Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! August 27, 2019

Tuesday, August 27, 2019 - 13:50 By Eric Olanowski

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Discussing Diakomihalis and Retherford's Wrestle-off next Monday and Khizriev missing the World Championships. Also looking at the top-four world championship seeds for freestyle, Greco-Roman and women's wrestling. 

1. Diakomihalis and Retherford to Wrestle-off Next Monday 
Yianni DIAKOMIHALIS (USA) and Zain RETHERFORD (USA) will wrestle-off next Monday (September 2) to determine the tenth and final spot on the United States’ freestyle world team. 

Retherford initially won the first three-match series, but Diakomihalis challenged the outcome of the Retherford's second victory. Diakomihalis and his coaching staff weren't happy with the timeliness of the challenge from Retherford’s corner which determined the match outcome.

Diakomihalis took his case to arbitration and ended up getting the second match nullified – meaning the pair will re-wrestle the second match, and possibly a third match if need be. 

Retherford heads into the September 6 matchup owning the one match advantage. He’d have to win one match to punch his second ticket to a world championship, while Diakomihalis would have to win two straight matches to cement his spot on his first senior-level world team. 

Anzor KHIZRIEV (RUS)  will miss the World Championships due to an arm injury. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

2. Khizriev Out of World Championships
Russia’s starting heavyweight Anzor KHIZRIEV (RUS) suffered an arm injury during training and will no longer compete in Nur-Sultan at the World Championships. 

Khizriev, who is ranked fifth in the world at 125kg, has established himself as one of the best super heavyweights in the world over the past year. This season, Khizriev took out the two-time world and Olympic champion Taha AKGUL (TUR) to win the prestigious Ivan Yariguin title. He also won the European Games and placed third at the European Championships. His lone loss this season came to the aforementioned Akgul in the European semifinals. 

Khizriev’s replacement hasn’t been named, but there are two suitable candidates who Russia may throw into the World Championships. The first being Russian National champion Alan KHUGAEV (RUS) -- which is the likely decision they'll roll with if the second option isn’t available. Though unlikely, that second option is one of the most versatile big men the sport has ever seen, Bilyal MAKHOV (RUS). 

Makhov last competed at the World Championships in 2015, when he won a bronze medal in both freestyle and Greco-Roman -- bringing his overall world medal count to seven total world medals. He also owns an Olympic bronze medal from the 2012 London Olympic Games. 

Most recently, Makhov returned after a 21-month hiatus in preparation for a run to his third Olympic Games. In his August return, Makhov finished in second place at the Poland Open. 

Makhov’s Resume 
Olympic Games – Bronze (2012)
Freestyle World Championships– Gold (2007, ’09 and ‘10), Silver (2011) and Bronze (2015),
Greco-Roman World Championships – Bronze (2011 and ‘15) 

Bajrang PUNIA (IND) is one of six wrestlers who overthrew a reigning world champion for the top seed in Nur-Sultan. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

3. Freestyle Top-Four Seeds 
After a year of jockeying for position, the top-four freestyle seeds for the 2019 World Championships (September 14-22) are finally locked up. Six non-returning world champions overthrew a Budapest world gold medalist and head into Nur-Sultan garnering a top spot at their respective weight class. 

Of the ten 2018 world champions, Yowlys BONNE RODRIGUEZ (CUB), Kyle DAKE (USA), J'Den COX (USA) and Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) were the only wrestlers who held onto their top ranking. 

Click here to see a full breakdown of the top-four seeded wrestlers at each weight. 

Here Are the Freestyle No. 1 Seeds at Each Weight:
57kg - Suleyman ATLI (TUR)
61kg - Yowlys BONNE RODRIGUEZ (CUB)
65kg - Bajrang PUNIA (IND)
70kg - Adam BATIROV (BRN)
74kg - Frank CHAMIZO (ITA)
79kg - Kyle DAKE (USA)
86kg - Fatih ERDIN (TUR)
92kg - J'Den COX (USA)
97kg - Kyle SNYDER (USA)
125kg - Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)

Stepan MARYANYAN (RUS) is one of five Russian wrestlers who are seeded first at the World Championships. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

4. Greco-Roman Top-Four Seeds
Nine European wrestlers and Asia's KIM Hyeonwoo (KOR) own a Greco-Roman top seed heading into the World Championships. Of the nine European wrestlers who own a Greco-Roman top seed, five will be wearing a Russian singlet. Furthermore, each of the five top-seeded Russian wrestlers are looking to defend their world title from last year. 

