2026 U20 European Championships

U20 European Championships 2026 Entries

By United World Wrestling Press

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (June 26) -- The U20 European Championships will be held in Skopje, North Macedonia from July 6 to 12.

More than 500 wrestlers are expected to take part in the tournament which will start with Greco-Roman, then Women's Wrestling and finish with Freestyle.

Note: The entries are subject to change before the draw of respective styles

UWW Plus

Greco-Roman

55kg
Edgar PETROSYAN (ARM)
Emin JAVADLI (AZE)
Stanislav IVANOV (BUL)
Jakub SEDLAK (CZE)
Nolan PISSOCHER (FRA)
Sos KOTANJYAN (FRA)
Koba KARUMIDZE (GEO)
Lenny WOERNER (GER)
Vasileios PAPAGEORGIOU (GRE)
Maxim SARMANOV (MDA)
Dawid MALIK (POL)
Alexandre DE ALMEIDA (POR)
Vlad TRIP (ROU)
Ilia KANDALIN (RUS)
Denizhan OGUN (TUR)
Bohdan RIZNYCHENKO (UKR)

60kg
Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM)
Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE)
Rasim IBRAHIMAU (BLR)
Zhivko HINKOV (BUL)
Magomed VARAEV (FRA)
Kakhaber GOGINASHVILI (GEO)
Ivan SEIBEL (GER)
Vasileios TSAROUCHAS (GRE)
Gabriele PUCHER (ITA)
Emilis NEVERAUSKAS (LTU)
Alin CHITIC (MDA)
Storm RYDEN (NOR)
Kacper SOBCZYK (POL)
Billy MARQUES (POR)
Dragos DRAGA (ROU)
ILIA PANIUTIN (RUS)
Levin MEIER (SUI)
Nikolasz PALENYIK (SVK)
Olivier PEREZ IBARRA (SWE)
Furkan ODEN (TUR)
Herman BASARAB (UKR)

63kg
Mikel TROPLINI (ALB)
Aleks MARGARYAN (ARM)
Tural AHMADOV (AZE)
Dzmitry DUDUK (BLR)
Alyosha ILIEV (BUL)
Raimond PROUS (EST)
Matias ARPIAINEN (FIN)
Ilies DAHMANI (FRA)
Giorgi TCHIKAIDZE (GEO)
Mika LABES (GER)
Marios KAPANTAIS (GRE)
Levente FIGE (HUN)
Riccardo DELLE CAVE (ITA)
Maxim CARAUS (MDA)
Vetle GUNHEIM HATLAND (NOR)
Filip IWASZKO (POL)
Ionut MEREUTA (ROU)
Salim KAZMAKHOV (RUS)
Andrej VELISAVLJEV (SRB)
Balint VARGA (SVK)
Abdul ARSLANTAS (TUR)
Maksut SULTANOV (UKR)

67kg
Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM)
Roman KARIMOV (AZE)
Mikhail MARKOUSKI (BLR)
Kristiyan MILENKOV (BUL)
Tin TURKOVIC (CRO)
Hugo RIEHUNKANGAS (FIN)
Ilian DOUBACH (FRA)
Erekle TAVBERIDZE (GEO)
Ilja PAVLENKOV (GER)
Sergios BOULOUTIDIS (GRE)
Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN)
Alessio ARANCIO (ITA)
Eimantas ANDRIUSKA (LTU)
Maxim DAMASCHIN (MDA)
Ilias LAAOUINA (NED)
Andreas FJELDSTAD (NOR)
Iosif ZLOTAR (ROU)
Amir SOVMIZ (RUS)
Kristian DOBI (SRB)
Roland CSICSO (SVK)
Omer ALTAS (TUR)
Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR)

72kg
Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM)
Kamran RAJABLI (AZE)
Uladzimir NEHODA (BLR)
Atanas RADEV (BUL)
Jure RAJKOVIC (CRO)
Bruno HANZEL (CZE)
Andreas VAELJA (EST)
Bilel GHARBI (FRA)
Aleksandre RUSITASHVILI (GEO)
Finn KUEHN (GER)
Arionas KOLITSOPOULOS (GRE)
Barna TOPLAK (HUN)
Timur NADORGIN (ISR)
Andrea PROIETTI (ITA)
Ignat MEICO (MDA)
Mate VAN OS (NED)
Kacper GOLONKA (POL)
Vladislav BYRLIA (RUS)
Balaz UJHELJI (SRB)
Alvin THULINDER (SWE)
Salih YAZICI (TUR)
Dmytro DEMIANOVSKYI (UKR)

