#Webinar

Webinar Schedule for October 12-18

By United World Wrestling Press

Refereeing webinars

Topic: Preparation of referee for a competition - Russian
Date: Thursday, 15 October
Time: 14:00 - Zurich (UTC+2) – 08:00 - New York (Check your local time)
Speaker: Noravard Arustamyan and Alexey Bazulin
Language: Russian
Level: National and International Referees
Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/94885716695

Topic: Preparation of referee for a competition - French
Date: Thursday, 15 October
Time: 16:00 - Zurich (UTC+2) – 10:00 - New York (Check your local time)
Speaker: Kamel Bouaziz
Language: French
Level: National and International Referees
Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/96977664271

Topic: Preparation of referee for a competition - Spanish
Date: Thursday, 15 October
Time: 18:00 - Zurich (UTC+2) – 12:00 - New York (Check your local time)
Speaker: Carlos Garcia and Eduardo Goncalves
Language: Spanish
Level: National and International Referees
Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/99144308470

Coaching webinars

Topic: Training Plans: Theoretical Framework - French
Date: Tuesday, 13 October
Time: 16:00 - Zurich (UTC+2) – 10:00 - New York (Check your local time)
Speaker: Vincent Aka
Language: French
Level: National & Local Coaches
Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/98391569910

Topic: Identifying Key Factors and Introducing New Skills- Arabic
Date: Saturday, 17 October
Time: 19:00 (Zurich) – 13:00 (New York) (Check your local time)
Speaker: Mohamed Ibrahim Abdelfattah
Language: Arabic
Target Audience: Local and National Coaches
Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/91803384594 

Webinaires liés à l’arbitrage 

Thème: Préparation de l’arbitre à une compétition - Russe
Date: Jeudi 15 octobre
Heure: 14:00 - Zurich (UTC+2) – 08:00 - New York (Vérifier votre heure locale)
Conférencier: Noravard Arustamyan et Alexey Bazulin
Langue: Russe
Niveau: Arbitres nationaux et internationaux
Lien: https://zoom.us/j/94885716695

Thème: Préparation de l’arbitre à une compétition - Français
Date: Jeudi 15 octobre
Heure: 16:00 - Zurich (UTC+2) – 10:00 - New York (Vérifier votre heure locale)
Conférencier: Kamel Bouaziz
Langue: Français
Niveau: Arbitres nationaux et internationaux
Lien: https://zoom.us/j/96977664271

Thème: Préparation de l’arbitre à une compétition - Espagnole
Date: Jeudi 15 octobre
Heure: 18:00 - Zurich (UTC+2) – 12:00 - New York (Vérifier votre heure locale)
Conférencier: Carlos Garcia et Eduardo Goncalves
Langue: Espagnole
Niveau: Arbitres nationaux et internationaux
Lien: https://zoom.us/j/99144308470

Webinaires de coaching

Thème: Planification de l’entraînement: Cadre théorique - Français
Date: Mardi 13 octobre
Heure: 16h00 - Zurich (UTC + 2) - 10h00 - New York (Vérifiez votre heure locale)
Conférencier: Vincent Aka
Langue: Français
Niveau: Entraîneurs nationaux et locaux
Lien: https://zoom.us/j/98391569910

Thème: Identifiés les facteurs clés et introduire de nouvelles compétences - Arabe
Date: Samedi 17 octobre
Heure: 19:00 - Zurich (UTC+2) – 13:00 - New York (Vérifier votre heure locale)
Conférencier: Mohamed Ibrahim Abdelfattah
Langue: Arabe
Niveau: Coaches nationaux et locaux
Lien: https://zoom.us/j/91803384594

#WrestleParis

Paris 2024: For France wrestling trio, Olympics come home. Literally

By United World Wrestling Press

PARIS (July 17) -- To compete at a home Olympics can be an unparalleled career high for the best of athletes. Even more so for the three French wrestlers, for whom the Games have come home — quite literally.

When Koumba LARROQUE, Ameline DOUARRE and Mamadassa SYLLA check in at the Athletes Village in Seine Saint Denis and step on the mat at the picturesque venue in Champs de Mars, it’ll mark a culmination of their stories that took shape just a stone's throw away, at the Club Bagnolet Lutte 93.

 Koumba LARROQUE (FRA)
Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) at Club Bagnolet Lutte 93.

Indeed, there are many wrestling strongholds in France. Dijon, roughly 320 km from Paris, is one such hub that is home to many young stars. And quite a few of them train at France’s National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance — commonly known as INSEP, a facility that’s also designated as the United World Wrestling Center.

However, the presence of wrestling stars who have honed their skills at Bagnolet, the famous Parisian club, in the French team is steeped in symbolism. Not least because it is located close to the two Olympic landmark sites.

But by competing at the home Games, the trio will also carry forward the commune’s century-long wrestling tradition, which also captures the growth of the sport between the two Olympics Paris has hosted.

Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)Ameline DOUARRE (FRA) will compete at Paris Olympics in 62kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

It was exactly a hundred years ago, in 1924, that the Association Sportive et Gymnasnique de Bagnolet reinvented and transformed itself into a sports club, kick-starting a revolution of sorts in the area not too far from Paris’s city center.

Nothing nails down Bagnolet’s wrestling culture more than the fact that, according to a survey on the club’s website, two out of three youngsters wrestled. However, it was only after an agreement was reached with the department of Seine Saint Denis — the heart of the Games where the Athletes Village is located — that the sport really took off and the Club Bagnolet Lutte 93 came into being in its current form in 2005.

From Mélonin NOUMONVI, the 2014 Greco-Roman world champion, to Olympic gold medalist Steeve GUENOT and his bronze medal-winning brother Christophe as well as the latest sensation, the former U20 and U23 world champion Larroque – many French champions have spent key years of their development at the club.

But Larroque, Douarre and Sylla have a chance to do something none of their predecessors could: compete in their own backyard.

Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA) after his qualification for the 2024 Paris Games. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Sylla, who discovered wrestling at age 15, finished fifth at the European Championships this year and will compete in the 67 kg Greco-Roman category. Douarre is a last-minute entrant to the draw after withdrawals in the 62 kg weight class.

Sylla, who was a second-choice wrestler for the qualification tournament in Baku, became the first wrestler from France to qualify in Grec-Roman since the 2012 London Games, the last time France won an Olympic medal in wrestling, a bronze by 2008 Beijing champion Steve GUENOT (FRA).

Larroque, though, remains the flag-bearer for French wrestling at the Paris Olympics. Introduced to wrestling at age 9, a youth Olympics medallist at 16, and U23 world champion when she was 19 and a senior worlds silver medallist in the same year, Larroque was destined for greatness.

But her career arc suffered a setback. An injury in the 2018 World Championship final meant she was away from the mat for almost a year. Once she recovered, Larroque looked like a shadow of her past self as she could not manage any podium finishes. And although she made it to Tokyo, she was eliminated after the first round itself.

Paris provides the 68kg wrestler a path to redemption. To finish among medals in front of her family and friends — and a short distance away from her club — would undoubtedly be an unparalleled high in Larroque’s career.