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Women in Sport: Coaches begin the WISH Programme

Sunday, September 4, 2022 - 06:32 By United World Wrestling Press

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London, England (August 22) – Women in Sport High-Performance Pathway (WISH) kicked off the first edition of the programme on 23 May.  WISH was designed to equip women coaches with the potential and ambition to gain roles at elite coaching levels within their sports. The programme is specifically designed to help coaches develop their sport-specific skills, leadership skills and behaviors and build confidence. United World Wrestling is participating along with seven other IF’s and is being supported by Olympic Solidarity, the University of Hertfordshire, and Females Achieving Brilliance (FAB).

United World Wrestling selected three coaches to participate in the first edition. Those coaches include Martine DUGRENIER (CAN), Aline DA SILVA (BRA) and Carissa HOLLAND (AUS). They recently had the opportunity to attend the Residential Session at the University of Hertfordshire (August 14-20).  “The WISH Programme was really well conducted," said Carissa Holland. "We not only learn about leadership qualities and skillsets, but I learned a lot about myself (especially coming out of the recent Commonwealth Games in Birmingham).”  

The residential session was a weeklong event where the coaches attended working sessions and participated in learning activities with the 24 other coaches in attendance.  Some of the key learning points included leadership skills, creative problem-solving, creating connections, mindset, having uncomfortable conversations and visualizing the future, among many other topics.

WISH
Participants of the WISH programme gather for a photo. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

“The residential week was great. We had the opportunity to meet great people all around the world and learned from experienced well accomplished people," said Aline da Silva. "It was very inspiring. I have learned to embrace a leadership role, to empower others and enjoy the journey! I’m excited to see where the program will lead me over the next 20 months,” said Martine Dugrenier. “The week was more than I expected; I shared a lot with the coaches and improved my knowledge about my leadership. I came back home excited to improve all I learned there and keep the connections.”

The WISH Programme is a 21-month programme.  These coaches will continue meeting with the WISH Leadership Team and work with their leadership mentors and sport-specific mentors.  WISH was originally piloted as the WSLA High-Performance Coach Programme.

UWW participated in the original pilot program with four coaches. After a successful experience, the WISH Programme was developed and expanded to include participation by more International Federations.  UWW has renewed its participation in the outstanding programme.

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UWW Most Dominant Wrestlers 2025: Amouzad, Motoki, Esmaeili

Thursday, December 25, 2025 - 11:08 By Eric Olanowski

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 24) -- There were several dominant performances in 2025 on the wrestling mat. But it was three wrestlers who remained at the top of their weight classes and racked up dominant wins one after another. Two were Olympic champions while one was an Olympic silver medalist. All three became world champions in Zagreb.

Freestyle Most Dominant Wrester: Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI)

- 14–0
- Rank 1 at 65kg 
- 58,000 RS points 
- Outscored world and Olympic medalists 42–4
- World Championships, Tirana RS and ISG golds

Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) was about as perfect as you could be in a season, returning to prominence with title-winning efforts at the World Championships, Islamic Solidarity Games and Muhamet Malo Ranking Series event and finishing the season as the No.1 ranked wrestler in the world at 65kg with 58,000 Ranking Series points.

The Paris silver medalist, collected an unblemished 14-0 record in 2025 -- with five of those wins coming against top-level opponents who have world or Olympic medals on their resumes in Olympic champion Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN), Umidjon JALALOV (UZB), Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) and Real WOODS (USA). The craziest part about those five matches against the world’s best, Amouzad outscored 42-4.

But without a doubt, the highlight of Amouzad’s season came in Zagreb when he finally got his long awaited rematch, beating Kotaro KIYOOKA in a revenge match from the Paris 2024 Olympic finals.

The scariest part about Amouzad’s dominance -- he’s only 23 years old and he’s still getting better.

Women's Wrestling Dominant Wrestler: Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)

- 9-0
- Five pins, two technical superiorities
- 45,000 RS points 
- 8/9 bouts finished before regulation
- Completed Golden Grand Slam (U17, U20, U23, Senior World and Olympic gold)

Coming into the 2025 season, Motoki made her goals crystal clear -- become the third wrestler in history of the sport to win wrestling’s Golden Grand Slam -- and for those who don’t know, that is gold medals at the U17, U20, U23, Senior World Championships and the Olympic Games.

The only two missing from the Olympic champ's resume were the U23 and Senior World golds.

At the 2025 U23 and senior World Championships, Motoki showed that she’s in a league of her own, as she went 9-0, with eight  matches finishing before time expired. She scored five falls and two technical superiority wins.

Her win in the final of the World Championships will be one that will be talked about for ages as the most dramatic win of the season. Motoki scored a buzzer-beating takedown against Ok Ju KIM (PRK) with a 10-second flurry that consisted of a head outside single, arm throw, over-under knee pick, before head locking Kim with four tenths of a second left to keep her history making hopes alive.

In the end, Motoki’s heart and courage under fire helped her close out the year as the third wrestler to complete the Golden Grand Slam and she did it with a level of dominance we may not see again for a very long time.

Greco-Roman Dominant Wrestler: Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI)

- Rank 1 at 67kg 
- 58,000 RS points  
- 11–0 Record
- World Championships, Asian Championships and  ISG golds

In a 2025 campaign that saw him become a world champion, Esmaeili's season was immaculate, as he cemented his place among the sport’s top pound-for-pound wrestler with a season full of titles, stacking gold-medals at the World Championships, Asian Championships and Islamic Solidarity Games, rounding out the season ranked No. 1 in the world at 67kg.

The Paris Olympic champion remained unbeaten in 2025, winning all 11 bouts of his bouts in dominant fashion -- scoring eight shutout wins, with seven technical falls -- including a pair of 9-0 win against world champions Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) and Sebastian NAD (SRB). The reigning Olympic gold medalist also collected two victories over Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE), one in the world final and one in the Islamic Game gold-medal match, where he tossed his Azeri opponent for four as time expired to rob his rival of the title.

His opponents should not ease up because at just 22 years old, Esmaeili is still sharpening his tool set and leveling up his skills.