77kg
Samvel TERTERYAN (ARM)
Lars MATT (AUT)
Javidan NAHMATOV (AZE)
Hristo VALENTINOV (BUL)
Rasmus TONISMAEE (EST)
Luka KAJANNE (FIN)
Giorgi GOGELASHVILI (GEO)
Raphael TITZE (GER)
Adamantios PAPADATOS (GRE)
Zalan TOPLAK (HUN)
Nilo VIRGILII (ITA)
Robertas VOLOTKEVIC (LTU)
Nichita APOSTOL (MDA)
Noe WOLSKI (POL)
Nazar BERKOVSKII (RUS)
Zalan PEK (SRB)
Ruben STRAAKEVED (SWE)
Alkan AKAR (TUR)
Pavlo POSHUTYLOV (UKR)

82kg
Vahe HOVHANNISYAN (ARM)
Christopher SZENTKIRALYI (AUT)
Elmin ALIYEV (AZE)
Kiryl VALEUSKI (BLR)
Martin SHISHEKOV (BUL)
Petr ZAK (CZE)
Severi MAEENPAEAE (FIN)
Haik SARGSYAN (FRA)
Luka PIPIA (GEO)
Bogomir EISMONT (GER)
Vasileios SEMERTZIDIS (GRE)
Szabolcs SZINAY (HUN)
Toms IRKLIS (LAT)
Stanislav MUSABECOV (MDA)
Zaur BESLEKOEV (RUS)
Dominik HERVAI (SVK)
Axel BAFF (SWE)
Ismail BEREKET (TUR)
Yehor LEHKYI (UKR)

87kg
Iurik PETROSIAN (ARM)
Paul MAIER (AUT)
Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE)
Danil SKLIZKOU (BLR)
Valentin VALENTINOV (BUL)
Josef CERNY (CZE)
Marcus UHTJAERV (EST)
Luka KOCHALIDZE (GEO)
Anton BUCHHOLZ (GER)
Eleftherios PAPPAS (GRE)
Zalan VARGA (HUN)
Itzhak NEMSADZE (ISR)
Olivers IRKLIS (LAT)
Marius STIHARU (MDA)
Stanislaw FUSSY (POL)
Gabriel STAN (ROU)
Mikhail SHKARIN (RUS)
Stevan KOJIC (SRB)
Max HALS (SWE)
Abdulvahab KALAFAT (TUR)
Vladyslav SOLODCHUK (UKR)

97kg
Erik TER MATEVOSYAN (ARM)
Mahir GURBANLI (AZE)
Pavel SAVITSKI (BLR)
Martin TITOV (BUL)
Andrej RODIN (CRO)
Vitezslav ZAK (CZE)
Pauli PERKIOE (FIN)
Arman MKRTCHYAN (GEO)
Keymi ROTHWEILER (GER)
Dimitrios PAPPAS (GRE)
Vendel VITAI (HUN)
Julius GIKARAS (LTU)
Alexandr PLESCAN (MDA)
Yassine BEN LABED (POL)
Nikita KATERYNYUK (POR)
Vlad PETREAN (ROU)
Saipula GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (RUS)
Emir BOZBAG (TUR)
Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR)

130kg
Lyova SHUKHYAN (ARM)
Museyi HUSEYN (AZE)
Mihail KRALEV (BUL)
Dominik KOCMAN (CZE)
Tomas RUSI (FIN)
Saba PURTSELADZE (GEO)
Koppany LASZLO (HUN)
Dominik SKOWRON (POL)
Ali ILIASOV (RUS)
Cemal BAKIR (TUR)
Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR)

Magomed OZDAMIROV (RUS)Magomed OZDAMIROV (RUS) is a U20 world champion at 57kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Freestyle

57kg
Sasha PETROSYAN (ARM)
Muhammad ISMAYILOV (AZE)
Matsvei SYTSEVICH (BLR)
Nik DOYCHINOV (BUL)
Gaspard CHEYNOUX (FRA)
Danoush JOWKAR (GBR)
Giorgi TSURIASHVILI (GEO)
John KETERLING (GER)
Karoly BARATH (HUN)
Gheorghi GAIDARJI (MDA)
Nikola GICEV (MKD)
Pavlo ILNYTSKYI (POL)
Marian RUSU (ROU)
Magomed OZDAMIROV (RUS)
Kevin BIRCHLER (SUI)
Ebubekir GUR (TUR)
Mykola BRATOV (UKR)

