#TurkiyeWrestling

UWW mourns death of nine wrestlers 

Friday, February 10, 2023 - 18:32 By United World Wrestling Press

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COSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (February 11) -- Five days after multiple earthquakes hit the Kahramanmaraş province in southwest Turkiye, nine wrestlers were confirmed dead on Friday.  

In the aftermath of the earthquake which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale, people were stuck under the rubble and large-scale efforts are still continuing to save lives.

The following are the nine wrestlers that we have lost:

Mehmet ESKISARILI
Ahmet TAS
Ali GURSOY
Eray SIMSEK
Halil EDIRNE
Hasan SARITURK
Ozan TATLI
Ahmet DURMAN
Aslan EKIZ

United World Wrestling mourns their death.

"It is with a heavy heart to report we have lost nine wrestlers in the earthquakes that took place on February 6,” Nenad LALOVIC, UWW President, said “I ask that we remember these wrestlers, say their names aloud and pray for them and their families. The whole entire wrestling community is devastated by the loss of these young men who had a bright future ahead of them.”

More than 25,000 people have died so far as the earthquake hit Kahramanmaraş, affecting southwest Turkiye and northwest Syria.

A U20 wrestling tournament finished hours a night before the earthquake struck. Teams from France, Uzbekistan, Kosvo and Turkiye were participating in it. All the international wrestlers were sent home safely the next day. However, with the wrestling club demolished, a few Turkish wrestlers were stuck under the rubble.

On the first day, 21 wrestlers were saved immediately and others were subsequently rescued from under the rubble.

Olympic champion Taha AKGUL (TUR) was among the first ones to call for help and save the "30-40 wrestlers" stuck under the rubble. Four-time world champion Riza KAYAALP (TUR), Kerem KAMAL (TUR) and many others have volunteered and reached the earthquake-affected areas. They have joined hands to help and rescue the victims. The wrestling community around the world has shown support and donated to help Turkiye.

President of the Turkish Wrestling Federation Seref EROGLU, who belongs to Kahramanmaras, has been present at the site from the first day and joined the rescue operations.

Development

UWW Training PE Teachers at ISF Gymasiade in Bahrain

Monday, December 2, 2024 - 12:18 By United World Wrestling Press

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Bahrain (December 2) – United World Wrestling partnered with the International School Sports Federation (ISF) to train PE teachers at the ISF Gymnasiade in Bahrain. The ISF Gymnasiade event took place from 23-31 October. This annual event involves competitions for sport school athletes over 26 sports. Wrestling has been a part of this event in each edition. During the Gymnasiade, ISF also provides training to local PE teachers to potentially implement more sports within their curriculum.

UWW was fortunate to be able to provide training sessions to the PE teachers on using the Wrestle4Fun curriculum. The training was led by UWW Educators Ahmed Khedhri (TUN) and Rafael Galva (PUR).

The training was held on 25 October and included 51 participants. The training included 2-hour theoretical and 2-hour practical sessions, with participants actively participating in Wrestle4Fun activities. These activities provided the participants with the advantages of adding wrestling to physical education. “Collaborating with PE teachers provided a very valuable experience. I hope this experience will become more common, allowing wrestling to be part of the physical education curriculum,” said Mr. Khedhri.

Mr. Galva also participated in the ISF International Educational Forum. During the forum, Mr. Galva discussed Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle to School Kids. He also spoke about the importance of positive role modeling from parents and coaches. 

ISFParticipants go through the Fun and Skills Zone at the ISF Gymnasiade in Bahrain. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Mr. Galva and Mr. Khedhri also conducted sessions at the Fun and Skills Zone throughout the event. This was a chance for young athletes to try wrestling games and activities. This included athletes from many different sports and countries.

The wrestling competition was held on October 28-30 and included participation in all three styles. The competition had 321 athletes from 18 countries participating. 

Wrestle4Fun is developmentally appropriate for all age levels and designed to support girls’ and boys’ physical literacy journeys. It has five stages based on different developmental levels. Each stage has 15 lessons. In total, there are 75 lessons with over 200 games and activities. The entire Wrestle4Fun programme can be found on the Academy platform.

The UWW Academy can be found at https://academy.uww.org/.