Obituary

Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov, First Kazakh to Win Olympic Gold, Dies at 69

Monday, August 3, 2020 - 12:49 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (August 3) -- Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov, who won Olympic gold for the U.S.S.R  in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Moscow Games in 1980, has died. He was 69.

Ushkempirov was the first ethnic Kazakh to win an Olympic gold in wrestling and became a national star following his performance. To honor his achievements, there is an international Junior Greco-Roman wrestling tournament named "Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov" held annually in the nation of Kazakhstan. He was also inducted into the UWW Hall of Fame in 2014.

In addition to his Olympic gold, Ushkempirov was a 1981 World champion, 1980 European silver medallist, USSR Champion (1975,1980), and Honored Master of Sports of USSR (1980). 

Ushkempirov also received the Labor of Kazakhstan award as well as the honors of "Barys", "Badge of Honor", "Parasat".

Ushkempirov

#TurkiyeWrestling

Support relief efforts in Turkiye and Syria

Thursday, February 16, 2023 - 10:20 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY (February 16) -- Major earthquakes hit south-east Turkiye and the north-west region of Syria on February 6, 2023. With the wrestling community also severely affected, the United World Wrestling has set up a donation drive to support relief efforts for those impacted by the earthquakes.

Voluntary donations can be made here via PayPal.

You can also scan the QR Code here.

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If both the above methods are unavailable in your country, you can donate via bank transfer using the following details:

Beneficiary: UNITED WORLD WRESTLING
Address: Rue du Château 6, 1804 Corsier-sur-Vevey
Bank account number: CH91 0024 3243 2950 6466 Y
SWIFT Code: UBSWCHZH10A
Bank: UBS Switzerland AG
Bank address: PO Box, 1002 Lausanne
Reason of payment: “DONATION EARTHQUAKE”

Note: Beware of scams. This is the only donation page of United World Wrestling. All others are not related to UWW.