “to be globally recognized as an inspiring, innovative and leading Olympic Federation”, its mission is to lead the growth of Wrestling, competitive and recreational, around the world. More info at https://uww.org/about-uww/