UWW Awards: USA Dominates WW Rankings With 4 Top Spots; Tynybekova Collects Most Points

Friday, December 3, 2021 - 15:40 By Vinay Siwach

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 3) -- Just like they dominated the show in Tokyo, Japan and USA highlight the women's wrestling top rankings.

Four USA and two Japan wrestlers finished year-end ranking while four other spots went to Bulgaria, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Kazakhstan.

Like in freestyle and Greco-Roman, top wrestlers in women's wrestling will be awarded $10,000 while second-placed wrestlers will receive $7,000 and third-placed wrestlers given $3,000.

Earlier, United World Wrestling announced winners of the 10 weights each of freestyle and Greco-Roman.

As women's wrestling continues to be the priority of UWW, it had announced equal prize money for all wrestlers. A total of $600,000 was announced for 90 wrestlers, 30 from each style, based on a ranking system that honors the most active wrestler throughout the season.

In 2019, nine wrestlers were awarded prize money but UWW's emphasis on putting athletes first made it expand to 90 and the prize money from around $200,000 to $600,000. The 2021 prize money combines the amount that was reserved for 2020 but was not distributed due to the impact COVID-19 had on the competition.

As a result of the Olympics and World Championships being held in the same year, UWW Bureau decided to award the medalist at the Olympic Games 20 percent more than the points awarded at the 2021 World Championships. All Tokyo Games gold medalists will get 10 additional points, silver will get 6 additional points and bronze will be awarded 3 additional points.

For the convenience of the fans, here's a breakdown of how the points are distributed.

Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) captured her second Worlds silver to jump to top spot at 50kg. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

50kg
Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) 82
Yui SUSAKI (JPN) 68
Mariya STADNIK (AZE) 60

Three Olympic medalists feature in the top-three list at 50kg with bronze medalist and 2021 World Championships silver medalist Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) claiming the top spot. With her bronze in Tokyo, the USA wrestler collected 26 points and the silver medal in Oslo added 38 more. The 18 other points for her came from the gold she won at the Pam-Am Championships to complete 82 points.

Olympic champion and undefeated at the international level Yui SUSAKI (JPN) finished second w

ith 68 points. All her points came from the gold-medal winning performance at home in Tokyo.Four-time Olympic medalist and bronze in Tokyo Mariya STADNIK (AZE) began her season with 18 points with a gold medal at European Championships and then 16 more at the Poland Open ranking event. She added 26 more for the bronze medal in Tokyo which took her total to 60 points.

Olympic champion Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN) also finished at the top of 53kg rankings. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

53kg
Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN) 68
Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) 58
Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) 58

Olympic champion at 53kg Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN) finished at the top with 68 points. Just like her teammate Susaki, she collected all her points from the gold medal win in Tokyo.

Her rival Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) finished with 58 points to claim the second point. She finished with gold medals at the Rome ranking event, Asian Championships and Poland Open ranking and received 14 points, 18 points and 14 points respectively.

From the Olympics, she finished a lowly ninth and collected only 12 points from Tokyo Games.

In a rare instance, a second Japanese wrestler finished in the top three as world champion Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) finished with 58 points. She was level with Phogat but the latter wrestled at the Olympics, Fujinami finished lower than Phogat.

All her points were collected at the Oslo World Championships in which she had a dominant 41-0 run.

Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) won the gold in Oslo and also the rankings at 55kg. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

55kg
Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) 58
Andreea ANA (ROU) 39
Roksana ZASINA (POL) 39

Japan had a world champion at 55kg as well in Oslo and Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) collected 58 points for that performance. She was only the second Japan wrestler to finish at the top.

U23 world champion Andreea ANA (ROU) finished second with 39 points accumulated over three tournaments. She won a bronze medal at the European Championships and collected 16 points for that.

She also participated in the Poland Open ranking event and finished sixth. Since there were only seven wrestlers in the weight class in Warsaw, Ana's sixth position got her one point and six additional. That was followed by a seventh-place finish at the World Championships which gave her 16 more points, taking her tally to 39 points.

Roksana ZASINA (POL) also finished with 39 points but her ninth-place finish at World Championships kept her below Ana. She won a silver medal at the European Championships giving her 18 points followed by a fourth-place finish in Warsaw which gave her nine points. She received 12 points for her ninth-place finish in Oslo.

Helen MAROULIS (USA) won the bronze at Olympics and gold at World Championships. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

57kg
Helen MAROULIS (USA) 84
Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR) 76
Anshu MALIK (IND) 76

She could not win her second Olympic gold medal but Helen MAROULIS (USA) won a bronze medal in Tokyo and won the gold at the World Championships to finish at the top of the ranking at 57kg. She got 26 points for the bronze in Tokyo and followed that with 58 in Oslo.

