Obituary

Referee Thomas Martin Hyllegaard Passes Unexpectedly at Age 37

Tuesday, August 25, 2020 - 12:47 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (August 25) -- We are sad to announce the sudden death of United World Wrestling category I referee, Thomas Martin Hyllegaard, who was taken from us Saturday, August 22.

Thomas lived his early years in the Danish city of Frederikshavn, where he started wrestling at the age of 10. His life has since revolved around wrestling. As a young man, he was wrestling in the Danish Capitol city of Copenhagen while attending the Danish Police academy.

In 2008, Thomas attended the quadrennial European Games for Police officers, where he placed 7th. He took up refereeing the same year which he excelled at, quickly reaching the top tiers of international refereeing. Thomas stood firm at his goal – he wished to referee at the Olympic Games.

He worked tirelessly for the advancement of the Danish referees. Thomas led a successful campaign recruiting young referees as well as conveying and translating the latest rules from United World Wrestling.

Thomas is survived by his wife and two young sons, ages 8 and 6.

#development

UWW, Kazakhstan Sign MoU to Develop Wrestling

Thursday, April 23, 2026 - 10:19 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (April 20) -- United World Wrestling and the Kazakhstan Wrestling Federation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop projects to promote wrestling around the world.

The MoU also included the Kazakhstan Wrestling Academy, a modern state of the art facility, which will help elite and pre-elite wrestlers and coaches. It was recognized as UWW Affiliated High Performance Center.

Kazakhstan Wrestling Federation and UWW have built objective that will help better results at the continental and World Championships and the Olympics Games along with strengthening and enhancing sustainability in wrestling.

Kazakhstan

The Kazakhstan Wrestling Academy will also serve as the center for training camps for elite wrestler, host coaches education programs and seminars, educational sessions, and exchange programs.

As part of the MoU, both UWW and Kazakhstan Wrestling Federation will try to expand the footprint of wrestling. It will be done through providing advance facilities, equipment, expertise, conducting seminars and training camps, and actively encourage developing countries to participate in various program with reserved quotas.