World Olympic Games Qualifier Entries

Wednesday, April 28, 2021 - 16:03 By Eric Olanowski

SOFIA, Bulgaria (April 28) -- The final qualification event for the Tokyo Olympic Games, the World Olympic Games Qualifier, kicks off next Thursday (May 6-9) in Sofia, Bulgaria, and is set to welcome 474 athletes from 84 different nations.

Coming into Sofia, 14/16 Olympic licenses have been claimed. Wrestlers who reach the finals in their respective weight classes punch their nations tickets to August's Tokyo Olympic Games.

Tokyo Olympic Qualification Events:
- '19 World Championships (six)
- '20 Pan-American Olympic Qualifier (two)
- '21 European Olympic Qualifier (two)
- ‘21 African & Oceania Olympic Qualifier (two)
- ‘21 Asian Olympic Qualifier (two)
- '21 World Olympic Games Qualifier (two)

Freestyle

57kg
Giorgi EDISHERASHVILI (AZE)
Uladzislau ANDREYEU (BLR)
Aso PALANI (CAN)
Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA (CUB)
Juan Rubelin RAMIREZ BELTRE (DOM)
Levan METREVELI VARTANOV (ESP)
Junjun ASEBIAS (FSM)
Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO)
Niklas STECHELE (GER)
Mohamed Ismaele CAMARA (GUI)
Givi DAVIDOVI (ITA)
Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN)
Simon Kamau WAINAINA (KEN)
Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ)
Sunggwon KIM (KOR)
Chakir ANSARI (MAR)
Anatolii BURUIAN (MDA)
Roberto ALEJANDRO BLANCO (MEX)
Bekhbayar ERDENEBAT (MGL)
Vladimir EGOROV (MKD)
Muhammad BILAL (PAK)
Richard Antonio GARCIA ANDRADE (PAN)
Razvan Marian KOVACS (ROU)
Muhamad IKROMOV (TJK)
Rozgeldi SEYIDOV (TKM)
Taras MARKOVYCH (UKR)
Pedro Jesus MEJIAS RODRIGUEZ (VEN)

65kg
Vilson NDREGJONI (ALB)
Gabriel JANATSCH (AUT)
Niurgun SKRIABIN (BLR)
Marcos Wesley DE BRITO SIQUEIRA (BRA)
Ruhan Hyusnyu RASIM (BUL)
Dillon Emmanuel WILLIAMS (CAN)
Wber Euclides CUERO MUNOZ (COL)
Albaro RUDECINDO CAMACHO (DOM)
Fathi Tarek Fathi Attia ISMAIL (EGY)
Juan Pablo GONZALEZ CRESPO (ESP)
Ilman MUKHTAROV (FRA)
George Anthony RAMM (GBR)
Mbunde CUMBA MBALI (GBS)
TBD - (GEO)
Alexander SEMISOROW (GER)
Georgios PILIDIS (GRE)
Abdellatif MANSOUR (ITA)
Gilbert Mbevoni KABOCHE (KEN)
Junsik YUN (KOR)
Mohammed J M Th A ABDULKAREEM (KUW)
Nicolai GRAHMEZ (MDA)
Fati VEJSELI (MKD)
Sixto Miguel AUCCAPINA PEDRAGAS (PER)
Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL)
Sebastian C RIVERA (PUR)
Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU)
David HABAT (SLO)
Chamara Milinda Perera WEERASINGHEGE (SRI)
Mustafo AKHMEDOV (TJK)
Perman HOMMADOV (TKM)
Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN (TUR)
Hor OHANNESIAN (UKR)
Jordan Michael OLIVER (USA)
Ilyas BEKBULATOV (UZB)
Hussein Abdullah Hussein Abdullah AL AZZANI (YEM)