Bronze medalist in Tokyo Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR) was eight points behind Maroulis to finish second with 76 points. The European champion began with 20 points at the continental championships for her gold medal followed by a second-place finish at the Poland Open ranking and Olympics Games.

For Poland Open, she got 12 points while for her silver in Tokyo, she received 44 points taking her to 76 points.

Anshu MALIK (IND) also finished with 76 points but her performance at the Olympics was below Kurachkina's silver. Malik was fifth at the Matteo Pellicone ranking event collecting eight points. In April, she became the Asian champion and got 18 points for that performance.

The former cadet world champion finished ninth at the Olympics but still managed to collect 12 points from Tokyo. But her big boost came when she won the silver at the World Championships, adding 38 points to her total. She lost to Maroulis in the final in which a win would have taken the Indian to the top spot.

World champion Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) finished top of the rankings at 59kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

59kg
Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) 76
Sarita MOR (IND) 41
Shoovdor BAATARJAV (MGL) 39

Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) could not have asked for a better finish to the year. She won the European Championships in Warsaw to start with 18 points but became the world champion in October to add 58 points and jump to the top spot at 59kg.

Sarita MOR (IND), just like Dudova, won the continental in Asia but failed to win the Worlds gold. As a result, she finished second in the ranking. She collected 18 points from the win at the Asian Championships and 23 from the bronze medal at the World Championships.

Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) became a two-time world champion and also the top-ranked wrestler at 62kg. (Photo: UWW / Theo Lowenstein)

62kg
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) 136
Yukako KAWAI (JPN) 68
Kayla MIRACLE (USA) 56

No wrestler accumulated more points in the rankings than Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ). The two-time world champion managed 136 points over four different events.

She became the Asian champion in April to begin her rankings with 18 points and later finished with a gold medal at the Poland Open to add 16 more.

At the Olympic Games, she won a silver medal which helped her get 44 more points to take her total to 78 points. At the World Championships, she defended her title from Nur-Sultan and added 58 more points to extend her lead and claim the top spot.

Tokyo Olympic champion Yukako KAWAI (JPN) defeated Tynybekova in the final and her gold medal got her 68 points, enough to finish at the second spot and collect $7,000.

Kayla MIRACLE (USA) finished second to Tynybekova in Oslo and her silver medal-winning performance got her 38 points. She also won the Pan-Am Championships before Worlds which had given her 18 points.

Moldova's first-ever WW world champion Irina RINGACI (MDA) is top-ranked at 65kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

65kg
Irina RINGACI (MDA) 78
Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) 38
Gaukhar MUKATAY (KAZ) 26

Moldova's first-ever world champion in women's wrestling Irina RINGACI (MDA) jumped to the top spot with her gold medal. She got 58 points for winning the gold in Oslo after she won the European Championships. The gold in Warsaw was worth 20 points.

Second to Ringaci in Oslo, Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) finished the rankings with 38 points, all collected via the silver medal.

Kazakhstan's Gaukhar MUKATAY (KAZ) finished third with 26 points. She did not participate in the Olympics or World Championships but won the Matteo Pellicone ranking event to collect 14 points and her fifth-place finish at the Asian Championships gave her 12 more.

Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA) collected 123 points to finish at the top at 68kg. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

68kg
Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA) 123
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) 114
Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) 90

She suffered a shock defeat at the World Championships but Olympic champion Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA) finished at the top of the rankings at 68kg. She won gold medals at the Matteo Pellicone ranking event for 14 points, gold at the Pan-Am Championships for 18 points and gold at the Olympics Games for 68 points.

She managed to finish with a bronze at the World Championships which added 23 more points to her tally taking it to 123 and safety.

World champion in 2021 and Olympic bronze medalist Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) finished second and just nine points shy of Mensah Stock. Zhumanazarova began with gold at the Asian Championships for 18 points and later added 12 points for her third-place finish at the Poland Open ranking event.

Her bronze at the Olympic Games added 26 more points to her account before the big step up happened when she won the gold medal in Oslo for 58 points and jumped to 114 points in total.

Tokyo Games silver medalist and Nigeria's first-ever Olympic medalist Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) managed to finish at third place despite an eighth-place finish at the World Championships.

Her silver in Tokyo gave her 44 points while the same medal in the Poland Open ranking was worth 14 points. Even her eighth finish at Worlds was worth 14 points.

Since Africa Championships could not be held in 2021, points from 2020 were carried over and Oborududu had finished with gold last year for 18 points.

Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) collected 72 points to be top-ranked at 72kg. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

72kg
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) 72
Masako FURUICHI (JPN) 58
Buse TOSUN (TUR) 35

One of the most active wrestlers in women's wrestling in 2021 was Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) and for her efforts, she managed to claim the top spot at 72kg. She won a silver medal at the World Championships which gave her 38 points.

Before that, she had gold at the Matteo Pellicone ranking event for eight points followed by a silver-medal finish at the Asian Championships for 16 points. She also participated in the Poland Open ranking event and received 10 points.

World champion in Oslo Masako FURUICHI (JPN) collected all her 58 points from the Oslo event and finished in the second spot.

A bronze medal at the World Championships and silver at the Poland Open ranking event helped Buse TOSUN (TUR) collect 23 and 12 points respectively to finish third.

Adeline GRAY (USA) won a record-breaking sixth world title which lifted her to the top at 76kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

76kg
Adeline GRAY (USA) 120
Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER) 100
Epp MAEE (EST) 86

Olympic champion Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER) and world champion Adeline GRAY (USA) were involved in a neck-to-neck battle for the top spot at 76kg.

Focken began the year with a bronze medal at the European Championships which helped her get 16 points while a month later Adeline GRAY (USA) won the Pan-Am Championships and collected 18 points.

Focken took the lead when he added a gold medal at the Poland Open ranking event for 16 points while Gray did not participate in the event.

At the Olympics, Focken and Gray reached the final. The German stunned the six-time world champion Gray in the final to win the gold medal. That gold gave Focken 68 points while Gray received 44 points for the silver medal.

Before the World Championships, Focken had 100 points while Gray stood at 62 points. But Gray won a record-breaking sixth world title in Oslo to add 58 more points to her tally and overtook Focken with 120 points in total to finish at the top.

European champion Epp MAEE (EST) had a historical year with a continental title and a World Championships finals appearance for Estonia.

Her gold in Warsaw saw her collect 20 points and she returned to the same city for a silver medal at the Poland Open for 14 more points. At the Olympics, she finished eighth but got 14 points for that performance.

She registered a jump of 38 points when she created history for her country by reaching the final in Oslo and finishing with a silver medal.

The 2022 ranking season will begin with the Matteo Pellicone ranking event in Rome from February 3 to 7 followed by the second event – Yasar Dogu – in Istanbul, Turkey from February 24-28.

For more events, log on to uww.org/events.

#KoreaWrestling

Special referee at national meet part of Japanese efforts to get more women to become officials

Tuesday, January 16, 2024 - 20:32 By Ikuo Higuchi

(Editor's Note: The following appeared on the Japan Wrestling Federation website on Jan. 1. It has been translated and published by permission.)

With its connection to the Paris Olympics, this year's Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships drew a record field of 470 competitors. But history was also made regarding the third person on the mat. For the first time ever, a foreign referee was on the whistle, one specifically invited with the hope of producing long-term effects beyond the outcome of matches.

The Japan federation brought in Ji-Woo LEE, one of six Korean women holding international licenses, as part of its efforts to get more women interested in becoming referees. Lee is a holder of the UWW's highest Category IS License, which qualifies her to officiate at the Olympics and World Championships.

While Japan remains the dominant country in women’s wrestling, in the case of women referees, it can be regarded as “undeveloped.” Of Japan’s 19 international referees, only two are women, putting Japan far behind United World Wrestling’s objective of having equal numbers from both genders.

JPN1 Ji-Woo Lee holds the highest Category IS License. (photo by Japan Wrestling Federation)

"It was a big surprise, and wonderful," Lee said of being asked to officiate at the All-Japan Championships, which was held Dec. 21-24 in Tokyo and was serving as a qualifier for the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament in April. "It is really a joyful [moment] in my life. A big honor, also."

Lee said she was impressed by the large and enthusiastic crowd that packed into Yoyogi No. 2 Gym, saying it reminded her of the atmosphere at the big venues that stage the World Championships and European Championships.

JPN4 Lee faces Saori YOSHIDA at the 2004 Asian Championships in Tokyo. (photo by Takeo Yabuki / Japan Wrestling Federation)

Lee herself was no stranger to Japan. Long before she officiated at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, she came on numerous trips during her career as a wrestler to train at the well-known Oka Wrestling Dojo in the mountains of Niigata Prefecture. Wrestling at 55kg and competing under the name LEE Na-Lae, she faced three-time Olympic champion Saori YOSHIDA three times, in the final at the 2002 Asian Games, and at both the 2004 and 2005 Asian Championships. Lee was the lone Korean woman to appear at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

While she knows a little Japanese, she basically operates in her native Korean or English. As for communicating on the mat at the All-Japan, she said, "I used very simple words. 'Fingers.' 'Open.' Maybe after a foul, I say, 'Next time caution.' Or 'One more time, the match is finished.'" Having Olympic experience both as a wrestler and a referee has given her the confidence to dish out warnings as she sees fit and remain in control on the mat.

