Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! March 26, 2018

Monday, March 26, 2018 - 13:18 By Eric Olanowski

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Reviewing dominating performances by Russia at the Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov and Cuba at the Central American and Caribbean Championships. Also looking at Chamizo's second gold at 74kg and the women's development camp in Tokyo. 

1. Russians Win Seven Golds at Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov
With the third continental championship of the year, the European Championships looming, some of Europe’s best wrestlers traveled to Sofia, Bulgaria to compete in the Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov Tournament. This tournament was the final competition for those who will be heading to Dagestan, Russia next month for the European Championships.

Russian wrestlers left Bulgaria with seven gold medals and Bulgaria, Georgia and Italy each departed with a single champion.

In addition to Olympic champion Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS), the Russian gold rush was led by four other wrestlers who won the first freestyle ranking event of the season, the Ivan Yarygin. Those five Yarygin champions who captured gold at this weekend’s Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov were Zaur UGUEV (RUS), Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS), Ilyas BEKBULATOV (RUS), Ahmed GADJIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) and Abdulrashid Sadulaev.

FINAL RESULTS
57 kg - Zaur UGUEV (RUS) df. Zoheir El OURRAQE (FRA), 6-5
61kg - Vladimir DUBOV (BUL) df. Shingo ARIMOTO (JPN), 6-0
65 kg - Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS) df. Vasily SHUPTAR (UKR), 9-1
70 kg -  Ilyas BEKBULATOV (RUS) df. Haydar YAVUZ (TUR), 5-4
74 kg - Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) df. Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR), via forfeit
79 kg - Ahmed GADJIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) df. Alan ZASEEV (RUS), 7-5
86 kg -  Arthur NAIFONOV (RUS) df. Taimuraz FRIEV (ESP), via forfeit
92 kg - Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) df. Irakli MITSURI (GEO), 10-0
97 kg - Vladislav BAITSAEV (RUS) df. Riza YILDIRIM (TUR), via forfeit
125 kg - Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) df. Muradin KUSHKHOV (RUS), 5-0

2.Cuba Dominates Central American and Caribbean Championships
Although three-time Olympic champion Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) did not compete at last weekends Central American and Caribbean Championships as expected, 2016 Olympic champion Ismael BORRERO (CUB) did, picking up where he left off on his gold medal run at the Cerro Pelado.

Photo: Ismael BORRERO (CUB). 

Borrero outscored his opponents 28-0, including the defeat of Luis DE LEÓN (DOM), 8-0 in the gold-medal bout on his way to capturing his third Central American and Caribbean title.

The Cuban wrestlers went on to take first place in five of the six weight categories that were wrestled. Luigi PÉREZ (VEN) was the lone champion that did not hail from Cuba. In the finals, he stopped Cuba from winning their sixth gold medal by beating Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB), 4-0.

It was the Columbian’s who captured half of the women’s wrestling gold medals, winning three of the possible six gold medals. For Jackeline RENTERIA (COL) and Carolina CASTILLO (COL), it was their third Central American and Caribbean Championship gold medal.

Venezuela’s Betzabeth ARGUELLO and Mexico’s Alejandra ROMERO each won their second gold medals, and Andrea OLAYA (COL) and Soleimy CARABALLO (VEN) won their first Central American and Caribbean Championship gold medals.


In Freestyle, Cuba swept the tournament, going six-for-six in the gold-medal bouts. Each of the six Cubans who won Central American and Caribbean Championships titles this weekend will head to Iowa to compete in the 2018 World Cup.

Cuba's World Cup Line-Up (*Notes the Central American and Caribbean Champions)
57kg - Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA*
61kg -Yowlys BONNE RODRIGUEZ
65kg - Alejandro Enrique VALDES TOBIER*
70kg - Franklin MAREN CASTILLO*
74kg - Livan LOPEZ AZCUY
74kg -Yoan Adrian ZULUETA MORALES
86kg -Yurieski TORREBLANCA QUERALTA*
86kg - Lazaro Daniel HERNANDEZ LUIS
97kg - Reineris SALAS PEREZ*
125kg - Yudenny ALPAJON ESTEVEZ*

3. Post Women’s World Cup Development Training Camp Held in Tokyo
The 2018 Women’s World Cup wrapped up in Takahashi, Japan last weekend with host nation Japan winning their fourth straight title. 

After the conclusion of the World Cup, over 160 athletes from 21 nations took to Japan’s AJINOMOTO National Training Centre to participate in a four-day camp.

For behind-the-scenes photos and videos from the developmental camp, see our Weekly FIVE! In Social Media - Tokyo Edition! 

4. Chamizo wins second 74kg gold
For the second time this year, Frank CHAMIZO (ITA), the reigning 70kg world champion not only competed up at 74kg but walked away unscathed with a gold medal.

Last weekend, Chamizo bumped up a weight and went 4-0 and captured the 74kg Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov Tournament gold medal. Chamizo went 3-0 on the day before receiving a forfeit in the finals over Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR). The Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov Tournament gold is his second gold medal of the year at 74kg, as he also won the Outstanding Ukrainian Memorial where he defeated 2011 world silver medalist, Franklin GOMEZ in the finals, 4-0.

After the tournament, Chamizo said “I didn’t think it was going to be easy to win this competition, but this will be the last time I compete until the European Championships” which will be held in Dagestan, Russia April 30 - May 6.

5. Freestyle World Cup
United World Wrestling released the schedule for Freestyle World Cup which kicks off April 07-08. The dual-meet based events is an annual highlight of the international wrestling calendar which will take place next weekend in Iowa City, Iowa, United States.