74kg
Francisco de Deus KADIMA (ANG)
Jorge Ivan LLANO (ARG)
Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM)
Elias Lauofo VAOIFI (ASA)
Simon MARCHL (AUT)
Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (BLR)
Ali Pasha Ruslanovich UMARPASHAEV (BUL)
Jasmit Singh PHULKA (CAN)
Leon Juan Carlos PERALTA LANAS (CHI)
Nestor Joaquin TAFUR BARRIOS (COL)
Julio Rafael RODRIGUEZ ROMERO (DOM)
Jonatan ALVAREZ DIAZ (ESP)
Aimar ANDRUSE (EST)
Nicolae COJOCARU (GBR)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
Amit Kumar DHANKHAR (IND)
Mitchell Louis FINESILVER (ISR)
Mathayo Matonya MAHABILA (KEN)
Arsalan BUDAZHAPOV (KGZ)
Byungmin GONG (KOR)
Evgheni NEDEALCO (MDA)
Byambadorj BAT ERDENE (MGL)
Ogbonna Emmanuel JOHN (NGR)
Abdullrahman Ibrahim A IBRAHIM (QAT)
Zurab KAPRAEV (ROU)
Mohamed SESAY (SLE)
Malik Michael AMINE (SMR)
Hetik CABOLOV (SRB)
Marc DIETSCHE (SUI)
Tajmuraz Mairbekovic SALKAZANOV (SVK)
Alymuhammet OVEZMYRADOV (TKM)
Ayoub BARRAJ (TUN)
Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR)
Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR)

86kg
Hovhannes MKHITARYAN (ARM)
Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
Akhmed Adamovich MAGAMAEV (BUL)
Alexander Robert MOORE (CAN)
Yurieski TORREBLANCA QUERALTA (CUB)
Taimuraz FRIEV NASKIDAEVA (ESP)
Ville Tapani HEINO (FIN)
Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA)
Bedopassa Buassat DJONDE (GBS)
Sandro AMINASHVILI (GEO)
Ahmed Ruslanovic DUDAROV (GER)
Georgios SAVVOULIDIS (GRE)
Istvan VEREB (HUN)
Uri KALASHNIKOV (ISR)
Simone IANNATTONI (ITA)
Daichi TAKATANI (JPN)
Sohsuke TAKATANI (JPN)
Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ)
John Odhiambo OMONDI (KEN)
Saiakbai USUPOV (KGZ)
Abdullah F A SALEEM (KUW)
Domenic Michael ABOU NADER (LBN)
Piotr IANULOV (MDA)
Noel Alfonso TORRES CHACON (MEX)
Unurbat PUREVJAV (MGL)
Zbigniew Mateusz BARANOWSKI (POL)
Ethan Adrian RAMOS (PUR)
Mihai Nicolae PALAGHIA (ROU)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)
Bakhodur KODIROV (TJK)
Dovletmyrat ORAZGYLYJOV (TKM)
Maher GHANMI (TUN)
Mukhammed ALIIEV (UKR)
Pedro Francisco CEBALLOS FUENTES (VEN)

97kg
Nathaniel Tuifao TUAMOHELOA (ASA)
Ahmed Sultanovich BATAEV (BUL)
Ulrich Elyse MANOUAN (CIV)
Luis Miguel PEREZ SOSA (DOM)
Alejandro CANADA PANCORBO (ESP)
Erik Sven THIELE (GER)
Timofei XENIDIS (GRE)
Gino Tanislado AVILA DILBERT (HON)
Satywart KADIAN (IND)
Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO RUANO (ITA)
Taira SONODA (JPN)
Naoya AKAGUMA (JPN)
Arslanbek TURDUBEKOV (KGZ)
Minwon SEO (KOR)
Nicolai CEBAN (MDA)
Altangerel CHINBAT (MGL)
Haroon ABID (PAK)
Radoslaw BARAN (POL)
Evan Amadour RAMOS (PUR)
Albert SARITOV (ROU)
Amadu O KAMARA (SLE)
Samuel SCHERRER (SUI)
Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM)
Valerii ANDRIITSEV (UKR)
Jose Daniel DIAZ ROBERTTI (VEN)

125kg
Paris KAREPI (ALB)
Param Pal SINGH (AUS)
Johannes LUDESCHER (AUT)
Vakhit GALAYEV (AZE)
Georgi Lyubomirov IVANOV (BUL)
Jose CUBA VAZQUEZ (ESP)
Jere Tapani HEINO (FIN)
Daniel LIGETI (HUN)
Sumit SUMIT (IND)
Tetsuya TANAKA (JPN)
Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ)
Donghwan KIM (KOR)
Alexandr ROMANOV (MDA)
Robert BARAN (POL)
Charles Zachary MERRILL (PUR)
Rares Daniel CHINTOAN (ROU)
Sergei KOZYREV (RUS)
Rustam ISKANDARI (TJK)
Shatlyk HEMELYAYEV (TKM)
Dilmukhammed NURMUKHAMEDOV (UZB)