Click here to see a full breakdown of the top-four seeded wrestlers at each weight. 

Here Are the Greco-Roman No. 1 Seeds at Each Weight:
55kg - Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
60kg - Sergey EMELIN (RUS)
63kg - Stepan MARYANYAN (RUS) 
67kg - Artem SURKOV (RUS)
72kg - Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)
77kg - Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR)
82kg - Emrah KUS (TUR)
87kg - Zhan BELENIUK (UKR)
97kg - Musa EVLOEV (RUS)
130kg - Sergey SEMENOV (RUS)

Oksana LIVACH (UKR) gained the No. 1 seed at 50kg after reigning two-time world champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) lost her wrestle-off. (Max Rose-Fyne)

5. Women’s Wrestling Top-Four Seeds 
There is a trio of women's wrestling returning world champions who have cemented their spot as the No. 1 seed at the World Championships. The three top seed returning world champions looking to win back-to-back world titles are RONG Ningning (CHN), Taybe YUSEIN (BUL) and Alla CHERKASOVA (UKR).

Meanwhile, Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA), Zalina SIDAKOVA (BLR) and Yasemin ADAR (TUR) each fell in last year's world finals but clawed their way into a women's wrestling top seed. The three world silver medalists head into Kazakhstan with hopes of improving their second-place finish from 2018. 

Click here to see a full breakdown of the top-four seeded wrestlers at each weight. 

Here Are the Women's Wrestling No. 1 Seeds at Each Weight: 
50kg - Oksana LIVACH (UKR)
53kg - Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA)
55kg - Zalina SIDAKOVA (BLR) 
57kg - Ningning RONG (CHN)
59kg - Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN)
62kg - Taybe Mustafa YUSEIN (BUL)
65kg - Forrest Ann MOLINARI (USA)
68kg - Alla CHERKASOVA (UKR)
72kg - Nasanburmaa OCHIRBAT (MGL)
76kg - Yasemin ADAR (TUR)

*These seeds are based off the current unofficial entries United World Wrestling has received as of August 21. These seeds are subject to change.

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media 
1. Big Move Monday -- Gvarzatilov A. (AZE) -- Senior Worlds 2016
2. Are you coming to support your wrestlers in #WrestleNurSultan? Buy your tickets! Link in Bio.
3. @vlasovroma90, @yui106301susaki, @vladimerkhinchegashvili have both Junior and Senior World Champion titles. Who else? And who is next? Tag three other wrestlers who won or will win both Junior and Senior World Championships!
4. Today is 89th birthday of Iranian legend Pahlavan Gholamreza Takhti. Iranians have named the day as “National Day of Wrestling” in the official calendar of the country.
5. The top-four seeded wrestlers at 76kg combine to have SIX world and an Olympic gold. 
Expected 76kg Top-Four Seeds
1. @yasemin.adar (TUR)
2. @adelinegray (USA)
3. @aline.focken (GER)
4. @eweebz (CAN)

Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! January 28, 2020

Tuesday, January 28, 2020 - 10:38 By Eric Olanowski

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Discussing Shiraev shinning in win over Olympic Champ Ramonov at the Ivan Yariguin and Aleksanyan's return to competition. Also looking at entries for the African Championships (February 04-09) and the updated rankings after the Matteo Pellicone.

1. Youngster Shiraev Shines in Win over Olympic Champ Ramonov 
Kurban SHIRAEV (RUS) just showed the wrestling world that he has the potential to be Russia’s next up and coming star and is a serious contender to be his nation’s representative at 65kg at the Tokyo Olympic Games. 

The 20-year-old captured his first gold medal on the senior circuit after picking up massive wins over U23 world medalists Islam DUDAEV (RUS) and Nachyin KUULAR (RUS), before taking out Rio Olympic champion Soslan RAMONOV (RUS) in the 65kg finals.

Against Romanov, the baby faced Shiraev trailed 1-1 on criteria with under 10 seconds left when he struck late with a throw-by and got behind Romanov for the match-deciding takedown. But the pair went out of bounds, and with three seconds left in the match, Shiraev said he knew Ramonov had one last attack in him. “I was wrestling till the end, even for the last 3 seconds.” The 2019 junior world silver medalist stopped Ramonov’s bulldozing attack and gave up a stepout, and hung on to win Ivan Yariguin title, 4-2.

“I am happy. I could make my relatives happy; I could make all my supporters happy. Thanks a lot, to all of them,” Shiraev said after his surprising victory.

