Tokyo 2020

Trio of Olympic Licenses Reassigned After Anti-Doping Rules Violations

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (February 19) – United World Wrestling this week confirmed that three wrestlers from the 2019 Senior Wrestling World Championships in Nur-Sultan have had their results disqualified following Anti-Doping Rules Violations.

Following Doping Controls and the results management conducted by the International Testing Agency (“ITA”) on behalf of United World Wrestling, the Anti-doping Rules Violations for the presence of prohibited substances have been established against Freestyle wrestlers Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA, 74), Badkha KHUTABA (SYR, 125), and Khasanboy RAKHIMOV (UZB, 125), resulting in the automatic disqualification of the results, and as a consequence in their nation's Olympic licenses reassigned. Disciplinary proceedings, handled independently the ITA, are still pending to determine the sanctions on the athletes.

The new Olympic licenses have been awarded to the nations of the next highest-ranked wrestlers at 74kg (Poland) and 125kg (Iran, Kosovo). The national federations of France (74kg), Uzbekistan (125kg), and Syria (125kg) will be allowed to enter competitors at their respective Olympic qualifiers in March.

74kg – Kamil RYBICKI (POL)

1. RUS
2. ITA
3. USA
3. KAZ
5. JPN
6. POL

125kg – Egzon SHALA (KOS) + Yadollah MOHEBI (IRI)

1. GEO
2. TUR
3. UKR
3. CHN
5. KOS
6. IRI

The United World Wrestling website has updated brackets and results from the 2019 Senior Wrestling World Championships as well as the new allocations for Olympic licenses in each weight category. 

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Lopez's coach Trujillo Diaz Joins UWW Development Efforts

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (November 28) -- Raul TRUJILLO DIAZ, longtime coach of Olympic champion Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) and recipient of 2025 International Olympic Committee Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award, has signed a development contract with United World Wrestling.

Following Lopez's appointment last year as the UWW Global Wrestling Promotion Ambassador, now Trujillo Diaz will also work with UWW with a focus on youth development, coach education, and high-performance training systems.

During his visit to the UWW in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Trujillo met with UWW President Nenad LALOVIC for an in-depth discussion on the future of the sport. Their conversation addressed coaching standards, talent retention, and sustainable pathways to support athletes from the youth level through elite competition.

UWW

"We all know the importance of having a good coach," Lalovic said. "We need to keep wrestling talents, especially great coaches, within the sport to ensure knowledge sharing and the long-term development of wrestling."

Trujillo’s new responsibilities will complement the work of Lopez who became the first athlete to win five Olympic gold medals in the same sport at Paris 2024. They will contribute to UWW’s global development initiatives as the organization continues its efforts to grow wrestling worldwide and support the next generation of athletes.