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Superstars Staebler and Aleksanyan Soar to Top of European Podium

Wednesday, February 12, 2020 - 20:44 By Eric Olanowski

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ROME, Italy (February 12) --- Deafening cheers of “Frankie” and “Artur” rebounded off the wooden topped Pala Pellicone Arena as superstars Frank STAEBLER (GER) and Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) closed out the Greco-Roman portion of the European Championships with gold medals. 

Staebler cruised past Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) in the 72kg finals and grabbed his second European title. His 6-1 win over Lomadze on Wednesday night came eight years after he won his first continental gold at the 2012 European Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

After the match, Staebler announced that this was his last time he'd compete at the continental championships. "This was the last European Championships of my career. I am very happy to end the European cycle with a gold medal. The next stop is the Tokoyo Olympic Games for an Olympic medal." 

Staebler will make his descent back down to the Olympic weight of 67kg for a run at the one thing his resume is missing -- an Olympic medal. He's wrestled twice at the Olympic Games, but he’s come up short of a podium finish in both of those appearances. He finished fifth in London and seventh in Rio.

Staebler went further on his retirement, saying, "My focus is 100% on the Olympic Games. After the Olympics, I will retire from wrestling and work as a keynote speaker."

Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) became a six-time European champion with a 7-1 win over Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA). (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Aleksanyan forged a rock-solid 7-1 finals victory over tenth-ranked Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA) and claimed his fifth career European championship title. "I am very happy that I won the gold medal for our country. It’s the second gold for us today and I think we showed some good wrestling today." 

Aleksanyan tied top-ranked Musa EVLOEV (RUS) for the world's top spot at 97kg with his win on Wednesday night. He carried 40 Ranking Series points to Rome, and with the addition of his 20-point European gold medal, the Armenian sits level with his Russian rival with 60 points.

But Aleksanyan said he isn't worried too much about his rankings. "I am not interested in what number I am in the rankings. The most important is that I got the license for the Olympics. There will be 16 athletes and I will be one of them wrestling for the Olympic gold."

The Rio Olympic champion had two goals coming into the year, and he checked one of those off tonight with his gold-medal performance. "My first goal was to become a five-time European champion. The Olympics are ahead and I want to become a two-time Olympic champion in Tokyo." 

Aleksanyan is headed back to Armenia for training camp and isn't sure when he'll compete next. When asked if he'll wrestle in the Poland Open and try to steal the No. 1 spot from Evloev, he said, "I don’t know. That’s not me who makes decisions. It's our coaches. Wherever they tell me to wrestle, I will do that. 

Gevorg GHARIBYAN (ARM) handed Armenia their second gold medal of the night with a 5-5 win over Kerem KAMAL (TUR). 

He surrendered an inactivity point in the first period and trailed 1-0. Gharibyan tossed Kamal with a massive four-point arm throw and gained the 4-1 lead after falling behind early in the first period. He extended his lead to 5-1 with an inactivity point but conceded a takedown and a caution-and-two and led 5-5 on criteria. 

Gharibyan stayed defensively sound in the final 60 seconds and stopped a flurry of Turkish attacks and won his first European title. Before his gold medal in Rome, Gharibyan never finished inside the top-ten in his two European appearances. 

Thoresen Becomes Second Norwegian European Champion in last 25 Years 
Morten THORESEN (NOR) joined Felix BALDAUF (NOR) as the only Norwegian Greco-Roman wrestlers to win a European gold medal in the previous 25 years. Furthermore, he became just the fifth Greco-Roman wrestler from Norway to ever claim a European title. 

“I think it’s pretty funny because me and Felix lived together. He’s (since) moved out and I’m the new European champion in the house,” Thoresen jokingly said.

The 23-year-old won four hard-fought matches and capped off his title run with a 2-2 win over Nazir ABDULLAEV‘S (RUS). “I had the flow through the whole competition. I had four really hard matches, but at the end of the day, I ended on top.” He trailed 2-0 in the finals but finished on top thanks to a pair of one-point second-period exchanges.

Thoresen's focus now switches to qualifying Norway for the Olympic Games. “My goal is to qualify (Norway) for the Olympics. I’m going to go home and keep on training. Hopefully, you’ll see me at the Olympic Games.” 

Norway’s Greco-Roman European Champions 
2020 - Morten THORESEN (67kg)
2017 - Felix BALDAUF (98kg) 
1992 - Lars ROENNINGEN (48kg) 
1990 - Jon ROENNINGEN (52kg) 
1988 - Lars ROENNINGEN (48kg) 
1927 - Sven MARTINSEN (58kg) 

Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) and Daniel ALEKSANDROV (BUL) shake hands after their battle in the 82kg finals. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Azerbaijan’s Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) claimed the fifth and final gold medal of the day. He collected two inactivity points and beat Daniel ALEKSANDROV (BUL), 2-1, in the 82kg gold-medal match. 