Meanwhile, Magomedrasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) proved that he belongs in the discussion with Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS) as Russia’s top guy at 74kg after winning the loaded bracket in Krasnoyarsk.

Gazimagomedov made his second appearance down at 74kg in the last 19 months and captured back-to-back Ivan Yariguin titles. The two-time 70kg world champion, made his ascent to 74kg starting at last year's Russian National Championships, nabbed a notable 10-0 win over 2014 world champion Khetig TSABOLOV (RUS), then edged reigning U23 world champion Razambek ZHAMALOV (RUS), 3-1, in the finals.

“I was fine-tuned as it was time to declare myself for the Olympic Games. I hope that I will be taken to the European Championships,” Gazimagomedov said. “In Russia, many understand that I will win against Sidakov, but perhaps we will not be allowed to meet on the mat because we don’t have a very transparent selection system.” 

Ivan Yariguin Freestyle Results 
57kg – Azamat TUSKAEV (RUS) df. Akhmed IDRISOV (RUS), 10-3
61kg – Aleksander BOGOMOEV df. Ramazan FERZALIEV, 11-5
65kg – Kurban SHIRAEV (RUS) df. Soslan RAMONOV, 4-2
70kg – Israil KASUMOV df. David BAEV, 5-5
74kg – Magomedrasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) df. Razambek ZHAMALOV, (RUS), 3-1
79kg – Magomed RAMAZANOV (RUS) df.  Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (RUS), 1-1
86kg – Artur NAIFONOV (RUS) df. Dauren KURUGLIEV (RUS), 2-1
92kg – Batyrbek TSAKULOV df. Alikhan ZHABRAILOV (RUS) 6-3
97kg – Bladislav BAITSAEV (RUS) df. Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (RUS), 6-5
125kg – Baldan TSYZHYPOV (RUS) df. Pavel KRIVTSOV (RUS), 14-6

Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS) was one of five Russian women who won gold at the Ivan Yariguin. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

2. Russia Wins Five Women’s Wrestling Golds at Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix
Unlike the freestyle side of the Ivan Yariguin where the Russian Federation swept the competition, the women’s gold medals were divvied up between Russia, Mongolia, Japan, and China. 

But, still, the Russian Federation inserted seven wrestlers into the finals and reached the top of the podium in five weight classes. 

Led by 55kg reigning world bronze medalist, Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS), the host nation went a perfect four-for-four in gold-medal matches against Japanese opponents. Veronika CHUMIKOVA (RUS), Maria KUZNETSOVA (RUS) and Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) were the other three Russian wrestlers who downed Japanese opponents on their way to winning gold in Siberia's central city.

Ksenia BURAKOVA (RUS) was the lone Russian gold-medal winner who didn't beat a Japanese opponent in the finals. She pinned Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) in their finals meeting at 72kg.

TSOGTOCHIR Namuuntsetseg (MGL), BAATARJAV Shoovdor (MGL) and KHURELKHUU Bolortuya (MGL) were the trio of Mongolian wrestlers who won women’s wrestling titles in Krasnoyarsk. They nabbed gold at 50kg, 59kg, and 62kg respectively.

Japan and China each had a solo gold medalist. 

Japan’s lone champion was Umi IMAI, who defeated ERDENECHIMEG Sumiya (MGL), 7-2, in the 53kg finals. China’s solo champion was WANG Juan (CHN), who picked up a 7-5 win over OCHIRBAT Burmaa (MGL) in the 76kg gold-medal match.

Ivan Yariguin Women’s Wrestling Results 
50kg – TSOGTOCHIR Namuuntsetseg (MGL) df. Nadeshda SOKOLOVA (RUS), 7-2
53kg – Umi IMAI (JPN) df. ERDENECHIMEG Sumiya (MGL), 7-2
55kg – Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS) df. Kana HIGASHIKAWA (JPN), 6-3
57kg – Veronika CHUMIKOVA (RUS) df, Andoria SAWA (JPN), 8-4
59kg – BAATARJAV Shoovdor (MGL) df.  Khadizhat MURTAZALIEVA (RUS), 8-0
62kg – KHURELKHUU Bolortuya (MGL) df. ULZISAIKHAN Purevsuren (MGL), 5-5 
65kg – Maria KUZNETSOVA (RUS) df. My IMAI (JPN) , 8-0
68kg – Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) df. Rin MIYAJI (JPN), 12-2
72kg – Ksenia BURAKOVA (RUS) df. Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ), via fall (4:46)
76kg – WANG Juan (CHN) df. OCHIRBAT Burmaa (MGL), 7-5

Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) returned to action for the first time since injury defaulting out of world finals in Kazakhstan. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

3. Aleksanyan Returns from Injury, Wins Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane 
Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) returned to the mat for the first time since injury defaulting out the 97kg world finals in Nur-Sultan with an apparent rib injury and reached the top of the podium in France at the Henri Deglane. 

