#WrestleAmman

Shkarin upgrades silver to gold; Iran wins 2 at U17 Worlds

Tuesday, August 20, 2024 - 20:32 By Vinay Siwach

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AMMAN, Jordan (August 20) -- Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN) has lost only one bout in his international career. The loss in the U17 World Championships final at 80kg last year was so devasting for Shkarin that he made his goal to win the gold medal this year. He doubled his training time, watched videos of his bouts repeatedly and came to Amman with a mindset of a winner.

It was a similar path to the final this year as he won two close bouts, a 9-0 win in the semifinals and faced an Asian opponent in the final. The only change was that Shkarin wrestled a calculated final and became the U17 world champion.

Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN)Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN) celebrates after winning the 80kg final in Amman. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Shkarin defeated Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) 3-0 in the final to upgrade his silver from last year. He was one of the five world champions crowned in Amman on Tuesday.

"I haven’t changed anything," Shkarin said. "I just kept working hard. This gold medal is so valuable to me because last year I lost the final, which was also against an Asian athlete. The semifinal score was 9-0, just like it was this time. These coincidences distracted me a bit."

Unlike the 2023 final in which he played catch up after falling behind 7-0, Shkarin was in no mood to give points to Anapiya on Tuesday. He maintained a lead throughout the final and defended it well.

The U17 European champion explained that the bouts in Amman were tougher than what he experienced at the European Championships in Novi Sad in July.

"The matches here were tougher than at the European Championships, especially the final match," he said. "Back there, I only wrestled for a little over one minute, while here it took me two periods. I could only score three points at the beginning of the match, and then I had to hold onto that lead."

Shkarin, who hails from Lipsetsk, did not have any high-scoring match apart from the semifinal against Emad Reza MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI). He defeated Dinko NEYKOV (BUL) 5-0 in the first bout and Luka KOCHALIDZE (GEO) 3-1 in the quarterfinals.

"Honestly speaking, I have mixed feelings," Shkarin said. "There is euphoria, but at the same time, there is emptiness. I’ve been working so hard to win this gold. I need 2-3 days to fully realize everything. I am extremely happy -- it's the first time in my career that I’ve felt this way."

In other finals, Jayden RANEY (USA) won at 55kg and Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) got the gold at 110kg. But it was Iran who dominated again as it crowned two champions -- Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) at 48kg and Amir SAEIDI (IRI) at 65kg.

Shamsipour continued his dominant run from Monday and posted another technical superiority win to beat Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB), 10-1, in the 48kg final. He outscored his opponents 37-1 in four bouts.

Saeidi won the 65kg gold over Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) after beating him 6-2 in the final. Saeidi launched Pokotylo for a massive four-point throw and never looked in trouble in his win.

Ukraine's gold medalist came at 110kg as Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) handed Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) a 13-4 defeat to win the gold medal. The gold is another addition to his medal collection, which also has the U17 European gold.

"I prepared mentally for each match," Yankovskyi said. "My coaches and I analyzed every opponent. I prepared very professionally for this World Championships. Everything worked out for me. I always train in the gym with people who are older and bigger than me. That's why such training leads to these results."

Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR)Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) won the 110kg gold medal after beating Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) in the final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostandin Andonov)

Yankovskyi did not give up a single point at the European Championships and finished three bouts via technical superiority.

"This is my life. This is a part of me," he said. "I have been dedicated to this sport for so many years. My father passed away four years ago. During this time, I have gained a lot of physical and moral strength. Now, I want to thank my mother for everything, she works hard and earns money to support me. I want to thank my father for raising me as a person and for getting me involved in wrestling."

With the U17 double done, Yankovskyi now has his eyes set on doing the double at the U20, U23 and senior level. He also wants to win the Olympic gold.

"This is my last year as a cadet. There’s more to come. I want to win the European and World Championships as a junior, and then in the U23 and senior age groups. My goal is to make it to the Olympics. This is the dream of my coaches. I'm very grateful. I want to thank the coaches who raised me from childhood. They replaced my father. How could it have been otherwise? My coaches, Viktor Viktorovich and Oleksandr Mikhailovich, are the two people who gave me a ticket to a better life."

