Women's Day

Women's Day: 10 moments that shaped women's wrestling

Tuesday, March 7, 2023 - 21:53 By Taylor GREGORIO

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CROSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (March 8) -- Throughout wrestling history, efforts have been made to make the sport more inclusive. Women's wrestling emerged as the top priority for United World Wrestling.

Over the years, the organization has taken various steps to uplift and improve the standard of women's wrestling around the world. Here are ten moments that changed women's wrestling.

1987 – First women’s wrestling World Championships

While Greco-Roman and Freestyle have a long history of World Championships, women got their first shot at world titles in 1987 when the first women's World Championships was held. The inaugural tournament took place in Lorenskog, Norway with nine weights.

A total of 48 female wrestlers participated in this World Championships.

The champions at the inaugural edition were Brigitte WEIGERT (BEL) at 44kg, Anne HOLTEN (NOR) at 47kg, Anne HALVORSEN (NOR) at 50kg, Sylvie VAN GUCHT (FRA) at 53kg, Isabelle DOURTHE (FRA) at 57kg, Ine BARLIE (NOR) at 65kg, Georgette JEAN (FRA) at 70kg and Patricia ROSSIGNOL (FRA) at 75 kg.

1989 – First combined World Championships

Two years after its world debut, women’s wrestling shared the stage with the other two styles. A combined World Championships was held in Martigny, Switzerland.

Apart from most European countries in the participation, wrestlers from Japan, China, Chinese Taipei, Venezuela and the USA were also part of this competition. 

53 wrestlers took part in this competition and the champions included Shoko YOSHIMURA (JPN) and Ming-Hsiu CHEN (TPE).

Since then, women's wrestling World Championships has been held every year barring 2004 -- the year of the Athens Olympics.

2004 – Women’s wrestling makes Olympic debut in Athens

With momentum building around the sport, women’s wrestling was showcased on the world’s biggest stage at the 2004 Athens Olympics. With four weight classes, 11 different countries were represented in the Games, and seven of those won medals, including gold medals for Japan, Ukraine and China.

2013 - Increase from four to six weight classes at Olympics

In 2013, wrestling received devasting news that it was in danger of being dropped from the Olympic program. UWW responded quickly, making necessary changes to the sport, which included gender equity and increasing the women’s weights from four to six. It ultimately helped secure wrestling’s place as an Olympic core sport.

The change was implemented in the 2016 Rio Games, where Greco-Roman, Freestyle and women each had six weight classes. Previously, Greco-Roman and Freestyle each had six weights, while women had four.  

2015 – Yoshida wins 13th World title

At the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas, USA, Saori YOSHIDA (JPN) set a bar that is yet to be broken. She won her 13th straight World title, spanning from 2002 to 2015 with 11 of those coming at 55kg and the last two at 53kg.

In World Championship action, Yoshida was undefeated. In addition to an outstanding number of World titles, Yoshida also has three Olympic golds in four attempts.

2016 -- Icho first woman to win four Olympic golds

At the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Kaori ICHO (JPN) earned legendary status, becoming the first female athlete to win four Olympic gold medals. For the historic win, Icho defeated Valeriia KOBLOVA (RWF), 3-2, in the 58kg final.

Icho’s first Olympic gold came over Sara MC MANN (USA) at 63kg at the 2004 Olympics. After winning her second Olympic title at the 2008 Beijing Games over Alena KATACHOVA (RUS) at 63kg, Icho considered retiring but pressed on for two more Olympic Games, which included a 2012 win over Rui Xue JING (CHN), again at 63kg. Overall, Icho went undefeated internationally from 2003 to 2016 with a forfeit in 2007.

2016 -- Amri becomes first African to win Olympic medal

The Rio Olympics witnessed another significant moment when Marwa AMRI (TUN) became the first female wrestler from Africa to win an Olympic medal. She claimed the bronze medal in the 58kg weight class.

In the bronze medal bout, Amri defeated Yuliya Ratkevich (AZE), 6-3, after executing a four-pointer with 10 seconds remaining in the bout.

A year later, Amri became the first African to reach the 2017 World Championships final in Paris. On the same day, Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR) achieved the same feat as she reached the final at 55kg.