Greco-Roman

60kg
Armen MELIKYAN (ARM)
Murad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Maksim KAZHARSKI (BLR)
Edmond Armen NAZARYAN (BUL)
Adam Takahashi MACFADYEN (CAN)
Dicther Hans TORO CASTANEDA (COL)
Ivan LIZATOVIC (CRO)
Andres Roberto MONTANO ARROYO (ECU)
Helary MAEGISALU (EST)
Dato CHKHARTISHVILI (GEO)
Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN)
Sachin RANA (IND)
Hanjae CHUNG (KOR)
Mohammad F Kh M J ALAJMI (KUW)
Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU)
Fouad FAJARI (MAR)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Samuel GURRIA VIGUERAS (MEX)
Stig Andre BERGE (NOR)
Michal Jacek TRACZ (POL)
Joshua Xavier MEDINA (PUR)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Ardit FAZLJIJA (SWE)
Firuz MIRZORAJABOV (TJK)
Merdan ALLAYAROV (TKM)
Jui Chi HUANG (TPE)

67kg
Karen ASLANYAN (ARM)
Rasul CHUNAYEV (AZE)
Aliaksandr LIAVONCHYK (BLR)
Deyvid Tihomirov DIMITROV (BUL)
Daniel Troy COLES (CAN)
Cristobal Alonso TORRES NUNEZ (CHI)
Danijel JANECIC (CRO)
Enyer Manuel FELICIANO (DOM)
Marcos SANCHEZ SILVA MEJIAS (ESP)
Elmer Joakim MATTILA (FIN)
Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)
Ashu ASHU (IND)
Katsuaki ENDO (JPN)
Shogo TAKAHASHI (JPN)
Almat KEBISPAYEV (KAZ)
Kenneth KOECH (KEN)
Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ)
Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU)
Donior ISLAMOV (MDA)
Diego Alberto MARTINEZ DE LEIJA (MEX)
Morten THORESEN (NOR)
Nilton Gonzalo Marcos SOTO GARCIA (PER)
Gevorg SAHAKYAN (POL)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Leos DRMOLA (SVK)
Azatjan ACHILOV (TKM)
Enes BASAR (TUR)
Parviz NASIBOV (UKR)
Aker AL OBAIDI (UWW)
Makhmud BAKHSHILLOEV (UZB)
Anthony Javier PALENCIA PUENTES (VEN)

77kg
Abd Elkrim OUAKALI (ALG)
Francisco de Deus KADIMA (ANG)
Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Viktar SASUNOUSKI (BLR)
Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)
Jair Alexis CUERO MUNOZ (COL)
Oldrich VARGA (CZE)
Yuisralembert CARRION PEREZ (ESP)
Matias Olavi Iisakki LIPASTI (FIN)
Evrik NIKOGHOSYAN (FRA)
Bakuri GOGOLI (GEO)
Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Roland SCHWARZ (GER)
Georgios PREVOLARAKIS (GRE)
Singh GURPREET (IND)
Riccardo Vito ABBRESCIA (ITA)
Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR)
Paulius GALKINAS (LTU)
Daniel CATARAGA (MDA)
Per Anders KURE (NOR)
Edgar BABAYAN (POL)
Marciano George ALI (PUR)
Bakhit Sharif K BADR (QAT)
Ilie COJOCARI (ROU)
Viktor NEMES (SRB)
Mate NEMES (SRB)
Nicolas Peter CHRISTEN (SUI)
Denis HORVATH (SVK)
Daler REZA ZADE (TJK)
Muhammetberdi MAMEDOV (TKM)
Fatih CENGIZ (TUR)
Dmytro VASETSKYI (UKR)
Jesse Alexander PORTER (USA)
Wuileixis de Jesus RIVAS ESPINOZA (VEN)

