Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! February 26, 2019

By Eric Olanowski

Discussing this week's Dan Kolov and Russia's 2019 Freestyle World Cup Rosters. Also reviewing results from the Hungarian and German Grand Prix' and the Cerro Pelado. 

1. Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov Begins Thursday 

Four Olympic gold medalists and four world champions have entered this week’s Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov tournament, United World Wrestling’s second freestyle and women's wrestling Ranking Series event of the 2019 season.

Two-time defending world champion Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) and Olympic champions Taha AKGUL (TUR), Jordan BURROUGHS (USA), Kyle Frederick SNYDER (USA), and Hassan YAZDANICHARATI (IRI) have each signed up to compete in Ruse.

While on the women’s side defending world champions Petra OLLI (FIN), RONG Ningning (CHN), and Taybe Mustafa YUSEIN (BUL) are all scheduled to wrestle.

Winner of the Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov will be awarded eight (8) points, with second, third and fifth place grabbing six (6), four (4), and two (2) points respectively.

In addition to the placement points, wrestlers will receive additional points based on the number of participants in their bracket. For weight categories with 10 or fewer entries, an additional six (6) points will be added. For categories with 11-20 wrestlers entered an additional eight (8) points will be added. Ten (10) points will be added to any weight category with more than 20 entries.

The two remaining freestyle and women's wrestling Rankings Series events are the Sassari (May 24), and the Yasar Dogu (July 12).

If you missed the first Ranking Series event, the Ivan Yariguin, click here to view the event hub. 

2. Lorincz Lifts Host Nation to Hungarian Grand Prix Title  

Viktor LORINCZ (HUN) picked up his second Ranking Series title of the year with a 6-0 shutout victory over Algeria's Ivan LIZATOVIC in the 87kg Hungarian Open finals, catapulting the host nation to the top of the leaderboard, five points above Iran, who led after the first nine weight classes.

In the finals, the Hungarian exposed his Algerian opponent twice with a pair of gut wrenches after the Lizatovic was dinged for passivity, and owned the 5-0 lead. A second period step out gave Lorincz the 6-0 advantage and his second Ranking Series gold of the season. The Hungarian also had a title-winning performance at the Zagreb Open two weeks ago. 

Lorincz is quietly building a case to be looked at as one of the most dominate Greco-Roman wrestlers in the world after the first two Ranking Series events. Lorincz has an undefeated 9-0 record this season and has scored six shutout victories while outscoring his opponents 45-8.

The host nation Hungary (91 points), who wasn’t even in the top-five after the opening day of wrestling, edged Iran (86 points) by five points to win the team title. Ukraine (83points), Turkey (68 points) and Korea (65 points) rounded out the top-five, respectively.

FINALS RESULTS
55kg - Ilkhom BAKHROMOV (UZB) df. Reza Kheirollah KHEDRI (IRI), 6-4
60kg - Seunghak KIM (KOR) df. Firuz TUKHTAEV (UZB), via inj. def. 
63kg - Shinobu OTA (JPN) df. Erbatu TUO (CHN), 6-0 
67kg - Hansu RYU (KOR) df. Ruslan KUDRYNETS (UKR), 8-1 
72kg - Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO) df. Sachino DAVITAIA (GEO), via inj. def. 
77kg - Viktor NEMES (SRB) df. Dmytro PYSHKOV (UKR), 2-1 
82kg - Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) df. Rajbek BISULTANOV (DEN), 7-1
87kg - Viktor LORINCZ (HUN) df. Bachir SID AZARA (ALG), 6-0 
97kg - Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA) df. Fatih BASKOY (TUR), 3-3 
130kg - Heiki NABI (EST) df. Georgi CHUGOSHVILI (BLR), 2-0 

Day One Wrap 
Day Two Wrap 

3. Russia Releases World Cup Roster 
World champions Magomedrasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV (70kg) and Zaurbek SIDAKOV (74kg) lead the Russian Federation’s 20-man roster for the 2019 Freestyle World Cup. 

The 2018 freestyle world champions will be without world champions Zaur UGUEV (57kg) and Abdulrashid SADULAEV (97kg), and two-time world runner-up RASHIDOV Gadshimurad (61kg),  but their lineup will feature 2018 third-place finishers Akhmed CHAKAEV (65kg) and Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (79kg). 

For Russia to earn top-billing in 2019, the home side will need to win a Group A side which includes a resurgent Cuban team, Japan, and Turkey. 

The United States heads up Group B but faces steep competition from a Georgia squad rife with former world and Olympic champions, including two-time defending heavyweight world champion Geno PETRIASHVILLI. A young Iranian team and ever-improving Mongolia squad fill out Group B. 

Group A - RUS (1), CUB (4), JPN (5), TUR (8)
Group B - USA (2), GEO (3), IRI (6), MGL (7)

The 2019 Freestyle World Cup beings on March 16 in Yakutsk, Russia, and will be live on www.unitedworldwrestling.org. 

