TIRANA, Albania (April 23) -- Eight years. 23 competitions. Three silver medals. Nine bronze medals. 11 medalless tournaments.
Mariia VYNNYK (UKR) spent all these years watching others win the gold medals at various tournaments. She was close to winning a few herself but never could
She reached her first final in 2022 at the Ranking Series in Rome, then at the U23 European Championships in 2024. She fell short both times. Then in 2025, she reached the final of the World Championships in Zagreb before dropping the final 17-8 against Sakura ONISHI (JPN).
But Vynnyk ended her wait for a gold medal in Tirana on Thursday by winning her career's first-ever gold medal at the European Championships.
"It’s actually been a very tough road to this victory," Vynnyk said. "I’ve been training since I was eight and I’ve always pictured myself on the podium with a gold medal. Today that dream came true. I’m absolutely delighted. I was certain I’d win. And it happened."
Vynnyk was one of the three Ukraine wrestlers who won gold medals in Tirana. Defending champion Oksana LIVACH (UKR) at 50kg and Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) at 76kg successfully managed to retain their titles.
Andreea Beatrice ANA (ROU) denied Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) and Ukraine a fourth gold medal after beating her 10-0 in the 55kg final and winning her fourth gold European gold medal.
At 68kg, Nesrin BAS (TUR) won gold after defending champion Alina SHAUCHUK (UWW) withdrew due to an injury, giving Bas her second European title.
Mariia VYNNYK (UKR) at the medal ceremony for 59kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)
Vynnyk won two matches on Wednesday to reach the final in which she faced veteran Jowita WRZESIEN (POL). Both wrestlers began on a slow note and Wrzesien was put on the activity clock first. Vynnyk hit a low single as soon as the clock start and scored a takedown. A powerful gut-wrench added two more points to score before the activity clock finished and Vynnyk led 5-0.
The next takedown came in the second period when Wrzesein hit a half-hearted attack and Vynnyk easily brought her down to the mat for two points and extend her lead to 7-0. Wrzesien managed to get a takedown to cut the lead to 7-2 and later Vynnyk was cautioned one point for blocking action.
Wrzesien tried a desperate throw but Vynnyk fell on top of her, earning herself two points. But Poland challenged the call and won it. The score was reset to 7-3 with four seconds remaining. Wrzesien got a point for Vynnyk's fleeing but failed to score any takedown in the final seconds. Poland challenged again but lost it this time, giving Vynnyk a 8-4 win and finally, a golden celebration for the first time in eight years.
"The most important thing, in my opinion, is mental preparation," she said about what changes she made to finally win the gold medal. "I’m sure it plays the most crucial role in this."
Mariia VYNNYK (UKR) hits an attack on Jowita WRZESIEN (POL) during the 59kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)
Born in Chernivtsi, a city in south-west Ukraine close to the Romanian border, Vynnyk was introduced to wrestling, along with her other siblings, by her mother. While her brothers stopped wrestling, the Vynnyk sisters, Mariia and Solomiia, continued.
"My two older brothers used to wrestle, but they gave it up, whilst my sister and I carried on, striving for results and winning gold medals together," she said.
The two sisters couldn't win gold together but Mariia will cheer for Solomiia, who also doubles up as her friend and training partner, when she takes the mat for her bronze-medal bout on Friday at 57kg.
"I can’t imagine my journey without her, and I only want to win alongside her," Mariia said. "I was really upset that she lost. It was really hard for me to get in the right frame of mind for this final, but I’m sure my sister and I have a bright future ahead of us, and that there are plenty of gold medals in store for us. We never compete against each other, because I couldn’t bring myself to compete against my sister. But in training, we don’t let each other off the hook."
Oksana LIVACH (UKR) won her third European title at 50kg on Thursday. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)
Ukraine's Gold Rush
Livach began the mini gold rush for Ukraine by defending her 50kg gold medal against Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) in what was a rematch of the final from last year.
While last year Livach did not complete a technical superiority victory over Demirhan, she managed to dominate the final in Tirana on Thursday, winning her final 11-0.
At 76kg, Alpyeyeva controlled her final against Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU) to post a 6-2 victory and defend her title. She scored three different takedowns while giving up one in the final.
Andreea ANA (ROU) celebrates winning the 55kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)
Ukraine could have won four gold medals but three-time European champion Ana denied Malanchuk, 10-0, in the 55kg final.
Ana had a slow start and but was the first to get a point when Malanchuk was warned for pulling hair. Ana's lead went 2-0 when Malanchuk failed to score in the 30-second activity period. Just before the break, Ana snapped Malanchuk and scored a takedown and a turn to make it 6-0.
In the last 20 seconds, Ana caught Malanchuk's leg and brought her down for a takedown and two more points for exposure to finish the bout 10-0 just before time expired. Ana's gold is her sixth European medal -- four golds, one silver and one bronze.
Defending champion at 68kg Shauchuk gave the final against Bas a miss due to an injury, giving a walkover to Bas, who is now a two-time European champion.
RESULTS
50kg
GOLD: Oksana LIVACH (UKR) df. Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR), 11-0
BRONZE: Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (UWW) df. Svenja JUNGO (SUI), 4-0
BRONZE: Emilia GRIGORE VUC (ROU) df. Agata GOLUCHOWSKA WALERZAK (POL), 11-8
55kg
GOLD: Andreea Beatrice ANA (ROU) df. Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR), 10-0
BRONZE: Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER) df. Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA), 4-3
BRONZE: Tuba DEMIR (TUR) df. Veronika KONSEVICH (MKD), 5-2
59kg
GOLD: Mariia VYNNYK (UKR) df. Jowita WRZESIEN (POL), 8-4
BRONZE: Svetlana LIPATOVA (UWW) df. Othelie HOEIE (NOR), via fall (6-1)
BRONZE: Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE) df. Marta HETMANAVA (UWW), 7-5
68kg
GOLD: Nesrin BAS (TUR) df. Alina SHAUCHUK (UWW), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Tindra SJOEBERG (SWE) df. Alina SHEVCHENKO (UWW), 10-0
BRONZE: Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU) df. Noemi SZABADOS (HUN), 5-4
76kg
GOLD: Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) df. Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU), 6-2
BRONZE: Martina KUENZ (AUT) df. Valeriia TRIFONOVA (UWW), 4-0
BRONZE: Kendra DACHER (FRA) df. Enrica RINALDI (ITA), 9-8
Semifinals
53kg
SF 1: Mariia YEFREMOVA (UKR) df. Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (UWW), 9-3
SF 2: Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE) df. Roksana ZASINA (POL), 6-6
57kg
SF 1: Magdalena GLODEK LISZEWSKA (POL) df. Evelina HULTHEN (SWE), 3-3
SF 2: Elvira SULEYMAN (TUR) df. Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE), 6-2
62kg
SF 1: Amina TANDELOVA (UWW) df. Naemi LEISTNER (GER), 9-0
SF 2: Grace BULLEN (NOR) df. Johanna LINDBORG (SWE), 7-6
65kg
SF 1: Alina KASABIEVA (UWW) vs. Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE), 11-10
SF 2: Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) df. Natalia KUBATY (POL), 11-01
72kg
SF 1: Nadiia SOKOLOVSKA (UKR) df. Kristina BRATCHIKOVA (UWW), via fall (8-0)
SF 2: Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL) df. Buse TOSUN (TUR), 8-2
Competitions including top-ranked 65kg freestyle wrestler Bajrang PUNIA (IND) will now be carried throughout India via Sporty Solutionz. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)
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