#WrestleTokyo

#WrestleTokyo Women's Wrestling Previews

Thursday, June 24, 2021 - 02:31 By United World Wrestling Press

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Women’s Wrestling Previews

50kg
In one of those wild twists of fate that adds to the appeal of sports, Yanan SUN (CHN) and Mariya STADNIK (AZE) can be indirectly credited with helping Yui SUSAKI (JPN) get to the Tokyo Olympics.

Now those two and the rest of the field in the women's 50kg division will have to contend with the unintended result of their largesse. Although unseeded, Susaki will be the prohibitive favorite when they all take to the mat at Makuhari Messe on Aug. 6-7.

FULL PREVIEW

53kg
Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) got over the physical pain she suffered at the Rio 2016 Olympics long before the emotional scars healed. Five years later, that bitter memory is fueling her quest to become India's first-ever Olympic wrestling gold medalist.

FULL PREVIEW

57kg
In her bid for a second straight Olympic title, Risako KAWAI (JPN) had to beat a fellow champion from the Rio 2016 Olympics just to make the Japanese team. At the Tokyo Games, she might have to contend with yet another Rio gold medalist.

Kawai, the top seed and reigning world champion at women's 57kg, faces a possible showdown with unseeded Helen MAROULIS (USA), whose stunning victory over the legendary Saori YOSHIDA (JPN) in the 53kg final made her the first American woman to win an Olympic wrestling gold and was one of the highlights of the Rio competition.

FULL PREVIEW

62kg
Since women's wrestling was added to the Olympic program in 2004, only six countries have won gold medals, with Japan the dominant power by winning 11 of the 18 handed out. At the Tokyo Olympics, the country with the best chance of joining that elite group is a small former Soviet republic in central Asia.

FULL PREVIEW

68kg
Many athletes might cringe at the near-monastic life awaiting them under the harsh pandemic protocols at the Olympics. Tamyra MENSAH-STOCK (USA) can't wait.

"I'm going to be fine," Mensah-Stock told the Japanese press at the U.S. team's pre-Olympic camp in central Japan. "I'm a homebody. I play video games, I karaoke, I literally stay at home when I'm in the States. This is what I love. This is perfect."

FULL PREVIEW

76kg
Although the question from a Japanese reporter was clumsily translated as: "You didn't place in Rio, now this time is revenging against your loss...?", Adeline GRAY (USA) got the drift. But the normally outgoing, media-accommodating American only responded curtly, "Next question. We can move on."

Even with an American-record five world titles to her name, the mention of her quarterfinal loss at the 2016 Rio Olympics still manages to hit a nerve. Conversely, it also motivates Gray to rectify the lack of an Olympic gold when she takes the mat at the upcoming Tokyo Games.

Gray, the reigning world champion and No. 1 seed, is the favorite in win the women's 76kg class and finally claim that elusive gold, but she will have to do it in a stacked field just as determined to keep that from happening. 

Looking to deny Gray will be the three other medalists from the 2019 World Championships -- silver medalist Hiroe MINAGAWA (JPN) and bronze-medal winners Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER) and Epp MAEE (EST) --as well as defending Olympic champion Erica WIEBE (CAN),  former Olympic gold medalist Natalia VOROBIEVA (RUS), former world champion Yasemin ADAR (TUR)....the list goes on. It's not going to be easy.

FULL PREVIEW

#UnitedWorldWrestling

Cuba’s Trujillo Diaz honored with IOC Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award

Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 09:29 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (November 24) — Wrestling coach Raul TRUJILLO DIAZ (CUB) received the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award on Monday during a ceremony at the Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The award was presented by IOC President Kirsty COVENTRY and Sergii BUBKA, Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Entourage Commission.

Trujillo Díaz has been one of the key figures in the inexorable rise of Cuba as one of the leading nations in Greco-Roman, with more than 52 years of coaching experience. He coached the Cuban and Portuguese national teams across five editions of the Olympic Games.

Cuba

“I am very honoured to receive this extraordinary recognition, Trujillo Diaz said. “I would like to thank the IOC, all the athletes I have coached over the past 50 years, the other wrestling coaches and people who worked tirelessly behind the scenes in the sport to which I have dedicated my life. All were my motivation and example. I also want to take the opportunity to thank United World Wrestling (UWW). And a big thank-you to someone very special who has always been with me – my family – for their great support.”

One of the legends he has trained is five-time Olympic champion Mijain LOPEZ (CUB), who at Paris 2024 became the first athlete in any sport to win five consecutive Olympic gold medals in the same event. Others who have been trained by Trujillo Diaz are Rio 2016 champion Ismael BORRERO (CUB) and Luis ORTA (CUB), the 60kg champion at Tokyo 2020.

As well as introducing training innovations that have helped lead his nation to success, Trujillo Díaz has published numerous research papers and articles on wrestling science and pedagogy. He has also worked widely for UWW across Latin America as an educator, bringing the breadth of his knowledge and experience to new generations of athletes and coaches.

Alongwith Truillo Diaz, volleyball coach Lang PING also received the IOC Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award.

"It's really special to be here with all of you and to celebrate our two coaches for their incredible commitment and their lifetime of work in serving their athletes to become the best athlete, but also the best humans that they can be," said IOC President Kirsty Coventry during the ceremony. "So many of us who compete in sport know and understand that the lessons that we learn in sport will guide us in our everyday life after and this is where the role of coaches is so important,” she added.