87kg
Artur SHAHINYAN (ARM)
Michael WAGNER (AUT)
Tarek Mohamed ABDELSLAM SHEBLE MOHAMED (BUL)
Ioannis NARLIDIS (CAN)
Carlos Andres MUNOZ JARAMILLO (COL)
Ivan HUKLEK (CRO)
Petr NOVAK (CZE)
Pedro Jacinto GARCIA PEREZ (ESP)
Vili Tapio ROPPONEN (FIN)
Dimitrios PAPADOPOULOS (GRE)
Ariel Andres ALFONSO RODRIGUEZ (HON)
Kumar SUNIL (IND)
Naser Ghasem ALIZADEH (IRI)
Mirco MINGUZZI (ITA)
Lesyan Osvaldo COUSIN OTOMURO (JAM)
Yoji KAWAMURA (JPN)
Masato SUMI (JPN)
Mark Omumasaba INGUYESI (KEN)
Jinhyeok KIM (KOR)
Julius MATUZEVICIUS (LTU)
Gabriel LUPASCO (MDA)
Alvis Albino ALMENDRA JIMENEZ (PAN)
Arkadiusz Marcin KULYNYCZ (POL)
Davit CHAKVETADZE (RUS)
Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB)
Ramon Rainer BETSCHART (SUI)
Kristoffer Zakarias BERG (SWE)
Sukhrob ABDULKHAEV (TJK)
Shageldi ANNAYEV (TKM)
Metehan BASAR (TUR)
Luis Eduardo AVENDANO ROJAS (VEN)

97kg
Daniel GASTL (AUT)
Murat LOKIAYEV (AZE)
Aliaksandr HRABOVIK (BLR)
Thomas Rahontsiiosta BARREIRO (CAN)
Phillip Raweriio BARREIRO (CAN)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Amir ALAWAD (EGY)
Jesus GASCA FRESNEDA (ESP)
Melonin NOUMONVI (FRA)
Peter OEHLER (GER)
Laokratis KESIDIS (GRE)
Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON)
Alex Gergo SZOKE (HUN)
Deepanshu DEEPANSHU (IND)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Kaito MIYAMOTO (JPN)
Yuta NARA (JPN)
Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ)
Seungjun KIM (KOR)
Vilius LAURINAITIS (LTU)
Felix BALDAUF (NOR)
Damian VON EUW (SUI)
Pontus Johan LUND (SWE)
Vladlen KOZLIUK (UKR)
Luillys Jose PEREZ MORA (VEN)

130kg
David OVASAPYAN (ARM)
Beka KANDELAKI (AZE)
Georgi CHUGOSHVILI (BLR)
Radoslav Plamenov GEORGIEV (BUL)
Marko KOSCEVIC (CRO)
Stepan DAVID (CZE)
Leo Dalis SANTANA HEREDIA (DOM)
Matti Elias KUOSMANEN (FIN)
Alexandros PAPADATOS (GRE)
Adam VARGA (HUN)
Naveen NAVEEN (IND)
Luca GODINO (ITA)
Arata SONODA (JPN)
Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ)
Murat RAMONOV (KGZ)
Oskar MARVIK (NOR)
Rafal Andrzej KRAJEWSKI (POL)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Mykola KUCHMII (UKR)
Adam Jacob COON (USA)
Moises Salvador PEREZ HELLBURG (VEN)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Patricia Alejandra BERMUDEZ (ARG)
Anastasiya YANOTAVA (BLR)
Kamila BARBOSA VITO DA SILVA (BRA)
Jessica Anne Marie MACDONALD (CAN)
Lucia Yamileth YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU)
Nada Medani Ashour Abdalla MOHAMED (EGY)
Julie Martine SABATIE (FRA)
Debora Valeria TURE (GBS)
Lisa ERSEL (GER)
Mia Lahnee Ramos AQUINO (GUM)
Seema SEEMA (IND)
YeoJin KIM (KOR)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Thalia Jihann MALLQUI PECHE (PER)
Anna LUKASIAK (POL)
Emma Jonna Denise MALMGREN (SWE)
Meng Hsuan HSIEH (TPE)
Dauletbike YAKHSHIMURATOVA (UZB)

53kg
Turkan NASIROVA (AZE)
Sezen Behchetova BELBEROVA (BUL)
Samantha Leigh STEWART (CAN)
Luisa Elizabeth VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU)
Marina RUEDA FLORES (ESP)
Hilary Ysaline HONORINE (FRA)
Annika WENDLE (GER)
Mercedesz DENES (HUN)
Emma Nekesa WANGILA (KEN)
Hyunyoung OH (KOR)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Laura Gabriela PEREDO TORRES (MEX)
Jessica Cornelia Francisca BLASZKA (NED)
Esther Omolayo KOLAWOLE (NGR)
Andreea Beatrice ANA (ROU)
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS)
Yung Hsun LIN (TPE)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Iryna KHARIV CHYKHRADZE (UKR)
Shokhida AKHMEDOVA (UZB)
Betzabeth Angelica ARGUELLO VILLEGAS (VEN)

