#WrestleTokyo

#WrestleTokyo Olympic Games Preview: 130kg

Thursday, July 22, 2021 - 14:40 By Andrew Hipps

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TOKYO, Japan (July 22) – Mijain LOPEZ NUNEZ (CUB) will look to make history at the Tokyo Olympics. The Cuban wrestling legend, who enters unseeded, has a chance to become the first four-time Olympic champion in Greco-Roman and the second wrestler in any style to accomplish the feat. (At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Japan's Kaori ICHO became the first four-time Olympic champion wrestler in any style.) The 38-year-old Lopez is not only unbeaten at the Olympic Games since 2008, but he has won five world titles and three world silver medals. Two of his three losses in world championship competition have come to Riza KAYAALP (TUR), who enters the Tokyo Olympics as the top seed at 130kg.

The 31-year-old Kayaalp has compiled an international wrestling resume that puts him among the greatest Greco-Roman heavyweights ever. He is a four-time world champion and a three-time Olympic medalist. The only accomplishment that has eluded him is an Olympic gold medal. His only losses at the Olympic Games have come to Lopez. At the 2012 London Olympics, Lopez defeated Kayaalp in the semifinals. Four years later, the two met for the gold medal at the Rio Olympics, with Lopez earning a 6-0 victory. He has defeated Lopez in two world championship finals, 2011 and 2015. In April, Kayaalp won his 10th senior European Championships title in Warsaw, Poland.

World champion Sergey SEMENOV (RUS) will be after his second Olympic medal. He won a bronze medal at the Rio Olympics, with his only loss coming to Lopez in the semifinals. Two years later, Semenov won a gold medal at the 2018 World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, Hungary. In December, Semenov won gold at the Individual World Cup in Belgrade.

Second-seeded Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY) won a silver medal at the Matteo Pellicone Tournament in March. He won gold at the African and Oceania Olympic Games Qualifier in early April.

Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB), seeded No.3, is competing in his third straight Olympics. He has won multiple medals at the Asian Championships and a gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games.

Fourth-seeded Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI), a past junior world champion, won gold at the 2020 Asian Championships. In June, Mirzazadeh won gold at the Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Cup.

World bronze medalist Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) is a medal contender in the weight category. He reached the finals of the European Championships this year before falling to Kayaalp. Kajaia was a gold medalist at the 2019 European Games.

Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI) won a bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships. He was a gold medalist at the Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane in January.

Eduard POPP (GER) reached the semifinals of the 2016 Olympics in Rio before placing fifth.

Another past world medalist to watch is Minseok KIM (KOR). He was a bronze medalist at the 2018 World Championships.

Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU) and Elias KUOSMANEN (FIN) have won multiple medals at the European Championships. Alexuc Ciurariu, a 2020 European champion, will be competing in his third Olympics.

130kg
No. 1 Riza KAYAALP (TUR)
No. 2 Abdellatif Mohamed Ahmed MOHAMED (EGY)
No. 3 Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)
No. 4 Amin Mohammadzaman MIRZAZADEH (IRI)
Mijain LOPEZ NUNEZ (CUB)
Artur VITITIN (EST)
Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)
Eduard POPP (GER)
Amine GUENNICHI (TUN)
Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI)
Eduard SOGHOMONYAN (BRA)
Sergey SEMENOV (RUS)
Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
Minseok KIM (KOR)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Elias KUOSMANEN (FIN)

#WrestleAthens

Olympic legend Icho returns to Athens to lead Japan’s next generation

Sunday, August 3, 2025 - 09:59 By Vinay Siwach

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ATHENS, Greece (August 2) -- In Athens, home of the Olympics, Kaori ICHO (JPN) is already one of the pantheon of greats.

Having once made history as an athlete here -- winning the first of four Olympic gold medals at the 2004 Olympics -- Icho now sets out to carve a new legacy, this time as coach to the next generation of Japanese talent.

In Athens, she is making her international debut as coach of the Japanese women's team at the World U17 Championships as she returns to the Ano Liossia Olympic Sports Hall, the same venue she won the Olympic gold.

"I have returned to this arena for the first time in 21 years," Icho told United World Wrestling. "I won an [Olympic] gold medal in this arena for the first time."

Icho, who ended her wrestling career in 2019, started coaching after the Tokyo Olympics. She has coached Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) domestically as both Morikawa and Icho are recruited with ALSOK.

Japan managed to win only one gold medal in Women's Wrestling at the World Championships and finished third in the team race. While Japan is not used to finishing at that position in Women's Wrestling, the third-place highlighted that even Japan's second-tier team poses a significant challenge to the world.

The presence of Icho definitely helped the wrestlers, who were not only helped by her experience but the presence of the four-time Olympic champion motivated them.

Japan's world champion in Athens, Hanano OYA (JPN), said that watching Icho win her record fourth gold medal in Rio 2016 inspired her to take up wrestling.

"The reason I started wrestling was because of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics," Oya said. "It was when Kaori achieved her fourth consecutive victory, and I saw it on TV. I started wrestling myself, so I was very happy when she accompanied me and acted as my second coach, and I felt that I had to live up to her expectations."

Kaori ICHO (JPN)Kaori ICHO (JPN) coaches one of the members of the Japanese team. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

For Icho, not being on the mat and coaching from the corner was a different experience.

"I feel really strange being able to come back here as a coach," she said. "This tournament is the World Championships for those under 17 years old. I also became an Olympic gold medalist at this venue when I was 20 and I hope that the young athletes will work hard towards their Olympic dreams."

Back in 2004, the first Olympics when Women's Wrestling became part of it, Icho remembered the nervous and the excitement. The enjoyment, however, came only after she had won the gold.

"It was my first Olympics," she said. "I was very nervous and excited. I was here for about two weeks, from the opening ceremony to the closing ceremony. After winning, I went swimming in the Aegean Sea. It was a very enjoyable Olympics."

Kaori ICHO (JPN)Kaori ICHO (JPN) during a warm-up session of the Japanese team in Athens. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

When she landed at the airport in Athens on Monday, memories from the past came rushing back.

"I don't particularly feel it at the airport, but I wondered if it was this hot," she said. "I wondered what the venue will be like. I was reminiscing about 21 years ago."

Once at the venue, Icho was requested for photos from wrestlers and coaches which she obliged. With her first tournament as coach behind her, Icho is determined to work even harder as she prepares the senior Japan team for the World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, this September.

"Coaches and players asked me to take pictures with them," she said. "I felt stronger coming here. I want to work harder as a coach."