2018 - Youth Olympic Games achieve gender balance

In an effort to become more gender equitable, wrestling increased the number of female participants in Buenos Aires to 50, up from 32 participants in Singapore 2010 and Nanjing 2014.  With that number, the participants in women's wrestling was equal to freestyle and Greco-Roman. 

The adjustment was part of a larger effort by the International Olympic Committee to meet its goal to make the 2018 Youth Olympic Games the first-ever gender-equal Games.

2021 -- Mensah Stock becomes first Black female to win Olympic gold

After a 2019 World title run, Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA) was a favorite to take the crown at 68kg at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Expectedly, she reached the final in Tokyo against Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR).

The match held a lot of significance as it was the first Olympic final in wrestling’s history to feature two Black women and ensured that for the first time, a Black woman would stand atop the Olympic podium. Ultimately, it was Mensah Stock who emerged with a 4-1 win, an Olympic title and a groundbreaking moment for the sport.

CWGFor the first time in wrestling's history, the 2022 Commonwealth Games were officiated by majority women. The 16 female referees who participated in Birmingham post for a photo after the competition. (Photo: Helena Curtis)

2022 -- CWG becomes the first major tournament to be officiated by a majority of females

In an initiative to achieve gender parity, UWW launched a program to help educate, train and bring up more female referees within the sport. As a part of its strategic plan, UWW, along with the Commonwealth Games Federation, agreed to include a majority of women officials at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.  

Of the 21 referees assigned to the event, 15 were women for a total of 70 percent female representation. Additionally, one of the Referee Delegate positions and other official positions were held by women.

#JapanWrestling

Ozaki Gets Best of Motoki in Showdown, Sets Up Final against Onishi

Saturday, May 23, 2026 - 09:10 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO (May 23) -- Nonoka OZAKI won her latest showdown with Paris Olympic champion Sakura MOTOKI, and this time there was no having to cut it close.

Ozaki broke open a close match in the second period, pulling away to an 8-2 victory to advance to the women’s 62kg final at the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships on Saturday in Tokyo.

"I’m used to being patient before getting going, and in the second period I was able to seize the momentum,” Ozaki said.

The victory put Ozaki into Sunday’s final, where a victory over world 59kg champion Sakura ONISHI will secure her place on Japan’s team to both the Asian Games, to be hosted by Japan, and the World Championships.

Others advancing to their respective finals on the third day of the four-day tournament at Tokyo’s Komazawa Gym were Paris Olympic gold medalists Kotaro KIYOOKA at Freestyle 65kg, Akari FUJINAMI at women’s 57kg and Nao KUSAKA at Greco 77kg, along with Paris bronze medalist Yui SUSAKI at women’s 50kg.

The much-anticipated clash between Ozaki and Motoki was the feature match of the session, and came a round earlier than expected after Onishi upended Motoki 9-7 in their Nordic round-robin group opener.

After a staid first period in which the lone score was an activity point for Motoki, Ozaki stepped up her game and scored a quick takedown to start the second period. When Motoki tried to spin out of an underhook, Ozaki stopped her for 2.

Motoki kept that movement going and got behind for a 1-point reversal, only for Ozaki to stuff a roll attempt for a 2-point exposure to go up 6-2. Ozaki then got behind for a final takedown to complete a solid victory.

The last time they faced each other was in December at the Emperor’s Cup All-Japan Championships, which along with the Meiji Cup, serve as the qualifiers for this year’s Asian Games and World Championships. A victory at both means an automatic place on the Japan team; if the winners are different, a playoff is held between them.

Last December, Ozaki pulled off a late 3-3 victory in the final over Motoki, which earned her a ticket to last month’s Asian Championships, where she won her third career continental gold.

It also avenged a loss by the identical score at last year’s Meiji Cup, which Motoki followed up by beating Ozaki in 6-5 in a nail-biting playoff. With those wins, Motoki secured a ticket to the World Championships in Zagreb, where she won the gold medal.

“I didn’t want to have similar gap in scores like in the previous tournaments or have a one-point difference,” Ozaki said. “I wanted to win after building up a big lead.”

Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN)Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) reached the 65kg final and will take on Kaisei TANABE (JPN) for the gold medal. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Takeo Yabuki)

The other Paris medalists – Kiyooka, Fujinami, Kusaka and Susaki – were all Emperor’s Cup champions and can secure their Asian Games and world team spots without a playoff with victories in Sunday’s finals.