57kg
Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE)
Giullia RODRIGUES PENALBER DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Linda MORAIS (CAN)
Graciela SANCHEZ DIAZ (ESP)
Mathilde Hélène RIVIERE (FRA)
Laura MERTENS (GER)
Emese BARKA (HUN)
Francesca INDELICATO (ITA)
Altynay SATYLGAN (KAZ)
Nuraida ANARKULOVA (KGZ)
Shinhye LEE (KOR)
Zineb HASSOUNE (MAR)
Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR)
Nes Marie RODRIGUEZ TIRADO (PUR)
Kateryna ZHYDACHEVSKA (ROU)
Veronika CHUMIKOVA (RUS)
Sara Johanna LINDBORG (SWE)
Bediha GUN (TUR)
Sevara ESHMURATOVA (UZB)
Betzabeth Rebeca SARCO COLMENAREZ (VEN)

62kg
Tetiana OMELCHENKO (AZE)
Veranika IVANOVA (BLR)
Jessica Lise BROUILLETTE (CAN)
Berthe Emilienne ETANE NGOLLE (CMR)
Jackeline RENTERIA CASTILLO (COL)
Iva GERIC (CRO)
Lydia PEREZ TOURINO (ESP)
Luisa Helga Gerda NIEMESCH (GER)
Elena ESPOSITO (ITA)
Aina TEMIRTASSOVA (KAZ)
Winrose ALIVISA (KEN)
Youngjin KWON (KOR)
Mariana CHERDIVARA ESANU (MDA)
Alejandra ROMERO BONILLA (MEX)
Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL)
Ashley Chantelle ZARATE CAMPBELL (PAN)
Aleksandra WOLCZYNSKA (POL)
Kriszta Tunde INCZE (ROU)
Liubov OVCHAROVA (RUS)
Hsin Ping PAI (TPE)
Elif Jale YESILIRMAK (TUR)
Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB)
Nathaly Josefina GRIMAN HERRERA (VEN)

68kg
Luz Clara VAZQUEZ (ARG)
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE)
Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (BLR)
Mimi Nikolova HRISTOVA (BUL)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Yessica Coraima OVIEDO PEREZ (DOM)
Agoro PAPAVASILEIOU (GRE)
Nisha NISHA (IND)
Ilana KRATYSH (ISR)
Dalma CANEVA (ITA)
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Eun Sun JEONG (KOR)
Danute DOMIKAITYTE (LTU)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Ambar Michell GARNICA FLORES (MEX)
Yanet Ursula SOVERO NINO (PER)
Natalia Iwona STRZALKA (POL)
Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK)
Buse TOSUN (TUR)
Svetlana OKNAZAROVA (UZB)
Soleymi Antonieta CARABALLO HERNANDEZ (VEN)

76kg
Martina KUENZ (AUT)
Gozal ZUTOVA (AZE)
Mariya Gerginova ORYASHKOVA (BUL)
Amy YOUIN (CIV)
Tatiana RENTERIA RENTERIA (COL)
Milaimys de la Caridad MARIN POTRILLE (CUB)
Genesis Rosangela REASCO VALDEZ (ECU)
Pauline Denise LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Georgina Olwen NELTHORPE (GBR)
Aikaterini Eirini PITSIAVA (GRE)
Zsanett NEMETH (HUN)
Pooja POOJA (IND)
Enrica RINALDI (ITA)
Sujin PARK (KOR)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Iselin Maria Moen SOLHEIM (NOR)
Patrycja SPERKA (POL)
Catalina AXENTE (ROU)
Yasemin ADAR (TUR)
Alla BELINSKA (UKR)
Shakhribonu ELLIEVA (UZB)
Maria Jose ACOSTA ACOSTA (VEN)

#WrestleZagreb

Ex-Japan champ Shimoyamada trying to put Australia on wrestling map

Friday, September 5, 2025 - 05:49 By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (Sept. 3) -- When Tsuchiku SHIMOYAMADA (AUS) decided to relocate from his native Japan to Australia, he wasn't showered with gifts from a grateful federation looking for an established wrestler to give the country a global boost.

He was more interested in golden beaches than bringing his new homeland gold medals.

