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.

#WrestleParis

Paris 2024: Lopez secures unprecedented place in Olympic history

Tuesday, August 6, 2024 - 18:53 By Ken Marantz

PARIS (August 6) -- Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) now has a place in a pantheon on his own.

In the 128-year history of the Summer Olympics, no athlete had ever won five gold medals in the same event in any sport. Until Tuesday, when Lopez accomplished the feat at the Paris Olympics with a dominant performance at Greco 130kg.

The 41-year-old Lopez defeated Cuban-born and former training partner Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI) 6-0 in the final before a packed crowd at the Champs de Mars Arena that included International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.

“I'm happy, it has been an important achievement in my life, in my career," Lopez said. "It has also been an achievement of all my coaching team, my mom, my dad, my family in general, that have been helping me in every single one of my tasks in the sport. And what better celebration than to have achieved this gold medal.”

In other finals, Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) captured the Greco 60kg that eluded him at his home Olympics three years ago, while rising star Amit ELOR (USA) triumphed at women's 68kg to become the second wrestler to add an Olympic gold to world titles on all four age-group levels.

After a delay for Bach to be seated and the arena in an expectant buzz, Lopez started the featured match of the tournament by scoring a 2-point roll off par terre in the first period against Acosta, who had made history himself by giving Chile its first-ever Olympic wrestling medal.

Lopez added a takedown in the second period to clinch the victory in his first competition since winning the gold three years ago in Tokyo.

There will be no sixth gold. After slamming his coach to the mat in celebration and acknowledging the cheers of the adoring crowd, Lopez took off his wrestling shoes and left them in the middle of the mat, the universal sign of a wrestler's decision to end his career.

"It's a moment to demonstrate that someone has retired officially from the sport of wrestling and that also leaves a path wide open for the younger generation to continue inspiring others," said Lopez, who dedicated the victory to his late father.

Coming into Paris, Lopez had been one of six athletes who had won four golds in the same event along with fellow wrestler Kaori ICHO (JPN), sailing's Paul ELVSTROM (DEN), athletics' Al OERTER (USA) and Carl LEWIS (USA), and swimming's Michael PHELPS (USA). Swimmer Katie LEDECKY (USA) and shooting's Vincent HANCOCK (USA) joined the group in Paris.

Amazingly, Lopez was appearing in his sixth Olympics, having finished fifth in his debut at the 2004 Athens Games. He was also a five-time world champion and three-time silver medalist dating back to his first title in 2005. His last defeat came in the final of the 2015 World Championships to rival Riza KAYAALP (TUR).

Reflecting on his remarkable career, Lopez commented, "To achieve all of these results, one has to love their sport, love their job, and demonstrate to the world that with so little you can achieve great things."

Asked to describe each gold medal in one word, he replied: "Beijing: youth. London: transcendence. Rio: effort. Tokyo: sacrifice. Paris: joy."

Before Lopez made history, Fumita won the Greco 60kg gold that had been an obsession since that tearful day at the Tokyo Olympics, when he lost in the final to Luis ORTA (CUB).

Fumita put together a masterful match, scoring from par terre in the first period and keeping Liguo CAO (CHN) at bay throughout to notch a 4-1 victory and end a 40-year drought for Japan in Greco at the Olympics.

"The number one thing that clearly comes to my mind now is the final from three years ago," Fumita said. "[The three years] was a difficult period that I had never experienced before. But there were also good times in there as well. In total, there were more plusses, which is why I could win the title today."

In the intervening years, the 28-year-old Fumita, a former two-time world champion, got married and became a father. He also lost in the final at last year's World Championships in Belgrade to Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ), a loss that gave him a new perspective on his career -- and which he avenged in the semifinals in Paris on Monday.

He said he was motivated by his family and a large group of supporters who made the trip to Paris. "If it wasn't for my family, I might not have tried again [for the Olympics]," he said. "All the people who have helped me along the way have made this special."

As for becoming Japan's first Greco champion since Atsuji MIYAHARA (JPN) won the 52kg gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Fumita responded, "It's something to accomplish a feat for the first time in 40 years. But honestly speaking, my bigger feeling is of disappointment that we haven't won for 40 years. I hope that Japan Greco makes great progress in the next 40 years."

Fumita had previously won world titles in 2017 and 2019 before winning a bronze in 2022 and a silver last year. Including his Tokyo silver, none will ever compare with the gold he just won.

"I don't know how many grams its weighs, but it's heavier than any medal I've won up to now," he said. "But it's not just its actual weight. The long time I have aimed at getting it, all of the emotions that went into it, I feel [the weight of it] all hanging from my neck."

In the final match of the night, two-time world 72kg champion Elor put up a wall of defense that Tokyo bronze medalist Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) was unable to penetrate in a 3-0 victory in the women's 68kg final.

"It was one of the best moments in my life," Elor said. "And when I experience something like that, it just reminds me that everything is worth it. All the hard days the grind, it's all worth it for moments like these."

The 20-year-old Elor, who cut weight for the first time in her life to make her first Olympics, scored the lone technical points of the match with a takedown off a counter, then added an activity point as she kept the 2021 world champion at bay with an underhook that thwarted any tackle attempts.

"I actually wrestled her a few times in international training camps when I was younger," Elor said of the 24-year-old Zhumananarova. "She's a little bit older than me, so those were pretty tough bouts. I know she is an extremely solid, strong wrestler, so my mindset going into the match was to be patient, stay in good position, and to trust in my style of wrestling and in my skills."