The eight participating teams have been separated into two pools with the top-two teams, the United States and Russia leading groups A and B.

Also of note, NBC has announced that television coverage will be provided for multiple World Cup duals throughout the weekend. Coverage of the first dual begins Saturday, April 7, at 2:30 p.m. for the dual between defending world champions, the United States and the third-place finishers at the 2017 World Championships, Georgia. Additionally, NBC will air the gold medal bout on Sunday, April 8, at 4:00 p.m.

SCHEDULE
Session I - Saturday, April 7 - 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM (CST) 
10:00 AM: United States v. Japan (Mat A) // Russia v. Cuba (Mat B) 
11:15 AM: Georgia v. ____  (Mat A) // Azerbaijan v. Kazakhstan (Mat B)

Session II - Saturday, April 7 - 2:00 PM - 7:00 PM (CST) 
2:00 PM: Opening Ceremonies
2:30 PM: United States v. Georgia (Mat A)
4:30 PM: Russia v. Azerbaijan (Mat B)
5:45 PM: Japan v. ____ (Mat A) // Cuba v. Kazakhstan (Mat B)

Session III - Sunday, April 7 - 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM (CST) 
10:00 AM: United States v. ____ (Mat A) // Russia v. Kazakhstan (Mat B)
11:15 AM: Georgia v. Japan (Mat A) // Azerbaijan v. Cuba (Mat B)
12:30 PM: 7th Place Match (Mat A) // 5th Place Match (Mat B)
2:15 PM: 3rd Place Match (Mat A)
4:00 PM: Gold Medal Match (Mat A)

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media - Tokyo Edition 

1. Train Hard, Play Hard // Things are getting very strange at the Women's Development Camp in Tokyo, Japan // We have so much great footage to share! // @mensahtamyrastock @adelinegray
@__malpal__ @yui106301susaki@jennyfransson @eweebz @m.miwa0722

2. Japan training camp ??

3. No shoes, no problem! Defending world champion @yui106301susaki poses for a photo after this mornings workout at the women’s wrestling development camp in Tokyo! ?: @tr.foley

4.Meet one of China’s up-and-coming stars of women’s wrestling, Paliha! She’s a 76kg grappler from western China with an outgoing personality and great work ethic. Also, a bit of a comedian. #wrestlelikeagirl ? @tr.foley

5. More images from the 2018 UWW Women’s Wrestling Development Clinic. More than 160 wrestlers from 21 countries showed up to the camp! #wrestlelikeagirl

#UnitedWorldWrestling

Paris Olympics: Wrestling breaks new barriers, expands reach across continents

Thursday, August 22, 2024 - 14:05 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (August 22): More than half a million new fans in the digital community. An astounding 100 million engagements. And a remarkable 134 percent increase in social media impressions compared to Tokyo 2020.

At the Paris Olympics, it was a gold medal for wrestling.

UWW

On the mat, legends were born, records were set, and some moments would be remembered for ages. Off it, the sport broke new barriers, expanded its reach and engaged with a diverse audience as the United World Wrestling digital channels witnessed unprecedented growth during the Games.

The UWW’s online platforms recorded an impressive 11.2 percent increase in followers, adding over 508,000 new fans to its digital community. Compared to the growth in followers during the Tokyo Olympics, this figure represents a staggering 125 percent increase.

A large part of this surge was seen on Instagram, where the UWW gained 217,000 new followers. Facebook was a close second, adding 183,000 new followers while TikTok, the platform known for its short, engaging content, added 61,400 new followers. The growth across all platforms highlights the effectiveness of the UWW’s content strategy.

The inspiring clip of Greco-Roman star Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI), who won Iran’s first gold medal in the Paris Olympics drove the maximum engagement on Instagram. Saravi, who won a bronze medal in Tokyo, beat Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) 4-1 in the 97kg final.

Another Iranian, Rahman AMOUZAD, one of the most feared wrestlers in the 65 kg freestyle, went viral with a video in which he proclaimed himself the ‘king’. This post had the second-highest engagement while a slick clip of Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) was the third-most viewed, captivating the viewers and leading engagements as well as interactions.

These videos – and many others shared across UWW’s social media channels – resonated strongly with audiences, garnering record-breaking views. Overall, there were 330 million impressions, a remarkable rise of 134 percent compared to the Tokyo Olympics.

Moreover, the content also achieved 100 million engagements, and a 71 percent increase in reach compared to the previous Olympic Games. This surge in interaction underscores the high level of interest and excitement generated by UWW’s coverage of the Olympic wrestling events.

The video content drove UWW’s social media success. Across all platforms, UWW’s video content garnered over 156 million views, an extraordinary 205 percent increase compared to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

YouTube, in particular, saw significant traction with over 21 million views. This success was fueled by a mix of short and long-form videos apart from live streaming, with shorts emerging as the most popular content format.

With more than one million views, the YouTube video of AMAN (IND) getting his revenge over Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) with a win in the preliminary round. Aman, who won a bronze medal, had lost to Abakarov at the 2023 World Championships.

Chamizo’s video, Don't play with fire #WrestleParis, which went viral on Instagram was also a huge hit on YouTube with hundreds of thousands of viewers, making it the second-most watched video on the platform.

The Day Three highlights show which revisited one of the biggest upsets of the competition – Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) defeating Yui SUSAKI (JPN) in the women’s 50 kg first round – got the third-highest views on YouTube.

The UWW’s vibrant social media strategy was complemented by a robust email marketing campaign, which ran daily throughout the Olympic Games. The ongoing CRM campaigns helped boost engagement across Web, App and UWW+.