Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! August 6, 2018

By Eric Olanowski

Reviewing Russian National results along with Russia sweeping the Junior European Championships. Also looking at updated World rankings, Maroulis' special wrestle-off, and the 2018 Junior Pan-American Championships. 

1. Russia’s #Budapest2018 Team Nearly Set 
Russian Nationals wrapped up this past weekend and eight of the ten spots on Russia’s #Budapest2018 team were locked up. 

Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS), the three-time world and Olympic champion bumped up to 97kg after winning the 92kg European title and defeated Vladislav BAITSAEV (RUS), 8-1 to win the Russian 97kg #Budapest2018 spot. 

Sadulaev’s win potentially sets up the rematch from last year’s World Championship finals with the three-time world and Olympic champion Kyle SNYDER (USA). 

As mentioned above, eight of ten weight classes were locked up. The two weight classes that are still up for grabs are 61kg and 65kg. 

Gadshimurad RASHIDOV (RUS) (61kg) and Ilyas BEKBULATOV (RUS) (65kg) were relieved from participating at Russian Nationals and will compete alongside Russian National champions Magomedrasul IDRISOV and Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS) at the final Ranking Series event, the Ziolkowski (Poland Open) on September 7-9. 

The highest placer in these two weight classes at the Ziolkowski (Poland Open) will represent Russia at the 2018 World Championships. 

RESULTS
57kg - Z. UGUEV df. K. DONDUK-OOL, 7-1 
61kg – M. IDRISOV df. I. MUSUKAEV, 5-3 
65kg - A. CHAKAEV df. B. GOYGEREEV, 2-2
70kg – M. GAZIMAGOMEDOV df. A. SAT, 9-0 
74kg - Z. SIDAKOV df. K. TSABOLOV, 2-2 
79kg -  A. GADZHIMAGOMEDOV df. K. SUYUNCHEV, 3-2 
86kg - D. KURUGLIEV df. A. NAIFONOV, 2-1 
92kg – B. TSAKULOV df. A. URISHEV, 7-5 
97kg - A. SADULAEV df. V. BAITSAEV, 8-1
125kg – A. KHIZRIEV df. M. KUSHKOV, 4-4 

 

2. Maroulis and Hedrick Wrestle-off Scheduled for October 6
Helen MAROULIS (USA), the three-time world and Olympic champion will wrestle Alex HEDRICK (USA) on October 6 in a Final X special wrestle-off to determine who will represent the United States at 57kg in October’s World Championships. 

The best-of-three series was originally scheduled for June 23 but had to be rescheduled due to an undisclosed Maroulis injury. 

If Maroulis is victorious, it’ll be her thirteenth time (age-level and senior-level) representing the United States at a World Championship or Olympic Games. 

3. New Freestyle and Greco-Roman Rankings Released  
United World Wrestling released the August 2018 Ranking Series for Freestyle and Greco-Roman. 

Two-time world champion Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) rose four spots to No.1 at 74kg in the August 2018 Ranking Series for freestyle wrestling after capturing a gold medal at the Yasar Dogu with a criteria victory (10-10) over returning world champion Jordan BURROUGHS (USA), avenging a loss from May.

Also of note, Russia leads the pack with four wrestlers ranked No.1 in freestyle while no other country has multiple top-ranked wrestlers. 

In Greco-Roman, Islam ABBASOV (AZE), Riza KAYAALP (TUR) and Kazbek KILOV (BLR) were the three new No. 1-ranked wrestlers.

Three-time world champion Riza Kayaalp (TUR) moved to No.1 at 130kg after claiming a gold medal in the final Ranking Series event for Greco-Roman wrestling. 

Kayaalp, who climbed from No.5 in the rankings last month, won a gold medal at the Vehbi Emre with a 2-1 victory over Kiryl HRYSHCHANKA (BLR). It was Kayaalp's sixth Vehbi Emre title. Earlier this year he won his eighth European title.

Full Freestyle Rankings 
Full Greco-Roman Rankings 

Aleksandr KOMAROV (RUS) captured his fourth age-level European gold medal (Photo Max-Rose Fyne) 

4. Russia Rolls Over European Competition, Sweeps Team Race
Russia, on the back three-time age-level world champion and most dominant Junior in the world, Aleksandr KOMAROV (RUS) captured thirteen individual Junior European gold medals, while also obtaining team titles in freestyle, Greco-Roman and women’s wrestling.

Freestyle Results 
Greco-Roman Results 
Women’s Wrestling Results

5. Pan-American Championships Begin Next Week 
Fortaleza, Brazil is poised to host the 2018 Junior Pan-American Championships which takes place August 17-19. 

Greco-Roman wrestling will kick off the championships at the Centro de Formacao Olimpica do Nordeste on Friday and will be followed by women’s wrestling (Friday) and freestyle (Saturday).

Full Schedule

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media 

1. Big Move Monday! #ActiveWrestling #GrecoRomanWrestling#wrestling #georgian #wrestler LOMADZE Iuri
#takedown #throw #suplex #mma#mixedmartialarts @georgian__wrestling
2. Snyder won the first round. 
If these two meet at the #Budapest2018World Championships, who do you think wins? @sadulaev_abdulrashid or @snyderman45 ? ⬇️ COMMENT ⬇️
3. Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting. 
4. Big Move from Last Day of the Junior European C'Ships #Rome2018!
5. Team Russia celebrates behind the scenes!! ????? -

Development

More Than Medals Americas wraps up in Rio de Janeiro

By United World Wrestling Press

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (July 8) — With young athletes at the center of United World Wrestling’s development strategy, the 2025 edition of *More Than Medals Americas* was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from June 23rd to 29th, following the U17 Pan-American Championships.

Over the course of seven days, 46 wrestlers and 10 coaches from 11 countries came together for a full program of training sessions, educational workshops, cultural excursions, and recreational activities making this a comprehensive experience beyond the mat.

Held at the state-of-the-art facilities of CEFAN (Centro de Educação Física Almirante Adalberto Nunes), the camp kicked off with a vibrant opening ceremony, attended by Brazilian Wrestling Federation President Flavio Cabral and UWW Education Director Zach Erret. The schedule included three daily meals, on-site accommodation, and seamless logistics that contributed to the event's success.

Among the educational highlights were sessions on safe sport, mental health, injury prevention, and anti-doping each delivered by expert facilitators in a format designed to foster active participation from the athletes. These workshops aimed to equip young wrestlers not only with athletic tools but with life skills as well.

The technical sessions were held on four official mats, strength training, and physical conditioning. Coaches collaborated in a joint planning meeting to create an integrated training environment, where athletes learned from each other’s styles and backgrounds.

Outside the gym, participants explored the iconic city of Rio de Janeiro. They visited Sugarloaf Mountain, Christ the Redeemer, and the historic Maracanã Stadium. An ecological outing to Copacabana Beach was also part of the program, emphasizing environmental awareness—even if a planned cleanup was rendered unnecessary thanks to local conservation efforts.

This edition of *More Than Medals* once again demonstrated the transformative power of sport. Participants described the experience as “great,” and organizers emphasized that the success of the program lies in its ability to holistically nurture the next generation of wrestlers not just as athletes, but as global citizens.