#WrestleTunis

Snyder shows top form ahead of World Championships

Saturday, July 16, 2022 - 21:06 By Vinay Siwach

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TUNIS, Tunisia (July 16) -- Two months before the World Championships, Kyle SNYDER (USA) showed what his opponents will be up against. The three-time world and Olympic champion put on an impressive performance at the Zouhaier Sghaier Ranking Series event to win the 97kg gold.

Snyder, who has made it to the 97kg final of every Worlds and Olympics since 2015 barring one, outscored his opponents 32-1, winning his third gold medal of the year. He won the Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix and the Pan-Am Championships in January and May respectively.

In Tunis, Snyder was up against two wrestlers from Turkey in Burak SAHIN and Polat POLATCI before beating Mamed IBRAGIMOV (KAZ) in the final.

Against Ibragimov, who got on a single leg attack early in the bout, Snyder displayed his brute strength and conditioning, scoring stepouts with ease against a tired Ibragimov.

He led 2-0 with two stepouts and Ibragimov was warned for fleeing as well. After the Kazakhstan wrestler failed to score in the activity period, Snyder was up 4-0.

Another stepout and three takedowns were enough for Snyder to win 11-0 with all that action happening in just three minutes and 13 seconds.

Snyder will be eyeing his third World title after being denied by Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RWF) two times in the past four years. But he will still have to go through a strong field with Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) being one of the top opponents.

Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) won the 125kg gold, his second straight at Ranking Series. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

Another freestyle wrestler who will be eyeing a world title in Belgrade is Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO). He was not as convincing as Snyder but did come home with the 125kg gold.

After finishing the group stage with two wins in two bouts, Petriashvili defeated Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) 12-2 in the semifinal, setting up a rematch against Hayden ZILLMER (USA) in the final. The two had met in Round 3 and Petriashvili scored a controlled 8-2 win.

But in the final, Zillmer gave Petriashvili a scare as he led 4-1 after two takedowns. But Petriashvili added a stepout before a takedown and turn which changed the score to 6-4 in his favor. Zillmer tried going behind but as the clock ticked, Petriashvili managed to hold him off and scored another takedown late in the bout to win 8-4.

Last year, the three-time world champion suffered disheartening losses to Gable STEVESON (USA) and Amirhossein ZARE (IRI) in the Olympic and Worlds final respectively in the space of two months.

But with two Ranking Series gold and the European Championships silver in his bag, Petriashvili will try to avenge his loss to Zare in Belgrade.

5 nations win WW gold

Women's wrestling came to a close in Tunis with India winning two gold medals out of the six on offer on day three. It had won two bronze and silver on Friday. ANTIM (IND) and Sarita MOR (IND) added the two golds on Saturday with BIPASHA (IND) winning silver at 72kg and MANISHA (IND) pocketing a bronze at 65kg.

The USA, Germany, Tunisia and Turkey won a gold each.

19-year-old Antim stole the show, defeating two Pan-American champions en route the gold at 53kg. She opened the day with a fall over Nour RAOUAFI (TUN) before an 11-0 win over Pan-Am champ Dominique PARRISH (USA).

Antim then faced Olympian Luisa VALVERDE (ECU) in Round 3 and managed to beat her 4-2 to book a spot in the semifinals against Esra PUL (TUR) who suffered the same fate as Raouafi.

From the other side of the bracket, 55kg Pan-Am champion Karla GONZALEZ (CAN) made her way to the final with wins over Pul, African champion Sarra HAMDI (TUN) and a 3-1 win over Parrish in the semifinal.

Antim began the final on the aggressive and scored a takedown in the zone to lead 2-0. Gonzalez was warned for fleeing during that exchange which extended Antim's lead to 3-0. Before the break, she added a stepout to extend her lead to 4-0.

But the second period saw a passive Antim and she was cautioned for the same as Gonzalez got on the scoreboard with that one point. But she failed to find an opening to score a takedown against Antim.