Kiyooka had his hands full in advancing to the Freestyle 65kg final with a 3-1 victory in the semifinals over 2024 world U23 silver medalist Kaiji OGINO.

Ogino was leading in the second period on criteria after each received an activity point, when Kiyooka launched an attack that sent Ogino reeling off the mat for a stepout, to which a fleeing point was added.

Kiyooka said that Ogino put up a defense that resembled that of rival Rahman AMOUDZAD (IRI), who lost to Kiyooka in the final in Paris but gained revenge by relegating him to the silver at the Zagreb Worlds.

“I really felt it as we were going at it,” Kiyooka said. “But being able to overcome that is a big step.”

In Sunday’s final, Kiyooka will face fellow Nippon Sports Science University alumnus Kaisei TANABE, who advanced with an 8-2 victory over world U23 silver medalist Takara SUDA.

Akari FUJINAMI (JPN)Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) moved into the 57kg final after a 10-0 win over Sara NATAMI (JPN). (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Takeo Yabuki)

Fujinami, still depending mostly on takedowns as she makes the physical adjustment to 57kg after winning the Paris gold at 53kg, cruised into the final with a 10-0 whitewash of Sara NATAMI.

With her second victory by technical superiority of the day, Fujinami extended her current win streak to 152 matches, dating back to her junior high school days.

In the final, she will face Sena NAGAMOTO, the Emperor’s Cup champion at 59kg who has made the bold move to drop down to 57kg and challenge the seemingly invincible Fujinami. 

Nagamoto advanced with a 2-0 victory over Himeka TOKUHARA, who famously put Fujinami into the most danger of having her streak broken by nearly pinning her in the final at the Emperor's Cup, only for Fujinami to survive the predicament and rebound to beat her.

Kusaka looked to be cruising in his semifinal at Greco-Roman 77kg against Kodai SAKURABA, only to give up a 4-point throw from par terre in the second period. Still, the Zagreb silver medalist managed to hang for a 6-5 win.

In the gold-medal match, Kusaka will face Isami HORIKITA in a rematch of the Emperor’s Cup final.

Susaki encountered a slight blip in her 12-2 victory over Umi ITO in the women’s 50kg semifinals, which earned her a trip to the final against world U20 champion Rinka OGAWA.

Susaki led 2-0 late in the first period when she got stuck attempting a front headlock roll, giving Ito 2 points and the lead on criteria. But Susaki shook off the foible and piled up the points in the second period to finish off Ito.

At Freestyle 74kg, world champions Yoshinosuke AOYAGI and Kota TAKAHASHI both advanced to the final to set up a rematch of their high-level championship match at the Emperor’s Cup.

Aoyagi, who moved up to the Olympic weight after winning the world title at 70kg, won by fall over Ryoya YAMASHITA, while Takahashi, the reigning world champ at 74kg, eked out a 3-1 win over Hikaru TAKATA.

Yu KATSUME (JPN)Yu KATSUME (JPN), 18, suffered her first-ever loss since July 2019. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Future Prospect Katsume Falls Short

Earlier, at 50kg, highly touted high schooler Yu KATSUME made her long-awaited senior debut, but came up on the short end of a 3-1 decision in the quarterfinals to Morishita. Only a second-period go-behind takedown by Morishita separated the two, with each receiving an activity point.

“It was a match that I feel I could have won,” Katsume said. “I feel it’s not like I can’t compete here.”

The loss ended a remarkable winning streak for Katsume, the 2024 world U17 champion at 46kg who had not lost since she was in the fifth grade of elementary school back in July 2019. She had put up Susak and Fujinami-like numbers, winning 22 straight tournaments on various age group levels.

Katsume, who turned 18 earlier this month, was familiar with her opponent. She is a senior at the high school attached to Shigakkan University, which Morishita attends, and the teams practice together.

“We know each other styles, so I wasn’t sure how the match would go,” Katsume said. “I thought I could do it, but I didn’t do the attacking wrestling that I usually do.”

As for suffering a rare defeat, Katsume commented, “I’m the younger one, and I had never entered a senior tournament. My opponent had been to finals [on this level], so the pressure was on her. Looking at it that way, I thought I could win.”