Raney, who came back from 6-0 down in the semifinals to win via fall, saw himself leading 6-0 against Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) before the Kazakhstan wrestler mounted a comeback. That was short-lived as Raney posted a 7-5 win.

"It was a little bit under control," Raney said." After the first, I had him on his back and he got really tired. I don't know why."

Wrestling in his first international event, Raney never let the inexperience hurt him. In his five bouts, he won two via fall, one via superiority and one 4-3.

Jayden RANEY (USA)Jayden RANEY (USA) tries to score using an arm-bar in the 55kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

"It's super hard," he said. "These other countries, they do Freestyle and Greco-Roman. So they are extremely good at it. In America, we do Folkstyle too. To do all of them at the same time is different and hard."

Raney's brother, Jordyn won the U17 gold medal last year and will wrestle for bronze this year.

"I wish him luck," he said. "Last year, I was here watching him and he won gold. For him to medal again, even if bronze, super excited to watch him."

sd

RESULTS

48kg
GOLD: Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) df. Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB), 10-1

BRONZE: Amrah AMRAHOV (AZE) df. Yedige TOLEUTAYEV (KAZ), 3-1
BRONZE: Nikolai KRISTOV (AIN) df. Laszlo SZUROMI (HUN), 10-0

55kg
GOLD: Jayden RANEY (USA) df. Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ), 7-5

BRONZE: Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM) df. Amirali HEYDARI (IRI), via fall (4-5)
BRONZE: Sardor KHOLMURZAEV (UZB) df. Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN), 1-1

65kg
GOLD: Amir SAEIDI (IRI) df. Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR), 6-2

BONZE: Dzhabrail UMKHADZHIEV (AIN) df. Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE), 9-4
BRONZE: Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM) df. Fayozbek ESHMIRZAEV (UZB), 1-1

80kg
GOLD: Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN) df. Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ), 3-0

BRONZE: Emad Reza MOHSENNEJAD (IRI) df. Dinko NEYKOV (BUL), 6-0
BRONZE: Vladyslav SOLODCHUK (UKR) df. Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE), 9-6

110kg
GOLD: Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) df. Zoltan CZAKO (HUN), 13-4

BRONZE: Aliasghar DADBAKHSH (IRI) df. Haorui WANG (CHN), 3-1
BRONZE: RONAK (IND) df. Emrullah CAPKAN (TUR), 6-1

Semifinals

45kg
GOLD: Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM) vs. Aslanbek KOSTOEV (AIN) 

SF 1: Aslanbek KOSTOEV (AIN) df. Damir ABILDA (KAZ), 5-1
SF 2: Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM) df. Umidjon KAROMOV (UZB), 8-0

51kg
GOLD: Kutman KALBAEV (KGZ) vs. Turan DASHDAMIROV (AZE)

SF 1: Turan DASHDAMIROV (AZE) df. Yerassyl MUSSAN (KAZ), 4-1
SF 2: Kutman KALBAEV (KGZ) df. Abolfazl KARAMIEGAEI (IRI), 8-7

60kg
GOLD: Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) vs. Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE)

SF 1: Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE) df. Jordyn RANEY (USA), 2-1
SF 2: Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) df. Ilias LAAOUINA (NED), 8-0

71kg
GOLD: Vladislav BYRLIA (AIN) vs. Kiryl VALEUSKI (AIN)

SF 1: Kiryl VALEUSKI (AIN) df. Behruzbek VALIEV (UZB), 7-4
SF 2: Vladislav BYRLIA (AIN) df. Giorgi ALADASHVILI (GEO), 3-1

92kg
GOLD: Danial IZADI (IRI) vs. Ole STERNING (GER)

SF 1: Ole STERNING (GER) df. Serkan BAKIR (TUR), 3-1
SF 2: Danial IZADI (IRI) df. Lyova SHUKHYAN (ARM), 5-0
 

#WrestleTirana

Kayaalp's 13: New Golden Standard Set in Europe

Tuesday, April 21, 2026 - 15:27 By United World Wrestling Press

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TIRANA, Albania (April 20) -- On Tuesday evening in Tirana, Riza KAYAALP (TUR) did something that for years existed and was expected to continue to exist only as a hypothetical.

He won his 13th European title in Tirana on Tuesday, beating Darius VITEK (HUN), 7-1, in the 130kg European Championships. 2026 joined 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2010.