61kg
Ajndi KRYEZIU (ALB)
Gagik GHAZARYAN (ARM)
Kristian CIKEL (AUT)
Jamal ABBASOV (AZE)
Hleb PIATROU (BLR)
Erdal GALIP (BUL)
Kaspar KOERT (EST)
Deni DAOUDOV (FRA)
Ruben TANGAMYAN (GEO)
Eliah LUCYGA (GER)
Balint NEMETH (HUN)
Pasquale LIUZZI (ITA)
Marcel ANDRONACHE (MDA)
Sufjan SINANI (MKD)
Kajetan WIECZOREK (POL)
Gabriel Florin MIHALCEA (ROU)
Usman INDIRBAEV (RUS)
Nurettin KAPAL (TUR)
Andrii SHOKALIUK (UKR)

65kg
Ervis BARDHI (ALB)
Aren HAYRAPETYAN (ARM)
Bashir VERDIYEV (AZE)
Dzianis KATOK (BLR)
Aleksandar DELCHEV (BUL)
Khizir DASIYEV (FRA)
Joseph MAHONEY (GBR)
Tengiz BARBAKADZE (GEO)
Dominic THIEL (GER)
Pavlos NTIANTIADIS (GRE)
Mozes LASZLO (HUN)
Maxim DIMOV (MDA)
Mario ANANIEV (MKD)
Ivan OKSIUK (POL)
Said GERGOKOV (RUS)
Haci ZADE (TUR)
Zorab ALOIEV (UKR)

70kg
Davit DAVTYAN (ARM)
Haji KARIMOV (AZE)
Movsar CHUPALAEV (BEL)
Vladislav SEIZOV (BUL)
Denis KODAKOV GIL (ESP)
Bayssangour BITMURZAEV (FRA)
Zurab ABALAKI (GEO)
Jason KEIL (GER)
Aik KAZARIAN (GRE)
Ahmad ARSZUNKAEV (HUN)
Daniel KRUTULES (LTU)
Ionut TRIBOI (MDA)
Filip TODOROV (MKD)
Jakub KESY (POL)
David BOICEA (ROU)
Ramazan ABDULKADYROV (RUS)
Aaron ZBERG (SUI)
Dominik ZAVACKY (SVK)
Remzi TEMUR (TUR)
Mykyta SARIIEV (UKR)

74kg
Vladimir AZARYAN (ARM)
Nurlan AGHAZADA (AZE)
Artsiom BOLSUN (BLR)
Nikifor PETROV (BUL)
Daniel JASNOV (EST)
Abdoullah NAKAEV (FRA)
Luka TATIASHVILI (GEO)
Manuel WAGIN (GER)
Vasileios KESIDIS (GRE)
Mate VARGA (HUN)
Eli SOLTANOV (ISR)
Erand FLUGAJ (KOS)
Oleg KNISEVSKIJ (LTU)
Catalin SPINU (MDA)
Muhamed VESELI (MKD)
Gracjan MATYJASEK (POL)
Inal CHELDIEV (RUS)
Umut USLU (TUR)
Bohdan OLIINYK (UKR)

79kg
Narek NIKOGHOSYAN (ARM)
Eljan ISMAYILZADA (AZE)
Halil MAGOMADOV (BEL)
Aliaksei KURYLA (BLR)
Yanaki MARCHOKOV (BUL)
David KODAKOV GIL (ESP)
Tristan ALEKSANDROV (EST)
Iakobi KOBULASHVILI (GEO)
Felix SCHMITT (GER)
Stefanos VAVILIS (GRE)
Arnold TAKACS (HUN)
Declan BLIGH (IRL)
Daniel SIMONIAN (ISR)
Xander GUATTA (ITA)
Adriatik BERISHA (KOS)
Piotr CARADJOV (MDA)
Trim ISMAILI (MKD)
Kyryll DANDAN (ROU)
Magomed ALIBAKHARCHIEV (RUS)
Jaroslav ZAREMBA (SVK)
Yasin UZUN (TUR)
Bohdan OLEKSIIENKO (UKR)

86kg
Razmik YEPREMYAN (ARM)
Mahammad ABASZADA (AZE)
Alan TIGIEV (BUL)
Nikolai TARASSOV (EST)
Dachi PAPINASHVILI (GEO)
Emil ULAMEC (GER)
Tomer DROZHNIAK (ISR)
Aidas SARUNAS (LTU)
Ivan PASLARI (MDA)
Redjep TAIRI (MKD)
Magor LORINCZ (ROU)
Ismail KHANIEV (RUS)
Nick SCHERRER (SUI)
Nikolaj SZILAGYI (SVK)
Sefa CESUR (TUR)
Artur KOSTIUK (UKR)

