Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! December 31, 2018

By Eric Olanowski

Reviewing the release of tomorrow's Best Wrestler of Year award and the revamped Ranking Series structure. Also taking a look at the potential Snyder and Sadulaev round three matchup at the Ivan Yarygin in three weeks. 

1. Best Wrestler of the Year Award to be Released on January 1 
United World Wrestling will open up the new year by releasing the “2018 Best Wrestler of the Year” award for one wrestler from freestyle, Greco-Roman, and women’s wrestling. 

The winners of the Best Wrestler of the Year award were each 2018 world champions that accumulated the highest number of points during the year with the newly approved calculation of points. 

The freestyle award winner finished the year with 112 points, two Ranking Series titles, a Pan-American gold medal and reached the top of the podium for the first time at the World Championships. 

The Greco-Roman Best Wrestler of the Year had 82 points, medaled at a pair of Ranking Series events, and won the world title for the second time. 

The Women's Wrestling Best Wrestler of the Year wrapped up the 2018 season with 110 points and won gold medals at the Klippan Lady Open, the European Championships, and the World Championships. 

2. Wrestling Revamps Ranking Series System, Names 2019 Host Locations
The United World Wrestling Bureau has approved new regulations for the 2019 Ranking Series. The recommendations were brought forward by the Technical Commission at a meeting last week in Belgrade.

The most important changes to the 2019 Ranking Series centered around the allocation of points at world championships, continental championships, and Ranking Series events. The points were rebalanced to emphasize participation, and success, at the world and continental championships.

New worldwide rankings have been updated on the United World Wrestling website. The 2018 World Championships results are the basis of the rankings, as each year the world championships results will be the first points for the following year.

The seeding process for the World Championships and Olympic Games will now also include a field of the top four wrestlers in each weight category with lower seeded athletes bumping up, should one of the top four not participate in the world championships. The previous version of the world championships did not replace top seeds when they were absent of the competition.

Click HERE to see locations for the freestyle, Greco-Roman, and women's wrestling Ranking Series events.

4. Ivan Yarygin Kicks Off Ranking Series Events In Three Weeks 
The Ranking Series events will kick off in a little over three weeks on January 24 with the Ivan Yarygin in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, a competition long hailed as the “Toughest Wrestling Tournament in the World.” The 2019 edition is already creating a response, with top-level wrestlers from around the world committed to the competition, including 97kg rivals Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) and Kyle SNYDER (USA).

Though they won't be official entries until 24 hours before competition, the early list will be released after registration closes in 10 days.

5. Potential Snyder and Sadulaev Round 3 Set for Ivan Yarygin 
The wrestling world patiently waited over a year for one of the most anticipated matchups of 2018 between the four-time world and Olympic champion Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) and three-time world and Olympic champion Kyle SNYDER (USA). 

That doesn't seem to be the case heading into 2019 after Snyder took to Instagram to inform Sadulaev that he's heading to Krasnoyarsk to compete at the Ivan Yarygin with hopes of a rematch after getting pinned by "The Tank" in the 97kg gold-medal bout of the 2018 World Championships. 

Snyder tagged Sadulaev in that post with the comment, “Round 3. Lets do it. Krasnoyarsk, Russia." Sadulaev quickly responded, saying, ”Buddy Snyder, I understand your condition, but I advise you to approach the trilogy with a cool head. And then suddenly the psyche will suffer. On the way to Tokyo 2020 we will meet again.”

The pair of superstars are each returning Yarygin champions. Snyder won his second Yarygin title a season ago at 97kg, while Sadulaev also won his second title, but down at 92kg. If they were to meet in the finals of the Yarygin, it would be at 97kg. 

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media 
1. Big Move Monday !
2. Top-10 2018 amateur video? Тоp-10 любительских видео 2018 года✊
3. #SundaySmiles ? horses_dag05 <<Ко лбу лошади привязано добро до Судного дня>> Подписывайтесь братья группа о лошадях в Дагестане ?
4. #ScoreThat - Who came out on top of this exchange? Was it red or was it blue?
5. Over this week @unitedworldwrestling will share our most popular videos and photos from 2018 В течении этой недели мы будем делиться с вами лучшими публикациями 2018 года. #thebestof2018 #лучшееиз2018

#UnitedWorldWrestling

Cuba’s Trujillo Diaz honored with IOC Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (November 24) — Wrestling coach Raul TRUJILLO DIAZ (CUB) received the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award on Monday during a ceremony at the Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The award was presented by IOC President Kirsty COVENTRY and Sergii BUBKA, Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Entourage Commission.

Trujillo Díaz has been one of the key figures in the inexorable rise of Cuba as one of the leading nations in Greco-Roman, with more than 52 years of coaching experience. He coached the Cuban and Portuguese national teams across five editions of the Olympic Games.

Cuba

“I am very honoured to receive this extraordinary recognition, Trujillo Diaz said. “I would like to thank the IOC, all the athletes I have coached over the past 50 years, the other wrestling coaches and people who worked tirelessly behind the scenes in the sport to which I have dedicated my life. All were my motivation and example. I also want to take the opportunity to thank United World Wrestling (UWW). And a big thank-you to someone very special who has always been with me – my family – for their great support.”

One of the legends he has trained is five-time Olympic champion Mijain LOPEZ (CUB), who at Paris 2024 became the first athlete in any sport to win five consecutive Olympic gold medals in the same event. Others who have been trained by Trujillo Diaz are Rio 2016 champion Ismael BORRERO (CUB) and Luis ORTA (CUB), the 60kg champion at Tokyo 2020.

As well as introducing training innovations that have helped lead his nation to success, Trujillo Díaz has published numerous research papers and articles on wrestling science and pedagogy. He has also worked widely for UWW across Latin America as an educator, bringing the breadth of his knowledge and experience to new generations of athletes and coaches.

Alongwith Truillo Diaz, volleyball coach Lang PING also received the IOC Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award.

"It's really special to be here with all of you and to celebrate our two coaches for their incredible commitment and their lifetime of work in serving their athletes to become the best athlete, but also the best humans that they can be," said IOC President Kirsty Coventry during the ceremony. "So many of us who compete in sport know and understand that the lessons that we learn in sport will guide us in our everyday life after and this is where the role of coaches is so important,” she added.