#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.

#WrestleParis

Coach Amri on road to Paris 2024 through WISH

Friday, March 29, 2024 - 11:35 By United World Wrestling Press

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PARIS (March 29) -- Beyond reaching gender parity for athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is also aiming to increase the number of female coaches through its Women in Sport High-Performance (WISH) pathway. With six participants of the programme already confirmed as coaches in Paris, Elizabeth PIKE, WISH Project Director, explains how the programme is breaking down barriers to fix the system. Only 13 percent of coaches at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 were women.

At the past four editions of the Olympic Games, Marwa AMRI (TUN) represented Tunisia in the women's freestyle wrestling competition, clinching a bronze medal in the 58kg event at Rio 2016. At Paris 2024, she will be bringing all her expertise to Tunisia’s wrestling team as a coach. Although Amri may be outnumbered by her male counterparts at these Games, her very presence indicates a growing number of female coaches.

There are a number of other female coaches still pushing to achieve their Olympic dream, such as Federica TONON, who is currently working with Vanuatu’s beach volleyball team.

Amri and Tonon have something in common – they are both participants of the WISH programme, which is funded by the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity programme, managed and hosted by the University of Hertfordshire and led by Pike.

The programme got underway in May 2022 after a successful pilot from 2019 to 2021. All four cohorts have now embarked on the 21-month programme, a mix of online learning, group tasks, dual mentoring and a residential, with the first cohort already having graduated in January this year. In total, the WISH programme will equip a total of 123 female coaches from 22 sports and 60 countries with the tools needed to take on roles at the highest level of their sport.

Read the full article on olympics.com.