#BeachWrestlingWorldSeries

Romania and Georgia Dominate First Stop of Beach Wrestling World Series

Saturday, March 30, 2019 - 18:19 By Tim Foley

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CHAVES, Portugal (March 30) – Georgia and Romania asserted themselves as the world’s premier beach wrestling nations Saturday in Chaves as they combined to win 6 of 8 gold medals in men’s and women’s wrestling.

The Georgian squad was led by 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Dato MARSAGISHVILI who dominated the -90kg competition over the course of the two-day competition to take gold. Marsagishvili was also awarded “Best Move of the Tournament” after back-arching his quarterfinal opponent for what fans thought was the most spectacular technique of the weekend.

“I’m very happy to be involved in beach wrestling,” said Marsagishvili. “This is my first time and I was really excited to win. Beach wrestling is amazing it’s like a celebration atmosphere, which had me smiling.”

Levan KELEKHSASHVILI (60kg) and Davit KHUTSISHVILI (80kg) also took home gold medals for their efforts, each winning 3-0 in their finals bouts.

Team Georgia would have won all four medals, were it not for Iannis KARGIOTAKIS (GRE) who used a front head pinch to twist an undersized Mamuka KORDZAIA (GEO) for a match-ending three-point move in the semifinals to earn a spot in the afternoon's finals.

Kargiotakis’ upset run finally ended in the finals when Azeri big man Oyan NAZARIANI (AZE) used a series of underhooks and snap downs for three one-point moves and the +90kg title.

On the women’s side the Romanians -- who won four gold medals at the 2018 World Championships in Dalyan -- were once again tops in their division, winning three of the event’s four women’s categories.

The small European nation was led by Georgiana FILIP (60kg) who used two takedowns and a three-point throw in the finals to win her title, 5-0.

“We are used to mat wrestling, but we also practice a lot for the beach events,” said Filip. “We are focused on qualification for the World Beach Games and hope to be in Rio for the next World Beach Series event.”

The Romanian squad, who is also competing next week at the 2019 European Championships in the Olympic style of women’s wrestling, were boosted by a workwoman-like performance of 50kg megastar Stefania PRICEPUTU. Though shorter than most her opponents, Priceputu used a combination of intensity, heavy hand pressure and snap downs to earn the gold and 1000 CHF.

Greece earned the +70kg title with a comeback performance by Aikaterini PITSIAVA, who trailed 2-0 late in her match with Diana VLASCEANU, but bullied her way to a 3-2 gold medal.

The next stop on the Beach Wrestling World Series will be May 10-11 in Rio de Janerio. The points from the Chaves and Rio stops will determing which wrestlers and nations qualify for the 2019 ANOC World Beach Games in October.

The Beach Wrestling World Series can viewed live on FloWrestling.org. Fans and athletes can also follow the Beach Wrestling World Series on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter

Men’s Beach Wrestling

70kg

GOLD: Levan KELEKHSASHVILI (GEO) df. Panah ILYASLI (AZE), 2-2
BRONZE: Niko AROUZMANIDIS (GRE) df. Stefan Ionut COMAN (ROU), 1-1

80kg
GOLD: Davit KHUTSISHVILI (GEO) df. Ibrahim YUSUBOV (AZE), 3-0
BRONZE: Georgios KOULOUCHIDIS (GRE) df. Vasile Madalin MINZALA (ROU), Inj Def.

-90kg
GOLD: Dato MARSAGISHVILI (GEO) df. Murat OZKAN (TUR), 3-0
BRONZE: Pedro Jacinto GARCIA PEREZ (ESP) df. Christos SAMARTSIDIS (GRE), 3 - 1

+90kg
GOLD: Oyan NAZARIANI (AZE) df. Ioannis KARGIOTAKIS (GRE), 3-0
BRONZE: Baki SAHIN (TUR) df. Mamuka KORDZAIA (GEO), 3 - 2

Women’s Beach Wrestling

50kg
GOLD: Stefania Claudia PRICEPUTU (ROU)
SILVER: Kamila BARBOSA VITO DA SILVA (BRA)
BRONZE: Carmen Nireida GOMES TEIXEIRA VIEIRA (POR)

60kg
GOLD: Georgiana Narcisa FILIP (ROU)
SILVER: Camila FAMA TRISTAO (BRA)
BRONZE: Jeannie Agnes KESSLER (AUT)

70kg
GOLD: Adina Elena POPESCU (ROU)
SILVER: Sonia Marina PEREIRA BRAZIO (POR)
BRONZE: Sinem Cisem DOGDU (TUR)

+70kg
GOLD: Aikaterini Eirini PITSIAVA (GRE)
SILVER: Diana Elena VLASCEANU (ROU)

#UWWAwards

UWW Comebacks of the Year 2025: Uguev, Maroulis, Amoyan

Friday, December 19, 2025 - 10:30 By Eric Olanowski

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 18) -- United World Wrestling’s 2025 Comeback Wrestlers of the Year are three wrestlers who refused to let their careers be defined by defeat and setbacks.

Freestyle Comeback Wrestler: Zaur UGUEV (UWW)

There was a time not too long ago where Uguev career trajectory was pointing him in the direction of becoming the greatest lightweight of this generation, but he hit a slump in 2023 and 2024, finishing fifth at the World Championships.

This year, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medalist returned to top form. He went from an afterthought to one of the sport's most dominant wrestlers -- reclaiming world gold for a third time in his career and first time since the 2019 World Championships with a 11-2 win over Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) in the 61kg finals.

"This is a very joyful event in my life -- I am once again on the top of the podium," Uguev said. "I am very happy and grateful to my team, my coach, my sparring partners, our national team -- thanks to everyone who played a part in my victory."

Women’s Wrestling Comeback Wrestler: Helen MAROULIS (USA)

For most, 2021 seems like yesterday. But for Maroulis, it’s been a grueling four years of waiting and working to reclaim her spot a top the world ranks. Despite having to completely change her style of wrestling due to lack of conditioning that stemmed from an allergic reaction to antibiotics before the World Championships, Maroulis found a way to bolster her resume with a fourth world title -- adding to her career wins 2015, 2018, and 2021, not to mention her three Olympic medals.

She did so with three quick pins in Zagreb before inside tripping Il-Sim SON (PRK) in dramatic fashion, stealing the world title as the clock expired.

After the match, the 11-time world and Olympic medalist said, "I had to really, really dig deep for that and, I don't know, before the last exchange started, I just had to dig deep and find it. It was just some scramble flurry and just that it came out my way. I'm grateful."

Greco-Roman Comeback Wrestler: Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)

Like Maroulis’ four-year battle to get back to the top, Amoyan found himself fighting an uphill battle to regain world gold since his last title-winning run in Oslo in 2021. But after moving up from 72kg to 77kg, he struggled. He fell one match short of his goal at the World Championships in 2022 and 2023, and again at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games where he settled for a bronze medal.

But 2025 was different as the 26-year-old put on arguably the greatest Greco-Roman performance of the Zagreb World Championships, capping off his run to a second world title with an unexpected 9-1 thumping of reigning Olympic gold medalist Nao KUSAKA (JPN).

"I became a world champion back in 2021 [at 72kg], but I really wanted to become world champion at 77kg. For two years, I struggled with injuries, and nothing was going as it should. Thankfully, at this World Championships I was prepared -- mentally, physically, and functionally -- and by God's grace I managed to triumph and become a two-time world champion."