92kg
Albin PEPOSHI (ALB)
Narek IKILIKYAN (ARM)
Huseyn MAMMADTAGHIZADA (AZE)
Aliaksei KULAKOU (BLR)
Grigor CHERNAKOV (BUL)
Mykola TOLMACHOV (ESP)
Sandro KURASHVILI (GEO)
Abdurrahim SEKMEN (GER)
Youssef SOLIMAN (HUN)
Brando MAGNANI (ITA)
Alexandru BORS (MDA)
Omer MEMEDI (MKD)
Filip NOWAKOWSKI (POL)
Darius SAS (ROU)
Artur TOGOEV (RUS)
Jacek FUDALEJ (SUI)
Eyyup CETIN (TUR)
Yehor HOROKH (UKR)

97kg
Hakob HAKOBYAN (ARM)
Farhad SULEYMANLI (AZE)
Aliaksei KHADUNOU (BLR)
Valentin BORISOV (BUL)
Joona JUNNILA (FIN)
Ashab DADAEV (FRA)
Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Tom ULAMEC (GER)
Robert ERDELYI (HUN)
Vitalie PERCIUN (MDA)
Ilija ATANASOV (MKD)
Balazs LORINCZ (ROU)
Shamil TAMBIEV (RUS)
Suleyman RIZA (TUR)
Rostyslav KURYLIAK (UKR)

125kg
Henrik HAYKYAN (ARM)
Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE)
Yaraslau KOKHAN (BLR)
Dian MANEV (BUL)
Aleksandre ABRAMISHVILI (GEO)
Ahmet SEKMEN (GER)
Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE)
Daniel SZILAGYI (HUN)
David ERHAN (MDA)
Piotr GRELA (POL)
Brian TECHEREAN (ROU)
Soslan GABUEV (RUS)
Rusen GULER (TUR)
Ivan MYROSHNYCHENKO (UKR)

Nadiia Sokolovska (UKR)Senior European champion at 72kg, Nadiia Sokolovska (UKR) will be wrestling at 76kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Serineh CRANE (ARM)
Nazrin AHMADLI (AZE)
Sviatlana KATENKA (BLR)
Ena ZEMUNIC (CRO)
Rita RANTONEN (FIN)
Josephine WRENSCH (GER)
Maria GKIKA (GRE)
Lonisa REKA (KOS)
Mihaela BACOS (MDA)
Frosina ATANASOVA (MKD)
Olivia VAN KLEUNEN (NED)
Daniella HOSSEIN BEKY (NOR)
Karolina ZIEN (POL)
Leticia OLIVEIRA (POR)
Diana VOICULESCU (ROU)
Margarita IARYGINA (RUS)
Sally Vega MALMGREN (SWE)
Nil AKTAS (TUR)
Yelyzaveta KULAKIVSKA (UKR)

53kg
Esra MAMMADLI (AZE)
Aliaksandra VISTSIAK (BLR)
Nikol ALEKSANDROVA (BUL)
Anais MARTIN (FRA)
Fiona GASSER (GER)
Evgenia LAMPROU (GRE)
Szonja NEMETH (HUN)
Naomi LIUZZI (ITA)
Dorentina NEZAJ (KOS)
Bojana KOVACHOVA (MKD)
Ilona VALCHUK (POL)
Electra GARAIACU (ROU)
Ekaterina CHIKANOVA (RUS)
Remziye KARADAG (TUR)
Anastasiia POLSKA (UKR)

55kg
Garatel GULIYEVA (AZE)
Valeryia MIKITSICH (BLR)
Nataliya BOYADZHIEVA (BUL)
Lisette BOETTKER (EST)
Sara RANTONEN (FIN)
Eleni ZAGLIVERI (GER)
Angela CRAPIO CASAROLA (ITA)
Kanita SPAHIJA (KOS)
Enrika DEVETINAITE (LTU)
Eliza GONTA (MDA)
Sadije DURA (MKD)
Thea BERGERSEN (NOR)
Amelia TOMALA (POL)
Bianca RUSU (ROU)
Olesia MALAKHOVA (RUS)
Milica PEROVIC SEKULOVIC (SRB)
Anja EPP (SUI)
Elif ATAKAN (TUR)
Mariia YEFREMOVA (UKR)