Russia’s World Cup Roster
57kg - Muslim SADULAEV                   
57kg - Aryian TIUTRIN             
61kg - Eduard GRIGOREV                   
61kg - Magomedrasul IDRISOV                      
65kg - Akhmed CHAKAEV                   
65kg - Nachyn KUULAR                       
70kg - David BAEV                  
70kg - Magomedrasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV    
74kg - Zaurbek SIDAKOV                    
74kg - Magomed KURBANALIEV         
79kg - Magomed RAMAZANOV          
79kg - Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV                      
86kg - Vladislav VALIEV                      
86kg - Dauren KURUGLIEV                  
92kg - Magomed KURBANOV             
92kg - Alikhan ZHABRAILOV               
97kg - Rasul MAGOMEDOV                
97kg - Igor OVSIANNIKOV                   
125kg - Anzor KHIZRIEV                      
125kg - Said GAMIDOV                       

4. Cuba Wins Six Cerro Pelado International Golds 
Cuban wrestlers won six of eight freestyle gold medals at last weekend’s Cerro Pelado in Havana, Cuba. United States’ Ben WHITFORD and Brandon SORENSEN won the 61kg and 70kg gold medals respectively and were the only two non-Cubans to win a gold medal.

Darthe CAPELLAN (CAN) was the only wrestlers not from Cuba or the United States to medal at the Cerro Pelado. He won a bronze medal at 57kg. 

RESULTS
57kg 
GOLD - Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA (CUB)
SILVER - Alexei ALVAREZ BLANCO (CUB)        
BRONZE - Frank PERELLI (USA) 

BRONZE - Darthe CAPELLAN (CAN)

61kg
GOLD – Ben WHITFORD (USA)            
SILVER - Cory CLARK (USA)

BRONZE - Aleynier HERNANDEZ GUILARTE (CUB)

65kg
GOLD - Alejandro VALDES TOBIER (CUB) 
SILVER – Evan HENDERSON (USA)
BRONZE – Dean HEIL (USA) 

Cristian SOLENZAL LOPEZ (CUB) 

70kg    
GOLD – Brandon SORENSEN (USA)    
SILVER Lavion MAYS  (USA)    
BRONZE - David CARR (USA) 
BRONZE Franklin MAREN CASTILLO (CUB)

74kg    
GOLD - Geandry GARZON CABALLERO (CUB)
SILVER - Thomas GANTT (USA)           
BRONZE Joey LAVALLEE (USA)
BRONZE - Dan VALIMONT (USA)

79kg - No competition                                                           

86kg    
GOLD - Yurieski TORREBLANCE QUERALTA (CUB)      

SILVER - Kenneth COURTS (USA)        
BRONZE - Brett PFARR (USA) 
BRONZE - Lazaro HERNANDEZ LUIS (CUB)

92kg - No competition                                               

97kg    
GOLD - Reineris SALAS PEREZ (CUB)   
SILVER - Yongen BASTIDAS (CUB)
BRONZE - Kevyn GADSON (USA)

125kg  
GOLD -  Yudenny ALPAJON ESTEVES (CUB)

SILVER - Dominique BRADLEY (USA)
BRONZE - Lazaro SILVA (CUB)

BRONZE - Tanner HALL (USA)

5. Grand Prix of Germany Wraps Up in 
Five different nations won a women’s wrestling gold medal at the last weekend’s German Grand Prix, but Canada and the United State were the frontrunners with three gold medalists each. 

The host nation Germany had a pair of champions, while Nigeria and Russia each had a solo gold-medal winner.

The most notable championship performance came from Russia’s 2012 Olympic champion Natalya VOROBIEVA (RUS). Vorobieva, who made her return to the mat three weeks ago at the Henri Deglane Challenge, made only her second tournament appearance since her runner-up finish at the Rio Olympics. Vorobieva absence was due to the birth of her son shortly after the 2016 Olympic Games. 

In the finals, Vorobieva defeated Martina KUENZ (AUT) to win her first gold medal since the 2015 Golden Grand Prix. 

RESULTS
50kg 
GOLD - Whitney CONDER (USA)         
SILVER - Katharina BAUMGARTNER (GER)     
BRONZE - Victoria ANTHONY (USA)
BRONZE - Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA) 

53kg    
GOLD - Diana WEICKER (CAN)
SILVER - Sofia MATTSSON (SWE)        

BRONZE - Jessica BLASZKA (NED) 
BRONZE - Marina RUEDA FLORES (ESP) 

55kg
GOLD - Cameron GUERIN (USA)

SILVER - Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER)
BRONZE - Jeannie  KESSLER (AUT)

57kg    
GOLD - Adekuoroye ODUNAYO (NGR)           
SILVER - Anna Hella SZEL (HUN)         
BRONZE - Elena BRUGGER (GER)
BRONZE - Francesca INDELICATO (ITA) 

59kg    
GOLD - Andrea GRASRUECK (GER)
SILVER - Diana KAYUMOVA (KAZ) 

BRONZE – Debora LAWNITZAK (GER)

62kg
GOLD - Luisa LIEMESCH (GER)

SILVER - Johanna MATTSSON (SWE)
BRONZE - Marwa AMRI (TUN) 
BRONZE - Mallory VELTE (USA) 

