Obituary

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

By United World Wrestling Press

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

#UWWAcademy

UWW Academy Releases '22 Rule Modifications Breakdown Videos

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (March 15) – UWW Academy, the official educational learning platform for coaches, referees and athletes, released a new course on the 2022 Rule Modifications. The Referee Commission has created a new online course over this year's rule modifications.  This course will focus on the changes that occurred in the articles.

Rule Modifications:
Article 27 – Interrupting the Bout
Article 32 – Challenge
Article 45 – Par Terre Position during the Bout
Article 47 – Enforcement of Passivity & Activity Time in U15, U17, Veterans
Article 49 – Fleeing the Hold
Article 50 – Fleeing the Mat

The short videos covering each of the articles along with video examples from matches can be found on the Academy platform at https://academy.uww.org. At the end of the course, there will be a short assessment to check for understanding of the new modifications.