Ivan Yarygin

Russia and USA Release Preliminary Yarygin Rosters

By Eric Olanowski

The Russian Wrestling Federation and USA Wreslting have released their preliminary Freestyle line-ups for the 2018 Ivan Yargin, which begins on January 26 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. 

Russia's star-studded line-up features a trio of Olympic medalists in Abdulrashid SADULAEV (gold), Aniuar GEDUEV (silver) and Bilyal MAKHOV (bronze). World medalists competing for the Russian Federation include world champion Magomed KURBANALIEV (70kg), world silver medalists Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (61kg) and Khetag TSABOLOV (74kg), and world bronze medalists Akhmed CHAKAEV (65kg), Alan GOGAEV (65kg) and Vladislav VALIEV (86kg). 

USA's squad will feature Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion, Kyle Snyder. Other notable wrestles that will compete for the red,white and blue will be 2016 world champion, Logan STIEBER (65kg), 2016 Olympian Frank MOLINARO (70kg) and world bronze medalist Nick GWIAZDOWSKI (125kg). 

Russia's Ivan Yarygin Line-up
57kg: Zaur UGUEV and Azamat TUSKAEV 
61kg: Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV, Aleksander BOGOMOEV and Ismail MUSUKAEV
65kg: Alan GOGAEV, Ilias BEKBULATOV and Akhmed CHAKAEV
70kg: Israil KASUMOV and Magomed KURBANALIEV
74kg: Khetag TSABOLOV and Magomedkhabib KADIMAGOMEDOV
79kg: Aniuar GEDUEV, Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV and Alan ZASEEV
86kg: Vladislav VALIEV, Daueren KURUGLIEV and Artur NAIFONOV
92kg: Abdulrashid SADULAEV, Anzor URISHEV and Yuri BELONOVSKY
97kg: Vladislav BAITSAEV, Shamil MUSAEV and Rasul MAGOMEDOV
125kg: Bilyal MAKHOV, Anzor KHIZRIEV and Alan KHUGAEV

USA's Ivan Yarygin Line-up
57kg: Frank PERRELLI                                          
61kg: Tony RAMOS and Cory CLARK                
65kg: Logan STIEBER, Jayson NESS and Josh KINDIG                                                  
70kg: Frank MOLINARO
74kg: Joe TAVOSO                                                   
79kg: Kyle DAKE and Alex DIERINGER                                           
86kg: David TAYLOR and Travis STEFANIK
92kg: Jacob WARNER and  Nick HEFLIN                                                  
97kg: Kyle SNYDER and Nathan BURAK
125kg: Nick GWIAZDOWSKI, Zach REY and Bobby TELFORD

#WrestleBudapest

Ranking Series: Tazhudinov Shows No Rust on His Way to Gold

By Vinay Siwach

BUDAPEST, Hungary (July 17) --  Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) gave an early preview to what to expect from him at the World Championships in September.

The Paris Olympic champion won the gold medal in the 97kg weight class at the Budapest Ranking Series, outscoring his opponents 44-2 in four bouts and never appearing in trouble on the mat.

"I feel very good," Tazhudinov said. "I'm very happy to be back on the mat. It’s been almost a year I haven’t been competing  and it’s such a pleasure for us when you come back and win a gold medal."

The final Ranking Series event of the season kicked off in Budapest on Thursday with several familiar names winning gold medals. Asian champion Takara SUDA (JPN), world silver medalist Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN), world U20 champion Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) and SUJEET (IND) were among the gold medalists on day one.

But none were as dominant as Tazhudinov.

The Bahrain star returned to competition for the first time since Paris Olympics competing last week in Madrid, where he won gold at the Grand Prix of Spain. In Budapest, he followed it up with another flawless run, claiming his second gold medal in as many weeks.

"Overall I’m satisfied with my performance. I would say I’m not yet in full form, so I’m pleased with how I did. I’ll reach 100% form by the World Championships," he said.

Wrestling in just his third career Ranking Series, Tazhudinov capped the day with an 11-0 technical superiority win over veteran Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) in the final.

He opened the tournament with a 14-2 win over Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA), who clearly looked smaller for the weight class and had trouble matching Tazhudinov in every aspect of the game.

Tazhudinov hit a big double-leg attack for four points but Viskhanov got two points for exposure. But that was only opening Tazhudinov allowed for the rest of the bout. Viskhanov tried a few leg attacks but Tazhudinov scored a takedown and two turns to be up 10-2 before an arm-bar attempt turned into takedown for his win.

In the quarterfinals, Tazhudinov needed just one minute to defeat Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (UWW). In the semifinals, he dispatched Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO) in 1:48, winning 10-0.

Despite the dominant performance in Budapest, Tazhudinov admitted the World Championships would present a tougher challenge. He’s expected to defend his 97kg world title in Zagreb.

"We’ll have two training camps leading up to the World Championships, and I think after those camps I’ll be fully ready," he said. "There will be very strong, tough opponents. So I’ll prepare thoroughly and focus on performing even better."