A final attempt was made by the Canadian wrestler but she was only awarded a point for Antim's negative defense. Canada challenged for a takedown but the reviews confirmed that it was after the time has expired.

The 5-2 win for Antim capped off a stunning run beginning with the U23 Asian Championships in which she was won a silver. Just five days ago, the U17 Worlds bronze medalist won the U20 Asian title in Manama, Bahrain.

Mor won her second straight Ranking Series gold after winning it in Almaty in June. Wrestling Siwar BOUSETA (TUN) in Round 3, Mor brushed off a 4-0 deficit to win 14-4 and capture the 59kg gold. In her three bouts, she scored 30 points while giving up only four in the bout against Bouseta.

The top-ranked wrestler has now confirmed the top seed at 59kg for the World Championships.

Khadija JLASSI (TUN)Khadija JLASSI (TUN) won the lone gold medal for the home country. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

India had the chance to pick up a third gold of the night had Manisha won her 65kg Round 3 bout against Khadija JLASSI (TUN).

Manisha had defeated Emma BRUNTIL (USA) in the morning session while the USA wrestler had eked out a 7-6 win against Jlassi. Manisha now needed an outright win to claim the gold or a loss by a five-point difference after scoring seven or more points.

On the other hand, Jlassi not only needed a win, but she also had to do it with more than four points. But she took an 8-0 lead using a beautiful figure-4 move early in the bout. As Manisha played catch up, Jlassi managed to defend her lead and win 8-6 even as she struggled to keep up with the pace of the bout.

All three had a win and four classification points each but Jlassi had 14 technical points which help her win the gold. Both Manisha and Bruntil had eight technical points but the USA wrestler had conceded only seven while Manisha had given up nine points which cost her the silver as well.

World bronze medalist Buse TOSUN (TUR) dashed India's hope of another gold by beating U20 World silver medalist BIPASHA (IND), 10-5, in the 72kg final.

Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA)Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) tackles Emily SHILSON (USA) in the 50kg final in Tunis. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

At 50kg, Olympic bronze medalist Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) showed that she is all set for the World Championships by picking up gold.

She began with a victory via fall against Patricia BERMUDEZ (ARG) before battling it out with NEELAM (IND) in the semifinal. She had a slender lead of 2-1 against Neelam but managed to score late in the bout to make it 4-2.

She faced U23 world champion and compatriot Emily SHILSON (USA) in the final. But it was a one-sided affair as Hildebrandt used the snap to a great effect and scored an 11-0 win over Shilson.

At 55kg, World silver medalist Nina HEMMER (GER) defeated Lobna ICHAOUI (TUN) via fall in the one-off match.

Sunday will see the remaining eight freestyle weight categories in action with Iran hoping to finalize their World Championships with a selection trial at 57kg and 79kg.

Day 3 Results

Women's Wrestling

50kg
GOLD: Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) df. Emily SHILSON (USA), 11-0

BRONZE: Patricia BERMUDEZ (ARG) df. NEELAM (IND), via fall
BRONZE: Lisa ERSEL (GER) df. Zehra DEMIRHAN (TUR), 3-2

53kg
GOLD: ANTIM (IND) df. Karla GONZALEZ (CAN), 5-2

BRONZE: Esra PUL (TUR) df. Dominique PARRISH (USA), via injury default

55kg
GOLD: Nina HEMMER (GER) df. Lobna ICHAOUI (TUN), via fall

59kg
Round 3: Elena BRUGGER (GER) df Diana WEICKER (CAN), via injury default
Round 3: Sarita MOR (IND) df. Siwar BOUSETA (TUN), 14-4

Final standing
GOLD: Sarita MOR (IND)
SILVER: Elena BRUGGER (GER)
BRONZE: Siwar BOUSETA (TUN)

65kg
Round 3: Khadija JLASSI (TUN) df. MANISHA (IND), 8-6 

Final standing
GOLD: Khadija JLASSI (TUN)
SILVER: Emma BRUNTIL (USA)
BRONZE: MANISHA (IND)

