Freestyle World Cup

Wrestling Announces Groups for 2019 Freestyle World Cup

Monday, February 11, 2019 - 21:01 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY (February 11) – United World Wrestling has announced the draw for the 2019 Freestyle World Cup Yakutia, Russia. The annual dual-meet event is a highlight of the international wrestling calendar and features the top eight teams from the 2018 World Championships in Budapest. 

The UWW executive board determined this week that all World Cup competitions, including the Greco-Roman and Women’s World Cup, should follow the same competition format for placement of teams in their respective pools, or groups. With the new system, the No. 1 team will be paired with the No.4, No.5, and No.8teams from the world championships. 

The No.2 team will in a group with the No.3, No.6, and No.7.

The groups for the 2019 Freestyle World Cup:

Group A - RUS (1), CUB (4), JPN (5), TUR (8)
Group B - USA (2), GEO (3), IRI (6), MGL (7)

In Group A, world champion Russia will look to recapture the World Cup team title after the United States won the 2018 Freestyle World Cup in Iowa City, Iowa. To earn top-billing in 2019 the home side will need to win their group which includes a resurgent Cuban team, Japan, and Turkey. 

The United States heads up Group B but faces steep competition from a Georgia squad rife with former world and Olympic champions, including two-time defending heavyweight world champion Geno PETRIASHVILLI. A young Iranian team and ever-improving Mongolia squad fill out Group B. 

The match-by-match dual schedule and medal rounds have yet to be determined.

The international wrestling calendar picks back up Feb. 23in Gyor, Hungary, with the Hungarian Grand Prix, the second stop in the Greco-Roman Ranking Series calendar.

UWW Partners With Snow Leopard Foundation in Kyrgyzstan

Thursday, April 2, 2026 - 17:40 By United World Wrestling Press

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BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (April 2) -- The Asian Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan from April 6-12 will bear the logo with a snow leopard. Being the national symbol of Kyrgyzstan, the animal holds significant reference in the culture of the country.

Like in wrestling, success isn't just about strength, it’s about the combination of power, precision, and an unbreakable mind. Snow leopard in the high-altitude "arenas" of 12 countries in Central and South Asia, including Kyrgyzstan, lives by these same rules.

United World Wrestling is partnering with the Snow Leopard Foundation in Kyrgyzstan to promote the preservation of the animal of which around 300 adult individuals remain around the country.

With the Asian Championships in Bishkek, the tournament was the ideal opportunity to raise the awareness around the national symbol of Kyrgyzstan.

Snow Leopard Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in the Kyrgyz Republic in 2012. It conducts research across snow leopard habitats, implements community-based conservation programs, builds awareness and education, and assists government agencies in the Kyrgyz Republic in addressing policy issues pertaining to snow leopard conservation.

SLFK is the country partner of the International Snow Leopard Trust which was established in 1981 and is based in Seattle, US with the goal to protect the endangered snow leopard and its mountain ecosystem through a combination of advanced scientific research and community-based conservation programs.