The European Championships begin on Thursday at 11:30 (local time) and can be followed live on www.unitedworldwrestling.org.

RESULTS

60kg  
GOLD - Gevorg GHARIBYAN (ARM) df. Kerem KAMAL (TUR), 5-5 
BRONZE - Amiran SHAVADZE (GEO) df. Zhambolat LOKYAEV (RUS), 6-6
BRONZE - Murad BAZAROV (AZE) df. Helary MAEGISALU (EST), 9-0

67kg  
GOLD - Morten THORESEN (NOR) df. Nazir Rachidovitch ABDULLAEV (RUS), 2-2 
BRONZE - Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) df. Krisztian Istvan VANCZA (HUN), 7-5 
BRONZE - Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU) df. Aliaksandr LIAVONCHYK (BLR), 4-2 

72kg 
GOLD - Frank STAEBLER (GER) df. Iuri LOMADZE (GEO), 6-1
BRONZE - Selcuk CAN (TUR) df. Dominik ETLINGER (CRO), 7 - 5
BRONZE - Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE) df. Adam KURAK (RUS), 3-1

82kg 
GOLD - Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) df. Daniel Tihomirov ALEKSANDROV (BUL), 2-1 
BRONZE - Hannes WAGNER (GER) df. Stanislau SHAFARENKA (BLR), 8 - 3
BRONZE - Bogdan KOURINNOI (SWE) df. Ciro RUSSO (ITA), 6-4

97kg 
GOLD - Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) df. Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA), 7-1 
BRONZE - Aleksandr GOLOVIN (RUS) df. Artur OMAROV (CZE), 8-0
BRONZE - Cenk ILDEM (TUR) df. Matti Elias KUOSMANEN (FIN), 3-3

#WrestleRome

Ukraine women snag trio of Pellicone golds

Thursday, June 23, 2022 - 18:29 By Eric Olanowski

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ROME, Italy (June 23) -- Ukraine women shined at Matteo Pellicone by winning three of four gold-medal matches contested on Thursday, while Azerbaijan closed out the Greco-Roman side of the Ranking Series event with the team title.

The trio of Ukraine winners were Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR), Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) and Alla BELINSKA (UKR).

In Greco-Roman, Azerbaijan had six finalists – including four wrestlers who ascended to the top of the podium – and won the Greco-Roman team title 46 points ahead of second-place Hungary (102 points).

Of the three Ukraine women who summitted the Ranking Series podium Thursday, Belinska, without question, made the biggest splash.

In just her second competition down at 68kg since the 2018 World Championships, Belinska snapped world champion Irina RINGACI's (MDA) 20-match win streak that dated back to August 2021.

Since the 2021 U20 World Championships, Ringaci has been victorious in 20 consecutive matches. Her run spanned the U20 and Senior World Championships, U23 and Senior European Championships, Dan Kolov and the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event.

But Belinska wasn't worried about Ringaci's resume or her win streak. Instead, she had one thing on her mind: flip the script from their March matchup where Ringaci pinned Belinska after leading, 12-0.

In the short-lived 68kg finals in Rome, Belinska snapped the continental champion into a front headlock and caught Ringaci's head near her knee. Then, the 2022 European bronze medalist locked up a cradle, remained composed and was methodical in working to the fall. She remained patient and took her time, using nearly 90 seconds to inch Ringaci's shoulders to the mat for the pin.

With her win on Thursday, Belinska added a third Ranking Series gold to her resume. She also won golds at the '21 Poland Open and '18 Yasar Dogu.

Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR) dominated Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR), 11-1, in the 57kg gold-medal match. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Hrushyna and Koliadenko also dominated their final opponents on Thursday, helping Ukraine (95 points) carry the 55-point lead over Brazil (40 points) into Friday, the final day of women's wrestling action.

In the first period of the 57kg finals, Hrushyna snapped Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR) down to the mat and worked on a front headlock for nearly 40 seconds before getting to the corner and picking up her first takedown. After a minute of scoreless action, Hrushyna went back to her front headlock and picked up a second go-behind takedown.

With less than a minute to go in the first frame, Hrushyna brought Kamaloglu down to all fours with two-on-one. Then, as the reigning European champ's Turkish opponent tried building back up to her feet, Hrushyna used an underhook throw-by to put four points on the board, increasing her lead to 8-0.

There was some confusion at the end of the scoring sequences, as Hrushyna's corner thought there should have been another set of two awarded. The refs came together and white-paddled the two in question, keeping Hrushyna's lead to 8-0.

In the second period, Hrushyna and Kamaloglu traded step-outs, before the Ukraine wrestler stopped a swing single attempt to her left leg and spun behind for the 11-1 win.

In an all-Ukrainian battle at 62kg, Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Koliadenko cruised to a one-sided 6-0 win over Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR).

