#ThrowBackThursday

#TBT: Olympic Champion Steveson Wins First World Title

By United World Wrestling Press

Gable STEVESON (USA) became an overnight sensation after winning a thrilling final and the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics with wins over former world champions Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) and Taha AKGUL (TUR). The American was trailing Petriashvili in the 125kg final in Tokyo but scored two takedowns in the final 10 seconds to win the coveted Olympic title at the age of 21.

But a three-time age-group world champion has a habit of punching about his weight. In 2015, a 15-year-old Steveson made a stunning run at the Cadet World Championships in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and won the gold medal with a 9-0 victory over Khasanboy RAKHIMOV (UZB). He outscored his opponents 47-12.

Since then he won the 2016 cadet world title, 2017 junior world title, 2021 senior Pan-Am Championships gold and the Tokyo Olympics gold with just the 2018 Junior World Championships being a lackluster event for him. The defending champion there finished fifth as Rakhimov avenged his loss from 2015 with a pin.

#WrestleParis

UWW announces hosts for 2024 Paris Olympic qualifiers

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (June 27) -- United World Wrestling on Tuesday announced the hosts for the 2024 Paris Olympic qualifiers.

After a UWW Bureau meeting, the dates for the four Continental Olympic Qualifiers and the World Olympic Qualifier for the 2024 Games were unveiled.

The Pan-American Olympic Games Qualifier will kick off the qualifying cycle next year. The first continental qualifier will be hosted in Acapulco, Mexico. The tournament will be preceded by the Pan-American Championships which will be held at the same venue.

Next, the African & Oceania Olympic Games Qualifier will be held in Alexandria, Egypt followed by the European Olympic Games Qualifier which will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan will witness the Asian Olympic Games Qualifier preceded by the Asian Championships at the same venue.

The final tournament that offers quotas for the Paris Games, known as the World Olympic Qualifier, will take place in Istanbul, Turkiye.

The qualifying events for the Paris Games begin with the 2023 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, scheduled for September and it will offer 90 quotas, five in each Olympic weight class.

Each of the four continental qualifiers will offer 36 quotas, totaling 144 quotas. The World Olympic Qualifier, to be held in Istanbul, will have 54 places available for the 2024 Olympic Games.

The dates for the four continental Olympic Games qualifiers and the World Olympic Games Qualifier will be announced at a later stage.