65kg
GOLD - Braxton STRONE-PAPADOPOULOS (CAN)
SILVER - Amanda HENDEY (USA)
BRONZE - Macey KILTY (USA)
BRONZE - JuliaSALATA (USA) 

68kg    
GOLD - Olivia DIBACCO (CAN)
SILVER - Danielle LAPPAGE (CAN)       
BRONZE - Anna SCHELL (GER)
BRONZE -Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)

72kg    
GOLD - Guilford, Dymond GUILFORD (USA)
SILVER - Sennett, Andrea Rose SENNETT (USA)         
BRONZE -Molnar, Zsuszanna  MOLNAR (SVK)

76kg    
GOLD - Natalya VOROBIEVA (RUS)
SILVER - Martina KUENZ (AUT)           
BRONZE - Francy RAEDELT (GER)

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media 

1. Big Move Monday -- Ibragim Ilyasov (RUS) -- 2018 U-23 Europe @ilyasov_57
2. RYU Hansu with a nasty front head! Team Korea took two titles on the weekend which was good enough for a 5th place team finish! #grecoromanwrestling #wrestling ? @martin_gabor__
3. Olympic champion KIM Hyeonwoo ?? gets an early win #hungariangp2019 .
4. Great early action on Day 1 at the #hungariangp2019 #unitedworldwrestling #wrestling#grecoromanwrestling
5. Happy @alliseeisgold Day (2/22)! Счастливого @alliseeisgold дня!

#development

Development in 2024: UWW's rapid strides off and on mat activities

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 10) -- Launching education programs that laid the foundation for future generations of sports administrators, a historic step taken towards gender parity, adding the first online beach wrestling course, providing unfettered access to coaches, wrestlers and spectators to an interactive site that analyses data from all major United World Wrestling tournaments and conducting workshops on the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in coaching.

The year 2024 will go down as a watershed year in wrestling not just because of the spectacular action on the biggest stage of all, the Olympics. The year will also be seen as critical because, through various developmental initiatives, the UWW did important groundwork to support the future generations of wrestlers.

One of the landmark moments of the year was the election of seven women to the UWW Bureau, the sport’s supreme body, during the Congress in Tirana, Albania, on October 27. This marked a big step in women’s wrestling leadership and made it the highest registered female candidate for the Bureau in UWW’s history.

“From Tokyo to Paris, we made great strides to promote gender equality within our wrestling community. We have to pave the way for our future generations for equal opportunities, no matter the gender, the religious beliefs, ethnicity, etc.,” UWW President Nenad LALOVIC said.

This was also the year when wrestling took another step in opening its platforms to wrestlers, coaches and fans from the world over. By making the site accessible to all, the data and metrics for each style at every major competition from 2020 to the present can be on the UWW Academy page under the ‘Analytics’ tab. This is a great way to see how points are being scored for each style, weight category, medal matches, teams, among other things.

One of the benefits of making all the data available is it could help improve training decisions (technical and tactical) and overall general knowledge of the sport.

Another great addition to the UWW Academy portal was the first-ever online beach wrestling course. This course is designed to provide an overview of beach wrestling, the fastest-growing style. Topics include the benefits of beach wrestling, basic rules and scoring, differences between beach wrestling and the Olympic styles, how competitions are organized, how bouts are organized and conducted, and the Beach Wrestling World Series.

Soon, there will be new referee and rules courses coming to the UWW Academy.

Apart from the wide array of online courses, the UWW also held on-ground sessions in different parts of the world.T

he More than Medals camps grew stronger this year, with sessions in Jordan, the Dominican Republic and for U17 wrestlers in Serbia.

A significant milestone was achieved by conducting the South-East Asia & Oceania Education Week in Perth from September 30 to October 4.

Representatives from seven Oceania nations — Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Nauru, Tahiti, and the Marshall Islands — and a participant from Singapore gathered with the hope of enhancing wrestling expertise across the region. For many, the session was their first UWW certification in years, adding even more impact to the event and underlining the UWW’s efforts to grow the sport.

Argentina became the first country in the Americas to host a Level 3 Coaches Course. This was also the first-ever Level 3 course conducted in Spanish globally. Bulgaria successfully hosted a Level 2 Coaches Course while India was the destination for the Level 1 course.

A total of approximately 150 coaches benefitted from these sessions, marking a significant step in their education.

Tunisia, Senegal, Guatemala, Croatia, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are some other countries where crucial UWW developmental programs were hosted.

Cambodia marked a significant milestone in terms of growth of wrestling in the country by conducting the Development of the National Sports System from July 18 to November 30, 2024.

Another important program was on using AI and other new technologies in coaching during the ASOIF Sports Development and Education Group (ASDEG) Workshop in Lausanne.

UWW Development Director and ASDEG Chair Deqa NIAMKEY, who was also elected as a Board Member of the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE) in February 2024, underlined the transformative potential of AI.

The annual meeting, which attracted 60 experts representing over 30 International Federations (IFs), agreed to implement a range of initiatives over the next 12 months. It included supporting the IFs in increasing the representation of Women Technical Officials and Coaches to meet International Olympic Committee targets, establishing regular communication to facilitate cross-sport collaboration and knowledge-sharing and equipping IFs with incorporating technology in development programs and resources for education.