With the Olympic gold, Elor joins Yui SUSAKI (JPN) as the only wrestlers who have completed the "Golden Grand Slam" of titles, having previously won the world cadet (U17) in 2021 and the world U20, U23 and senior titles in 2022.

"I think the number one thing that's helped me develop mentally has been experience," Elor said. "For the past two years, I've done three world championships in one summer. Those experiences have not only helped me stay focused and solid under pressure, they've also helped me improve as a wrestler and as a person."

Elor became the third American woman to win Olympic gold after Helen MAROULIS (USA) at Rio 2016 and Tamyra MENSAH-STOCK (USA) last year in Tokyo, while preventing Zhumanazarova from becoming Kyrgyzstan's first Olympic gold medalist in any sport.

Elor already has an added incentive to defend her title in 2028. "Other than becoming an Olympic champion, my biggest dream of all time is to go to the 2028 Olympics, because I'm from California.

"To have the opportunity to compete and represent not only my country, but my state, and to compete in my own state, is incredible. I have been excited about that ever since I heard about it."

Sharshenbekov, Mirzazadeh, Ozaki take home bronzes

Sharshenbekov added an Olympic bronze to his two world golds when he got the roll in par terre in the first period and defeated Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) 3-1 at Greco 60kg.

Sharshenbekov completed a gut wrench from par terre in the first period, then held his ground while on bottom in the second to close with a victory after seeing his streak of 10 consecutive tournament titles ended by Fumita in the semifinals.

In the other bronze-medal match at Greco 60kg, Raiber RODRIGUEZ (VEN) saw his bid to become Venezuela's first-ever Olympic medalist in wrestling end in just over a minute when he was soundly defeated by Se Ung RI (PRK) 10-0.

Ri, a Youth Olympic champion back in 2014 who returned to global competition at the 2023 Asian Games and came home with a bronze medal, followed a takedown with three successive rolls to end the match in 1:11.

At Greco 130kg, reigning world champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) secured the bronze medal that he missed out on in Tokyo with a 4-0 win over Iranian-born Sabah SHARIATI (AZE), the 35-year-old who was looking to add to his bronze from the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Mirzazadeh went ahead 3-0 with a gut wrench from par terre in the first period, then picked up a fourth point by keeping the pressure on and receiving a second passivity point. Although he was unable to turn Shariati again, he was never in danger and went on become Iran's first-ever Olympic medalist in the heaviest Greco weight.

Shariati, who suffered a gash over his right eye that had to be bandaged during the match, got a ride on the shoulders of Mirzazadeh after the match as a sign of respect. Shariati then left his shoes on the mat.

Lingzhe MENG (CHN) won the other 130kg bronze, scoring two takedowns in the second period to defeat Abdellitif MOHAMED (EGY) 5-2 and avenge a loss to the Egyptian in the bronze-medal match at last year's World Championships.

At women's 68kg, world champion Buse TOSUN (TUR) finally managed to finish off a takedown and it came at the buzzer to defeat teenager Sol Gum PAK (PRK) 4-2.

Tosun had two stepouts sandwiched around Pak's second-period takedown to trail on criteria 2-2. But with the seconds ticking down, she fought off Pak's whizzer and got behind just as time ran out, denying Pak's bid to become the first-ever women's Olympic medalist for DPR Korea.

Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) assured she would have something to show for her ordeal of moving up two weight classes to be in Paris by defeating Tokyo silver medalist Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) 3-0 for the other women's 68kg bronze.

Ozaki scored with a sweeping single that sent Oborududu directly to her back in the first period. She added an activity point in the second and never allowed Oborududu an opening.

Ozaki was the 2022 world 62kg champion who missed out on Japan's Olympic spot in that weight class. After a stop at 65kg last year to add a second world title, she secured her ticket to Paris at 68kg with a last-second victory over Ami ISHII (JPN) in a domestic playoff.

Despite winning the gold at the Asian Championships in April in her international debut at 68kg, she struggled in Paris against the naturally heavier opponents and saw her gold-medal hopes end with a late loss to Zhumanazarova in the quarterfinals.

Day 2 Results

Greco-Roman

60kg
GOLD: Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) df. Liguo CAO (CHN), 4-1

BRONZE: Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) df. Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI), 3-1
BRONZE: Se Ung RI (PRK) df. Raiber RODRIGUEZ (VEN) by TF, 8-0, 1:11

77kg
SF 1: Nao KUSAKA (JPN) df. Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM), 3-1
SF 2: Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) df. Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE), 6-1

97kg
SF 1: Artur ALEKSANYAN df. Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB), 5-3
SF 2: Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) df. Mohamad GABR (EGY), 6-0

130kg
GOLD: Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) df. Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI), 6-0

BRONZE: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) df. Sabah SHARIATI (AZE), 4-0
BRONZE: Lingzhe MENG (CHN) df. Abdellitif MOHAMED (EGY), 5-2

Women's Wrestling

50kg
SF 1: Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) df. Yusneylis GUZMAN (CUB), 5-0
SF 2: Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) df. Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL), 5-0

68kg
GOLD -- Amit ELOR (USA) df. Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ), 3-0

BRONZE -- Buse TOSUN (TUR) df. Sol Gum PAK (PRK), 4-2
BRONZE -- Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) df. Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR), 3-0

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

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Paris 2024: Lopez secures unprecedented place in Olympic history