57kg
Viktoryia ALISEYENKA (BLR)
Olga POPOVA (BUL)
Théa ROUSSEL (FRA)
Nini TSITSVIDZE (GEO)
Ioanna XENIDOU (GRE)
Liliana KAPUVARI (HUN)
Fabiana RINELLA (ITA)
Elsa NIKOCI (KOS)
Alexandrina BARBANOUA (MDA)
Angela TRAJKOSKA (MKD)
Julia GIBALSKA (POL)
Dolzhon TSYNGUEVA (RUS)
Ivana GAJIC (SRB)
Lara GORCS (SVK)
Stella Hildur SOEROE (SWE)
Su SOYALP (TUR)
Diana KOTVYTSKA (UKR)

59kg
Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE)
Varvara ALISEYENKA (BLR)
Viktoria BOYNOVA (BUL)
Rosa MOLINA RODRIGUEZ (ESP)
Oona PEKKARINEN (FIN)
Franziska BLAUMEISER (GER)
Eda BALAZS (HUN)
Maria PIRA (ITA)
Madalina PRISACARI (MDA)
Viktorija SPASOVSKA (MKD)
Csilla VAN OS (NED)
Marta MANKOWSKA (POL)
Sofiia CHORNAIA (RUS)
Karin Amelia SAMUELSSON (SWE)
Elif ELMALI (TUR)
Oleksandra MALKOVA (UKR)

62kg
Sophia MERANER (AUT)
Ruzanna MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Desislava IVANOVA (BUL)
Graciela ENINGO ASAMA (ESP)
Nella HONKANIEMI (FIN)
Violette DUCHET ANNEZ (FRA)
Miranda KAPANADZE (GEO)
Leonie STEIGERT (GER)
Foteini NALMPANTI (GRE)
Barbara BAGER (HUN)
Maria DI GIACINTO (ITA)
Gabriela RUDOI (MDA)
Tamara CVETKOSKA (MKD)
Nadia KOCIA (POL)
Ekaterina RADYSHEVA (RUS)
Viktoria FOELDESIOVA (SVK)
Vera STOLTZ (SWE)
Ozdenur OZMEZ (TUR)
Albina KLIEFAS (UKR)

65kg
Valeryia KANDZIAKOVA (BLR)
Marijana SUMSKI (CRO)
Anna MAZGAJOVA (CZE)
Eveliina HANHISUANTO (FIN)
Ani CHACHANIDZE (GEO)
Annalena POHL (GER)
Vasiliki KARAVANOU (GRE)
Viktoria PUPP (HUN)
Cristina ZAPOROJAN (MDA)
Marija CVETANOVA (MKD)
Mirijam HANSEN (NOR)
Zuzanna HORBIK (POL)
Margarita SALNAZARIAN (RUS)
Linnea SVENSSON (SWE)
Beyza Nur AKKUS (TUR)
Iryna BORYSIUK (UKR)

68kg
Maryana MURADYAN (BLR)
Lise LANDOUZY (FRA)
Chandni BANKS (GBR)
Mina WITT (GER)
Maja MUNK (HUN)
Juliana CATANZARO (ITA)
Raisa SIRBU (MDA)
Melani MITEVSKA (MKD)
Leah SAMSONSEN (NOR)
Aurelia GODZINSKA (POL)
Ana MARIOARA (ROU)
Evangeliia BEREZHNOVA (RUS)
Michaela SEBOEKOVA (SVK)
Tilda WANNGAARD (SWE)
Elif Sevval KURT (TUR)
Oleksandra RYBAK (UKR)

72kg
Zahra KARIMZADA (AZE)
Karalina PAPOVA (BLR)
Veronika VILK (CRO)
Melanie LORENZ (GER)
Petra MUELLER (HUN)
Greta TVERSKYTE (LTU)
Alexandra MOISEI (MDA)
Anabela DANILOVA (MKD)
Maia GHERGUT (ROU)
Amina MUSAEVA (RUS)
Ilayda CIN (TUR)
Daryna ZAISHLA (UKR)

76kg
Aliaksandra SIAMIONAVA (BLR)
Lotta ENGLICH (GER)
Stefani NIKOLOVA (MKD)
Dominika POCHOWSKA (POL)
Diana TITOVA (RUS)
Evelin UJHELJI (SRB)
Elmira YASIN (TUR)
Nadiia SOKOLOVSKA (UKR)

#WrestleTirana

Kayaalp's 13: New Golden Standard Set in Europe

By United World Wrestling Press

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.