#UWWAwards

UWW 2023 Wrestler of the Year Freestyle Nominees

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 - 14:46 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 6) — United World Wrestling has released the five nominations for the 2023 Freestyle Wrestler of the Year, which is awarded to the best senior-level freestyle wrestler.

The nominations reflect the results from this year’s World Championships, Continental Championships, Continental Games and Ranking Series events.

 

The five finalist are:

David TAYLOR (USA)
- 2023 86kg world champion 
- Ranked No. 6 in the world with 45000 points

Ismail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)
- 2023 65kg world champion 
- Ranked No. 3 in the world with 62520 points

Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) 
- 2023 125kg world champion 
- 19th Asian Games champion
- Zagreb Open Ranking Series champion
- Ranked No. 1 in the world with 69000 points

Zaurbek SIDAKOV (AIN)
- Ranked No. 2 in the world with 45000 points
- 2023 74kg world champion

Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN)
- 2023 97kg world champion 
- 19th Asian Games champion
- Kyrgyz Ranking Series champion
- Asian Championships champion
- Ranked No. 1 in the world with 87520 points

The voting for the UWW Wrestler of the Year in Freestyle is open till December 17 and winners will be announced on December 18.

#development

Four Coaches Graduate in Hungary Under Olympic Solidarity Programme

Monday, June 1, 2026 - 15:57 By United World Wrestling Press

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (June 1) -- Four wrestling coaches graduate from the University of Sport Science in Budapest and enrolled in the first-ever wrestling mentorship programme at KIMBA in collaboration with the Hungarian Wrestling Federation.

Carlos BARAHONA (ESA), Gilbert KABOCHE (KEN), Anuja MALLAWAAARACHCHI (SRI) and Raphael MULENGA (ZAM) gathered in Hungary for the Olympic Solidarity Coaches Scholarship Programme, focused on strengthening wrestling through education, mentorship, and scientific coaching methods.

The programme introduced a new mentorship initiative for scholarship participants and emphasized the importance of scientific coaching methods, youth development, and structured education systems. Organizers highlighted that coaches are central to building sustainable wrestling cultures in their countries.

A key programme that the coaches will be using, when they return to their countries, will be the UWW Academy’s “Wrestle4Fun," an initiative that provides accessible training resources for PE teachers and beginner coaches, including activities that require little or no equipment.

HungaryFrom left to right: Gabor FARKAS (HUN), Zach ERRETT, Deqa NIAMKEY, Tamas STERBENZ (HUN), Peter BACSA and Gergely BABSZKY (HUN).

UWW Development Director Deqa NIAMKEY and Education Manager Zach ERRETT met with the rector of the University of Sport Science of Budapest, Professor Dr. Tamás STERBENZ along with UWW Bureau Member Peter BACSA, Gabor FARKAS and Gergely BABSZKY, Hungary National Coaches and professors at the University in charge of the wrestling programme.

The discussion focused on the expansion of partnerships in sports science and wrestling education. The message from discussions showed that the future growth of wrestling depends on education, grassroots participation, scientific coaching, and international cooperation.

Following the meeting, the UWW Development Department agreed to continue the programme and to share the next intakes which will provide further educational opportunities for UWW community worldwide.

UWW thanks Olympic Solidarity for their unwavering support to the development of wrestling worldwide.