#WrestlePlovdiv

#WrestlePlovdiv Live Blog: U23 European Championships Day 3

By Vinay Siwach

PLOVDIV, Bulgaria (March 9) -- It's day three at the U23 European Championships and some of the biggest names of women's wrestling will be in action in Plovdiv. World champion Irina RINGACI (MDA) and her fellow teammate and defending champion Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) will be on the mat. Moldova's rising star and junior Worlds silver medalist Maria LEORDA (MDA) also wrestles today. Keep an eye on U23 world champion Andreea ANA (ROU).

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

Olympic medalistsTen Olympic medalists are at #WrestlePlovdiv as Greco-Roman coaches. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan) 

1245: U23 world champion Andreea ANA (ROU) leads 5-0 against Nova BERGMAN (SWE) at the break at 55kg. A whizzer to get her four points to get going. Bergman did provide some challenge but Ana moves into the semifinal

1225: Anna SZEL (HUN) and Morena DE VITA (ITA) with a humdinger! The Hungarian was leading 6-4 with 20 seconds remaining and defended an attack with a split. But De Vita scored a takedown with 5 seconds remaining. Hungary challenged the call but lost.

1215: Earlier in the day, defending silver medalist Zeynep YETGIL (TUR) came up with a huge five-point throw before securing the pin over Laura STANELYTE (LTU) at 55kg

1210: Bernadett NAGY (HUN) with a first-period 11-0 win over Vanesa KALOYANOVA (BUL) at 76kg. She is looking for her first continental title.

1200: A series of gut and exposures from world champion Irina RINGACI (MDA) and she moves on to the quarterfinals at 68kg

1155: Ersel almost has a takedown but Szeker defends by keeping her opponent's hand in grip. Both are in the danger zone but the referee scores a stepout for Szeker. Germany challenges the call asking for a takedown. It is confirmed that Ersel actually stepped out before getting the takedown. 6-3 win for Szeker

1150: A tight first-round battle going on Mat B! Szimonetta SZEKER (HUN) leads Lisa ERSEL (GER) by a point. She was called passive early but scored a takedown before giving up one. Now, she has scored another to lead 4-3

1140: Defending champion Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) warms up with a victory via fall over Fatme SHABAN (BUL). She is coming from a gold medal-winning performance in Istanbul.

1100: After some great action in Greco-Roman, it's time for women's wrestling at the U23 European Championships in Plovdiv. Some big names are entered for the five weight classes that are in action.

#WrestleParis

IOC announces first AINs for 2024 Paris Olympics, 16 wrestlers eligible

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (June 15) -- The International Olympic Committee on Saturday announced the eligible Individual Neutral Athletes for the Paris 2024 with 16 wrestlers making the cut for the Games.

The list of eligible athletes in the first group of sports that finished their qualifying process for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 is according to the strict eligibility conditions established by the IOC Executive Board in December 2023.

The IOC EB established the Individual Neutral Athlete Eligibility Review Panel (AINERP) in March 2024 to evaluate the eligibility of each athlete with a Russian or Belarusian passport to participate in the Olympic Games Paris 2024, and that of their support personnel. It delegated to the AINERP and the IOC administration the authority to invite an AIN, and their support personnel, to participate in the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

The AINERP reviewed the athletes in accordance with the IOC EB decision and the principles established. The Panel was in a position to benefit from new information from various sources, in particular official lists of athletes affiliated with sports clubs of the military and the security forces published on official websites in Russia and Belarus.

Out of the 16 approved wrestlers, 10 AINs are holders of Russian passports while six are holders of Belarussian passports. During the United World Wrestling qualifying events, AINs with Russian passports earned 16 quotas and holders of Belarussian passports won 10 Paris quotas.

According to the IOC, the number of eligible athletes may be lower than the number of earned quota places. In such cases, these quota places will be reallocated to athletes from other NOCs in accordance with the qualification system of the respective IF.

The wrestlers who are deemed eligible will compete as AINs, without any flags or references to their respective countries. Additionally, the national anthems of Russia and Belarus will not be played in the event of medals being awarded to these athletes.

Participation in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 is subject to the athlete’s acceptance of the individual invitation and signature of the Conditions of Participation applicable to all participants. The form contains a commitment to respect the Olympic Charter, including “the peace mission of the Olympic Movement”.

The following are the eligible wrestlers allowed to compete as AINs at the Olympic Games Paris 2024:

Eligible and invited athletes with a Russian passport:

Freestyle
Nachin MONGUSH
Shamil MAMEDOV
Arslan BAGAEV
Abdulla KURBANOV

Greco-Roman
Alan OSTAEV
Magomed MURTAZALIEV

Women's Wrestling
Natalya MALYSHEVA
Veronika CHUMIKOVA
Alina KASABIEVA
Elizaveta PETLIAKOVA

Eligible and invited athletes with a Belarusian passport:

Freestyle
Yahor AKULICH
Uladzislau KAZLOU

Greco-Roman
Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU
Dzmitri ZARUBSKI

Women's Wrestling
Viyaleta REBIKAVA
Krystsina SAZYKINA

Read the full IOC decision regarding Individual Neutral Athletes here.