"I was in Cairns, and I was feeling like, 'I want to move to Australia,'" Shimoyamada said during a trip back to Japan in July for a tournament. "I like this place. It's good for me. The lifestyle is easy."

Four years after announcing his retirement and three years after making the bold move to Land Down Under, the 31-year-old is back in the game, hoping to put a country more known for its swimmers and rugby players onto the world wrestling map.

While a longshot at best, Shimoyamada, a two-time Japan national champion and two-time Asian medalist, will get a chance to become Australia's first-ever world medalist when he takes the mat at Greco 67kg next week in Zagreb.

It will be the third World Championships of his career and first since 2021, when he nearly knocked off the Olympic champion and symbolically left his shoes on the mat after a repechage-round loss as a sign of his retirement. He finished ninth in his only other appearance in 2018.

Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA (AUS) had left his shoes on the mat during the 2021 World Championships to mark his retirement. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

Success breeds success, and Australian wrestling officials are hoping that Shimoyamada, in addition to helping cultivate a new generation of wrestlers, can produce results that will spark more interest in the sport. Getting through the rounds, even if he falls short of a medal, would have a positive effect, says one official.

"That would be a very good achievement for us," says Aryan Negahdari, president of New South Wales Wrestling Federation, who accompanied him and several wrestlers to Japan. "For many, many years, we haven't a wrestler making it into the semifinals, or even the quarterfinals of the World Championships. Even that itself would be a good achievement."

While Australia has never won a world medal, it may be surprising to learn that the country has actually brought home three Olympic medals -- although it has been nearly eight decades since the most recent one.

Eddie SCARF broke the ice with a bronze medal at freestyle 87kg at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. Australia then got two at the 1948 London Games, a silver from Richard GARRARD at freestyle 73kg and a bronze from Joseph ARMSTRONG at freestyle over-87kg. The closest the country has come since then was a fourth place at Freestyle 62kg by Cris BROWN at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

On the world stage, the highest finishes by Australians were fifth places by Jackie BRYDON at women's 50kg in 1993 at Stavern, Norway, and Macedonian-born Lila RISTEVSKA at women's 47kg at Moscow 1995. There have been three men who have placed sixth, all in freestyle, with the most recent being Uzbekistan-born Talgat ILYASOV at 74kg at New York 2003.

Tsuchika SHIMOYAMA (JPN) Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA advances to the semifinals at the All-Japan Non-Student Championships in July with a 52-second win over Kokoro GOTO. (Photo: Koji Fuse / wrestling-spirits.jp)

As a Greco wrestler, Shimoyamada will be trying to beat even longer odds. Up to now, Australia has never placed higher than 18th at a World Championships.

Following his graduation from Nippon Sports Science University, which also produced Paris Olympic champions Kenichiro FUMITA and Nao KUSAKA as well as Tokyo bronze medalist Shohei YABIKU, Shimoyamada joined the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department team. He stayed on the force after ending his wrestling career, but found it wasn't for him.

"When I was back in Japan, I started working for the police," he says. "To be honest, it was stressful. It was not for me."

A trip to Australia opened his eyes to a place where he could start a new life. At first, he planned to only go into coaching, but a practical reason arose that led him to decide to return to the mat -- it helped him get the visa he needed to live in the country.

"I didn't think about wrestling by myself, I thought I could help as a coach," he says. "But for the visa condition, it's better to keep active."

In 2023, he received a residence visa as a "global talent," and in January 2024, United World Wrestling approved his switch of national affiliation to Australia.

Unfortunately, the approval did not come in time for him to try to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. He is still working on gaining citizenship. His need to find a way to make a living proved harder than he expected as he settled in Sydney.

"I'm teaching wrestling, and I'm working as a lifeguard at a swimming pool," he said. "Life is not easy. It's expensive, everything, rent, bills, car."

Shimoyamada's need for gainful employment produced a symbiotic relationship with his hosts, who suddenly found themselves blessed with a world-class competitor to help raise the level of the sport.

"I really think we're super lucky to have him because not only is he a high-level athlete, but he has been helping us a lot as a coach, especially Greco-Roman coach," Negahdari says. "So because of him, we have a lot more athletes doing Greco-Roman, training under Tsuchika."

Shimoyamada's arrival also gave Australia a bonus of sorts -- a connection with an established power in the sport. Through Shimoyamada's ties with his alma mater NSSU, there have been numerous exchanges of wrestlers between the two countries.

Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA (AUS) Tsuchika SHIMOYAMA faces Keitaro ONO in his opening match at the All-Japan Non-Student Championships in July. (Photo: Koji Fuse / wrestling-spirits.jp)

In the early summer, Paris Olympic silver medalist Daichi TAKATANI and former women's U23 world champion Yu SAKAMOTO went to Australia to put on clinic. In July, Shimoyamada led a contingent of Australian wrestlers who participated in the All-Japan Non-Student Championships (a second-tier national tournament) before training at NSSU.

"He's also been very good for us to build connections with Japan," Nagahdari says. "We've been coming [to Japan] for four years now, like twice a year, training with the Japanese teams. We've had a lot of Japanese athletes coming over to Australia to do seminars for us, to do training with us...It has been very, very beneficial for us in many different ways."

Shimoyamada entered the Non-Student meet at 72kg to give him the high-level competition he needed as preparation for the World Championships, and which is sorely lacking back in Australia. Aside from the low-level Oceania Championships and tournaments in Australia, it was his first outing since the 2021 World Championships.

He held his own, although he lost in the semifinals to Yamato HAGIWARA before winning his bronze-medal match over Rintaro SOGABE, the younger brother of Paris Olympian Kyotaro SOGABE, a fellow NSSU alum who will be Japan's entry at 67kg and a potential opponent of Shimoyamada in Zagreb.

Shimoyamada made his international debut at the 2016 Asian Championships in Bangkok, placing eighth. He won his first All-Japan title in December 2017, earning a return to the continental meet in 2018 in Bishkek, where he took home the silver medal after losing in the final to Almat KEBISPAYEV (KAZ).

Just when it looked like he had lost his edge after losing back-to-back All-Japan finals to Shogo TAKAHASHI in 2018 and 2019, Shimoyamada rebounded to claim his second title in 2020 with a victory over rising NSSU star Katsuaki ENDO. After Shimoyamada left the scene, Endo and Kyotaro Sogabe would battle ruthlessly for supremacy at 67kg.

His final year wrestling for Japan may have been his most productive. At the 2021 Asian Championships in Almaty, he avenged his loss to Kebispayev from three years before to capture the elusive gold. He followed that with a victory at the All-Japan Invitational Championships, known as the Meiji Cup, to clinch his ticket to the World Championships in Oslo.

Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA (AUS) was dominating Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) in their match at the 2021 World Championships before being pinned. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

In the second round, Shimoyamada encountered Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI), one of the few gold medalists from the Tokyo Olympics two months earlier who were entered at the worlds. It would probably be the most impressive loss of his career.

Shimoyamada was dominating the Iranian, scoring with a 4-point arm throw to build up a 6-1 lead. But disaster struck with just over a minute to go. Geraei caught Shimoyamada in a lapse and bear-hugged him backward directly to his back for a shocking victory by fall.

Shimoyamada then lost his repechage match to teenager Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE), and the last we saw of him was him walking off the mat, leaving his shoes behind.

Fast forward four years, and Shimoyamada is now competing for himself and his adopted homeland. While he would like to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, age and opportunity might be too big hurdles to get over.

"I think that's a last challenge, for the Olympics, because I'm not young," Shimoyamada said. "If I can make it for Australia, that's good. Everyone will get interested in wrestling. That's what I should do."

Looking long range, Australian officials are hoping to develop talent to make a good showing when the country hosts the Olympics in Brisbane in 2032. They are hoping that Shimoyamada can spark enough interest and help raise the level in time.

"I think we're in the very early stages, compared to international standards," Nagahdari says. "But I think we can definitely see a very huge improvement, like in the last few years. We have a lot more members now, the number of our wrestlers. For example, compared to only three or four years ago, it has doubled. It's growing slowly, but at a good pace.

"It's a very slow progress, because you know that wrestling is super hard. It takes like a decade to build an athlete to that level. And we're really focusing our efforts toward the Brisbane Olympics in 2032."

Shimoyamada is determined to do whatever he can to make it happen.

"It's hard to get a gold medal at the World Championships and the Olympics, to be honest," he says. "If I make the Olympics, the next generation can become interested in getting to the Olympics or World Championships and they will practice hard."

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Ex-Japan champ Shimoyamada trying to put Australia on wrestling map