“I felt good about (my performance), taking into account that it was my first tournament back,” Aleksanyan told United World Wrestling. 

The three-time world and Rio Olympic champion went 4-0 on his way to the 97kg gold medal in Nice, France. He outscored Kevin MEJIA (HON) and Valerian MURVANIDZE (GEO) 18-0 in his first two matches and locked up a spot in semifinals. 

"The White Bear" scored a one-point (2-1) semifinal win over Aliaksandr HRABOVIK (BLR), then downed Orkhan NURIEV (AZE), 3-1, in the gold-medal match.

“It took a while to recover after my injury, but I feel much better now. This is why I decided to participate in Nice, so after that, I can participate in the European Championships,” said Aleksanyan. 

Greco-Roman Results 
55kg – Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ) df. Rudik MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
60kg – Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) df. Amiran SHAVADZE (GEO), 9-0 
63kg - Levan KAVJARADZE (GEO) df. Kerim MACHALIKASHVILI, via default
67kg - Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) df. Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO), 8-0 
72kg - Ulvu GANIZADEH (AZE) df. Sanan SULEYMANOV, 6-2 
77kg – Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) df.  Karapet CHALYAN (ARM), 5-2 
82kg – Rafik HUSEYNOV (AZE) df. Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO), 2-1 
87kg – Kiril MASKEVICH (BLR) df. Nikolai STADUB (BLR), 8-1 
97kg – Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) df. Orkhan NURIEV (AZE), 3-1 
130kg – Sabah SHARIATI (AZE) df. Nurmakhan TINALIEV (KAZ), via default

Two-time U23 world champion Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) is the headlining Greco-Roman athlete entered into the African Championships (February 04-09). (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

4. African Championships Begin Next Tuesday
We’re seven days out from the start first of three continental championships that’ll take place in February. The African Championships are up first and kick-off February 04-09 in Alger, Algeria. 

In total, 23 of last year’s 30 champions return to action looking to defend their crowns from a season ago. 

Second-ranked Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR) headlines a group of nine women’s wrestling returning champions. 

Adama DIATTA (SEN), who is searching for his tenth African title, highlights a list of stars that includes eight reigning gold-medal winners.

Egypt’s pair of top-five ranked wrestlers, Mohamed ELSAYED and Abdellatif MOHAMED, are two of the six Greco-Roman wrestlers who are looking to win a second consecutive title.

The African Championships begin (with cadet and junior action) next Tuesday (February 4) at 10:30 local time and can be followed live on www.unitedworldwrestling.org. 

Click HERE for the full set of entries for the 2020 African Championships.

SENIOR AFRICAN CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Friday (February 7)
14:00 - Technical conference – all SENIOR teams

Saturday (February 8)
8:30 - Medical examination and Weigh-in WW – GR / SENIOR
10:30 - Qualification rounds and repechage WW – GR / SENIOR
17: 00 - Finals WW – GR / SENIOR

Sunday (February 9)
8:30 - Medical examination and Weigh-in FS / SENIOR
10:30 - Qualification rounds FS / SENIOR
17:00 - Finals FS / SENIOR

Bajrang PUNIA (IND) inched his way closer to locking up a seed at the Olympic Games after winning the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

5. Updated Rankings Published on United World Wrestling Homepage
With the Olympic Games seeding the top-four ranked wrestlers at each weight, the rankings couldn't hold any more weight than they do in 2020. The first set of 2020 rankings, which combine points from the Nur-Sultan World Championships and Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event, have been published on the homepage of www.unitedworldwrestling.org. 

Full breakdowns of each style will be released this week: 
Wednesday: Freestyle 
Thursday: Greco-Roman 
Friday: Women’s Wrestling

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media 

1. Big Move Monday -- Geraei M. (IRI) @aligaraii -- Senior Worlds 2019 #WrestleNursultan
2. Four-time world and Olympic champion @sadulaev_abdulrashid is only 14K followers away from becoming the FIRST wrestler with 1,000,000 @instagram followers! 
3. Best throws ✈ of 2020 Greco-Roman tournament 'Takhti Cup'
4. #ScoreThat: How would you score this exchange for ? and ??
5. #tbt Jordan Burroughs First World Championship!