Riza KAYAALP (TUR)Riza KAYAALP (TUR) turns Darius VITEK (HUN) in the 130kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

As the referee raised his powerfully sculpted right arm in triumph, Kayaalp raised the ceiling in Greco-Roman. He moved past the legendary Aleksandr KARELIN’s 12 European gold medals, the last of which he had won in 2000. Generations of wrestlers had competed, won and lost, knowing all the while that that number would outlast them. Until Kayaalp finally eclipsed it.

The moment itself wasn’t dramatic in the way history is often expected to be. Just a raised hand, a nod and a lap of honor around the mat with the Turkish flag around his shoulders. That’s been the story of Kayaalp’s career.

Riza KAYAALP (TUR)Riza KAYAALP (TUR) speaks to the media after winning the gold medal at the European Championships. (United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Born in Yozgat, in central Turkey, Kayaalp would have inherently understood the role of wrestling in Turkish sporting heritage and the place champions of the sport have historically held in the nation. He would have grown up in the shadow of two-time Olympic and eight-time European champion Hamza YERLIKAYA, who defined Turkish wrestling in the 1990s and like everyone else in the sport, under the global shadow of Karelin.

Slowly and methodically Kayaalp would try to match them. His career has been relentless and consistent rather than spectacular. Since his first European gold in 2010, won as a twenty-year old, Kayaalp has claimed titles across two decades. He’s adapted through rule changes, generations of opponents, and brutal physical wear and tear of time itself.

Apart from his European titles, he has five World Championships gold medals, and three Olympic medals -- a bronze in London 2012, silver in Rio 2016, bronze again in Tokyo 2020. Every time a major medal was to be decided over the past decade and a half, Kayaalp would with almost absurd reliability be counted in the mix.

Riza KAYAALP (TUR)Riza KAYAALP (TUR) with Taha AKGUL (TUR) at the medal ceremony in Tirana. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

For all of Kayaalp’s longevity, his career has always carried the one obvious gap compared to Karelin or Yerlikaya -- no Olympic gold. That absence will still be there. That gap is unlikely to close any time soon. As such the European mark became a milestone within his grasp. Or in the last few years, a milestone just out of grasp.

Indeed, for Kayaalp the title will provide a sense of closure. He had equalled Karelin’s record at the 2023 European championships in Zagreb. Prior to that tournament, he had in an interview with Anadalou Agency spoken of equalling Karelin’s record, breaking it at the 2024 European Championships and finally finishing his career on a high note with a gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

But things would not go as planned. At the 2024 European Championships, Kayaalp was pinned in the final by Sergey SEMENOV (UWW) -- only the second final he had ever lost in Europe. A few months later despite qualifying for the Olympics he was unable to compete due to a medication issue linked to treatment for persistent tinnitus. His appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was upheld, clearing the way for his return. He would describe the period as the toughest of his career.

But the ordeal had left him with a new purpose and a desire to exit the stage on his own terms.

“For an athlete with so many titles, this was the worst thing that could happen,” he said. “Because of a simple issue, we faced a huge problem. But I always believed I would overcome it, return to my job and leave the sport on my own terms,” he had told Anadalou Agency at the start of 2026 when he made his return to international competition at the Zagreb Ranking series earlier this year.

“There was fatigue before. In this 18-month period, my desire to work came back stronger. I was already motivated to be champion. Now it is even greater. I feel renewed,” he had said.

While Kayaalp has said he would compete until the 2028 Olympics, he had also spoken of the unfinished business he had had in Europe. “I was so close,” he said. “Fourteen finals, 12 European titles, one more for the record, and then something unwanted happens. But everything is resolved. To bring that record to my country would mean a lot,” he had said then.

He had come close once and fallen short. That could have been the ending -- a near miss against an immortal number. Instead, with his 13th European title, Kayaalp gets to tell his story. He stands alone as the most decorated European wrestler of all time.

Records though exist to be broken. At some point, inevitably, another wrestler will look at Kayaalp's number and decide to chase it. But at least for some time, records exist to define limits. For over a quarter of a century that limit was Karelin’s 12. Now it’s Kayaalp’s 13.