Social Media

Wrestling Ranks Fourth on Social Media Among All International Federations

By Tim Foley

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (April 16) – United World Wrestling ranked fourth on social media among 35 international federations, according to an analysis performed and released by RedTorch, a social media tracking platform.

The analysis reviewed all recognized IFs rated their performance on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube based on a variety of factors.

Wrestling placed fourth overall, jumping seven places from the 2016 analysis. The federation, which only launched many of its accounts in 2013, also boasted the second-ranked Instagram account and the third-ranked Facebook page.

Growth rates among wrestling’s social media platforms was also notable  in 2017 with the sport’s Twitter audience increasing 46-percent and its YouTube viewership increasing 92-percent. Both increases were ranked third among all IFs.

YouTube growth was attributed to the popularity of the 2017 Wrestling World Championships in Paris, while Facebook increases were pegged to specialty documentary coverage like “Sacrifice,” a short film providing fans as inside look at the training conditions and personal lives of wrestlers in Cuba.

Wrestling’s media department was also honored last week with the “New Media Specialists of the Year Award” as presented by the National Wrestling Media Association (NWMA). In giving the award, the NWMA cited United World Wrestling’s short documentary features, match coverage and highlight clips from competitions around the world.

You can follow United World Wrestling online at the following accounts:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/unitedworldwrestling
Twitter: www.twitter.com/wrestling
Instagram: www.instagram.com/unitedworldwrestling
YouTube: www.youtube.com/unitedworldwrestling

#USAWrestling

Paris Olympic champ Hildebrandt announces retirement

By Vinay Siwach

COLRADO, United States (February 17) -- Olympic champion Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) has announced her retirement from wrestling.

The 31-year-old won gold in Women's Wrestling 50kg at the 2024 Paris Olympics and is also a bronze medalist from the Tokyo Olympics. At the World Championships, Hildebrandt won two silver (2018, 2021) and two bronze medals (2022, 2023).

Her decision was accompanied with an announcement from USA Wrestling that Hildebrandt will be joining as the assistant coach for Women's Wrestling with senior women's team.

“I have had a really long career and I’ve gotten the experience of what wrestling has taught me," Hildebrandt said. "It has made me so passionate about what this sport can do for people. If I can bring a passion and energy in support of their journey, kind of a door handle to open up their own adventure, that is exciting to me. Wrestling has given me so much. The sport has taught me everything about myself and helped me grow as a woman."

Hildebrandt made her debut at the U20 World Championships in 2010 at 55kg and remained a 53-55kg wrestler for long. At the 2019 World Championships, Hildebrandt failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics at 53kg and made the move to 50kg and qualified.

She went on to have one of most successful careers at 50kg, becoming the fourth Olympic champion for the United States in Women's Wrestling. She is only the second wrestler to win multiple medals at the Olympics for the U.S. after Helen MAROULIS (USA), who has three.

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