While on the shot clock in the first period, Koliadenko shot an open double leg, transitioned into a pair of leg laces and jumped out to the 6-0 lead.

In the second period, Koliadenko switched to a more defensive wrestling style and was never really in danger of surrendering points. Instead, she stayed poised, controlled Prokopevniuk's head with a left-side collar tie and halted the European bronze medalist's high-level attacks.

Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) eased his way to a 4-0 win over Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI) in the 77kg finals. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Meanwhile, Hungary, Lithuania and Moldova each had a wrestler win Greco-Roman gold on Thursday. Still, Azerbaijan ended up winning the team title after pushing six wrestlers into the finals.

Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) breezed past Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI) in the 77kg finals and defended his Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series titles from '20 and '21. He was the second Hungarian Greco-Roman champion of the week, joining David LOSONCZI (HUN), who won 87kg last night.

Levai controlled the bout against Kaviyaninejad from whistle to whistle and was never threatened by the former U20 world champ. He earned an inactivity point in each period and scored two points from a correct lift.

More importantly, Levai likely punched his ticket to World Championships after beating fellow Hungarian and reigning European champion Robert FRITSCH (HUN), 8-1, in their semifinal meeting.

Mihail BRADU (MDA) celebrates beating Rasoul GARMSIRI (IRI), 2-1, in the 82kg finals. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

At 82kg, Mihail BRADU (MDA) used a first-period takedown to edge Rasoul GARMSIRI (IRI), 2-1.

Bradu worked on a front-head pinch when Garmsiri bailed out and conceded the first two points of the match. That lone takedown proved to be the key factor in the match.

In the second period, Bradu was dinged with inactivity when Garmsiri went for a reverse lift and transitioned into somewhat of an unorthodox gut wrench, picking up what seemed to be two exposure. The Moldovan challenged the call, saying his Iranian opponent committed a leg foul. Bradu won the challenge and led, 2-1, with under a minute to go in the match. He held on to the one-point win and grabbed gold at a Ranking Series event for the first time in his career.

The final Greco-Roman gold went to top-ranked Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU). In the 72kg finals, the Lithuanian earned an injury default victory as Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) could not compete in the gold-medal bout.


Yelena MAKOYED (USA) hip tossed Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) during the 76kg finals. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Makoyed's dream run

In her debut senior-level competition, Yelena MAKOYED (USA) shocked the wrestling world en route to winning the 76kg gold medal. 

Makoyed picked up confidence-building wins over European champion Epp MAE (EST), world bronze medalist Martina KUENZ (AUT) and European bronze medalist Catalina AXENTE (ROU) before throttling U23 world champ Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) in the finals. 

In the gold-medal match, Makoyed capitalized on a swing single and led by two points. Then, after the action was blown dead and the wrestlers came up to their feet, the American worked with an underhook when she timed a hip tossed perfectly and tacked on another two points. Her third takedown came with a low-level double, sitting Alpyeyeva to her butt, gaining a 6-0 lead at the end of the first period.

In the second, Makoyed only needed 35 seconds to score four points off a beautiful go-behind to a gut wrench with double boots in, giving her the 10-0 win and first Ranking Series gold. 

RESULTS

Women's Wrestling

57kg 
GOLD - Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR) df. Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR), 11-1

BRONZE - Patrycja GIL (POL) df. Tamara DOLLAK (HUN), via fall
BRONZE - Giullia RODRIGUES (BRA) df. Erika BOGNAR (HUN), via fall

62kg 
GOLD - Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) df. Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR), 6-0

BRONZE - Lais NUNES (BRA)  df. Ana GODINEZ (CAN), 8-6

68kg 
GOLD - Alla BELINSKA (UKR) df. Irina RINGACI (MDA), via fall 

BRONZE - Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL) df. Noemi SZABADOS (HUN), 4-2
BRONZE - Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) df. Grabriela PEDRO (BRA), 11-0

76kg 
GOLD - Yelena MAKOYED (USA) df. Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR), 10-0

BRONZE - Martina KUENZ (AUT) df. Catalina AXENTE (ROU), 5-2

Greco-Roman

72kg 
GOLD - Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU) df. Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE), via inj. def.

BRONZE - Valentin PETIC (MDA) df. Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR), 3-1 
BRONZE - Selcuk CAN (TUR) df. Matias LIPASTI (FIN), 9-0

77kg 
GOLD - Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) df. Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI), 4-0

BRONZE Robert  FRITSCH (HUN) df.Joilson DE BRITO (BRA), 9-0
BRONZE Per Albin OLOFSSON (SWE) df. Luca DARIOZZI (ITA), 6-2

82kg 
GOLD - Mihail BRADU (MDA)  df. Rasoul GARMSIRI (IRI), 2-1

BRONZE - Exauce MUKUBU (NOR) df. Oldrich VARGA (CZE), 2-1 
BRONZE - Daniel CATARAGA (MDA) df. Matteo MAFFEZZOLI (ITA), 3-0