72kg
GOLD: Buse TOSUN (TUR) df. BIPASHA (IND), 10-5

BRONZE: Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) df. Amit ELOR (USA), via forfeit
BRONZE: Skylar GROTE (USA) df. MANJU (IND), 10-0

Freestyle

97kg
GOLD: Kyle SNYDER (USA) df. Mamed IBRAGIMOV (KAZ), 11-0

BRONZE: Deepak NEHRA (IND) df. Oktay CIFTCI (TUR), 16-6
BRONZE: Burak SAHIN (TUR) df. Polat POLATCI (TUR), 5-4

125kg
GOLD: Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) df. Hayden ZILLMER (USA), 8-4

BRONZE: Alisher YERGALI (KAZ) df. Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ), 2-1

#WrestlingHistory

Wrestling History: Who was Ivan Yarygin?

Monday, March 24, 2025 - 11:49 By United World Wrestling Press

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For most, a trip to Krasnoyarsk, Siberia on the last weekend of January each year would sound chilling. Afterall, it is one of the coldest regions on the planet.

But for the past 35 years, wrestlers from around the world attend the Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix in January, the tournament which kicks off the season for most countries.

The prestigious tournament sees close to 1000 wrestlers vying for the gold medals in Freestyle and Women's Wrestling. But who was Ivan Yarygin after whom the tournament is named?

Born in Kemerovo, Soviet Union on November 7, 1948, Yarygin was a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a world champion who went on to became the coach of the Soviet Union team and later the Russian national team.

In 1966, aged 18, Yarygin was stationed in Krasnoyarsk with the army and began training with legendary coach Dmitry MINDIASHVILI to polish his technique.

Famous for winning his Olympic bouts via fall, Yarygin won seven bouts at the 1972 Games in just over seven minutes. Those were days when a bout could extend till nine minutes. He pinned all seven wrestlers before time and no one has come close to matching that record.

How did Yarygin begin training in wrestling?

Yarygin played football in his village. His big built made him a perfect goalkeeper, a position he continued to play during his driving school training in Abakan. Vladimir CHARKOV, a wrestling club trainer, saw Yarygin and asked him to try wrestling. And just by chance, Yarygin began his wrestling career.

The Freestyle wrestler primarily competed at 100kg and was known for his dynamic training and ditching traditional methods in wrestling. He quickly rose through the ranks in Soviet wrestling circles. He debuted internationally in 1970 at the European Championships and finished with a silver medal. Ahmet AYIK (TUR) defeated him in the 100kg final. But Yarygin won the European gold in 1972, the first of his three continental titles.

Later that year, Yarygin participated in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games and won gold medal in 100kg without giving up a single point in seven bouts. He defeated Khorloo BAYANMUNKH (MGL) and Jozsef CSATARI (HUN) in the finals round.

His results dipped after the Munich Olympics, with 1974 being a humbling year, Yarygin moved back to village. "I trained in the village every day like a peasant," Yarygin had famously said. "I chopped enough firewood for three winters ahead."

Yarygin returned and made sure he was still the winner. The gold medal in Montreal was not as simple as Munich but there was still no match for Yarygin. He went on to win the gold medal in 1976, his second in Olympic Games.

In the first bout of the 1976 Games, Yarygin faced Harald BUTTNER who had defeated him in the European Championships. However, Yarygin managed to keep Buttner at bay and won 13-5.

Yarygin's results soon declined and he failed to top the standings in USSR. He would finally make way for younger generation before the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

After his retirement, Yarygin tried his hand at coaching and administration. Yarygin was the coach of the Soviet Freestyle team from 1982 to 1992 and later became the president of the wrestling federation from 1993 to 1997. Russia hosted the 1997 World Championships in Krasnoyarsk which Yarygin led in organization.

Yarygin died on October 11, 1997 in a car accident. United World Wrestling inducted him into the UWW Hall of Fame in 2010.