JPN2 Lee made her Olympic refereeing debut at the Tokyo Games in 2021. (Photo by Japan Wrestling Federation)

Handling the big matches

After retiring as a wrestler, Lee went to the 2012 London Olympics as a national team coach, then changed course and embarked on a new path to become a referee, while also earning a doctorate and becoming a professor at Yong-In University. She obtained the Category IS License just before the 2019 World Championships, and was among the officiating crew at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

It was Isao OKIYAMA, head of the Japan Federation's refereeing commission, who suggested inviting Lee to the All-Japan. Okiyama's thinking took a two-pronged approach. In the big matches with so much at stake, the federation would get a neutral official completely free of any suspicions -- justified or not -- about college affiliations and other links that are so strong in Japanese wrestling.

And, by having a female Category IS official at Japan's highest-level tournament, it would bring national attention on the existence of female referees and further motivate more women to want to become one.

JPN5 Lee was on the whistle when Nonoka OZAKI defeated Ami ISHII in a vital 68kg match with Olympic implications. (photo by Takeo Yabuki / Japan Wrestling Federation)

At this year's All-Japan, three matches in particular stood out, each with global implications: 1) the first-round match at women's 68kg in which Nonoka OZAKI defeated Ami ISHII, who had needed to win the title to fill the Paris Olympic berth she secured for Japan at the World Championships; 2) the freestyle 65kg semifinal between Tokyo Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO and collegian Kotaro KIYOOKA, which Otoguro lost to end his chances of a repeat in Paris; and 3) the 68kg final between Ozaki and Miwa MORIKAWA, which Ozaki won to advance to a future playoff with Ishii for the Paris ticket.

Lee was the mat official for all three. Asked if she was nervous, she replied, "I'm never nervous. I know this championships is very important for Japan, also in the world because the champions [can go to the Olympic qualifier]. More than being nervous, I was concerned with doing my best to make fair and clear decisions."

She admits she did feel jittery at her first major tournament at the 2019 World Championships in Nur-Sultan (now Astana). She particularly recalled a bronze-medal match between Iranian and Azerbaijan wrestlers where it seemed the entire crowd turned against her. "I was very nervous. One time [I made a] mistake, just a warning, and everyone goes, 'Boooooo,'"she recalled with a laugh.

JPN4 Lee poses with the three Japanese female referees at the All-Japan Championships, from right, Mariko SHIMIZU, Airi FURUSATO and Honoka SAITO. (photo courtesy of Airi FURUSATO)

Getting more women involved

At the All-Japan, there were only three other women referees, Airi FURUSATO, Mariko SHIMIZU and Honoka SAITO, putting them well in the minority. Only Furusato and Haruka WATANABE, currently on maternity leave, hold international licenses, and neither is at the Category IS level.

Of the 393 referees registered domestically in Japan, just 19 are women, or 4.8%. The percentage is even lower for those with a Class A license, which is required for officiating at the All-Japan — just seven out of 197, or 3.6%.

In its Global Gender Gap Report released in June last year by the World Economic Forum, Japan ranked 125th out of 146 countries in terms of achieving gender equality. While Japan is on top in women's wrestling, when it comes to women referees, it unfortunately aligns with the gender gap ranking.

JPN6 World champion Akari FUJINAMI tries her hand as a referee at a men's collegiate event last May. ((photo by Ikuo Higuchi / Japan Wrestling Federation)

Among recent moves to cultivate women referees was having world champions Akari FUJINAMI and Yuka KAGAMI serve as referees at the men's East Japan Collegiate League last May. Officials hope that seeing the female stars filling such roles will appeal to more women to consider becoming referees.

Lee said she hopes to see more Japanese women entering the referee ranks and believes that with the right training and support, they can become as much as factor as their wrestling sisters. In fact, it was Japan's Osamu SAITO, a former member of the UWW Refereeing Commission, who encouraged and mentored her and to whom she credits her advancement.

"I am waiting for the day when I can work with Japanese women referees," Lee said. "We are professionals with skills. I support the development of women referees."

--Translation and editing by Ken Marantz

UWW Awards: USA Dominates WW Rankings With 4 Top Spots; Tynybekova Collects Most Points

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Special referee at national meet part of Japanese efforts to get more women to become officials