#WrestleNice

2024 Henri Deglane Grand Prix Entry List

By United World Wrestling Press

NICE, France (January 18) -- The 50th edition of the Henri Deglane Grand Prix will commence in Nice, France on January 19.

More than 300 wrestlers from around the world will take the mats over the weekend to prepare for the all-important Olympic qualifiers later this year.

A two-kilogram weight allowance is allowed at the tournament which will begin with Women's Wrestling on January 19, Freestyle on January 20 and Greco-Roman on January 21.

Here's the list of the wrestlers competing in Nice.

57kg
Ivaylo TISOV (BUL)
Ilman MUKHTAROV (FRA)
Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS)
Ben TARIK (MAR)
Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX)
Gary GIORDMAINA (MLT)
Rafal SZEWC (POL)
Darian Toi CRUZ (PUR)
Thomas EPP (SUI)
Cael NASDEO (USA)
Liam CRONIN (USA)
Kael LAURIDSEN (USA)
Daniel DESHAZER (USA)

61kg
Stilyan Yanchev ILIEV (BUL)
Georgi VANGELOV (BUL)
Levan METREVELI (ESP)
Jules GARDETTE (FRA)
Arman ELOYAN (FRA)
Ramzan AWTAEW (GER)
Dario DITTRICH (GER)
Jannis REBHOLZ (GER)
Julien ZINSER (GER)
Kairat AMIRTAYEV (KAZ)
Zangar KABYLBEKOV (KAZ)
Joseph SILVA (PUR)
Ramon SALAZAR (USA)
Ravi KUMAR (UWW)

65kg
Ayub MUSAEV (BEL)
Ilyas ABDURASHIDOV (BEL)
Mikyay NAIM (BUL)
Peiman BIABANI (CAN)
Michael ZALE (CAN)
Carlos ALVAREZ (ESP)
Quentin STICKER (FRA)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Marwane YEZZA (FRA)
Nico MEGERLE (GER)
Dominik JAGUSZ (POL)
Nino LEUTERT (SUI)
Nahshon GARRETT (USA)
Aden VALENCIA (USA)
Paul KOLODZIK (USA)
Anthony ASHNAULT (USA)
Seth GROSS (USA)

70kg
Alexander SEIWALD (AUT)
Benedikt HUBER (AUT)
Muhammad ABDURACHMANOV (BEL)
Kaloyan ATANASOV (BUL)
Moukhammad SANGARIEV (FRA)
Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA)
Abdoul NAKAEV (FRA)
Leon GERSTENBERGER (GER)
Kevin HENKEL (GER)
Alexander SEMISOROW (GER)
Dias SAGDATOV (KAZ)
Zhassulan BEXULTANOV (KAZ)
Yernur NURGAZY (KAZ)
Rifat SAIBOTALOV (KAZ)
Timur SHANBAYEV (KAZ)
Fabian NIEDZWIEDZKI (POL)
Marc DIETSCHE (SUI)
Yahya THOMAS (USA)
Anwar ALLI (USA)
Antonio TOLBERT (USA)

74kg
Muhamed BEKTEMIROV (AUT)
Mihail GEORGIEV (BUL)
Mohammad MOTTAGHINIA (ESP)
Roni NEVALAINEN (FIN)
Magamed DELIEV (FRA)
Alan GOLMOHAMMADI (GER)
Stefan KAEPPELER (GER)
Shamil USTAEV (GER)
Stas WOLF (GER)
Tim MUELLER (GER)
Rayanne ESSAIDI (MAR)
Nico ZARB (MLT)
Szymon WOJTKOWSKI (POL)
Tobias PORTMANN (SUI)
Khairiddine BEN TLILI (TUN)
Alexander FACUNDO (USA)
Tyler BERGER (USA)
Joseph LAVALLEE (USA)

79kg
Lukas LINS (AUT)
Gabriel IGLESIAS (ESP)
Joona VUOTI (FIN)
Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA)
Adam KAKHRIEV (FRA)
Pouria TAHERKHANI (GER)
Richard SCHROEDER (GER)
Yerkhan BEXULTANOV (KAZ)
Mateusz PEDZICKI (POL)
Umar MAVLAEV (SUI)

86kg
Matteo MONTEIRO (CPV)
Miko ELKALA (FIN)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Joshua MORODION (GER)
Lars SCHAEFLE (GER)
Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE)
Uri KALASHNIKOV (ISR)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)
Alans AMIROVS (LAT)
Domantas PAULIUSCENKO (LTU)
Krzysztof SADOWIK (POL)
Ethan RAMOS (PUR)
Kimi KAEPPELI (SUI)
Samuel SCHERRER (SUI)
Mark HALL (USA)
Taylor LUJAN (USA)
Owen WEBSTER (USA)

92kg
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Sali SALIEV (BUL)
Rahmatullah MORADI (GER)
Islyambek ILYASSOV (KAZ)
Abdimanap BAIGENZHEYEV (KAZ)
Michal BIELAWSKI (POL)
Filip ROGUT (POL)
Camden MCDANEL (USA)

97kg
Tarik AZZOUZI(BEL)
Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)
Ertugrul AGCA (GER)
Nurdaulet ZAUYTBEK (KAZ)
Lukas KRASAUSKAS (LTU)
Wiktor HASA (POL)
Mohamed SAADAOUI (TUN)
Michael MACCHIAVELLO (USA)
Nathan JACKSON (USA)

125kg
Johannes LUDESCHER (AUT)
Levan LAGVILAVA (FRA)
Lucas GANSI (GER)
Omar EYUBOV (KAZ)
Jonovan SMITH (PUR)
Hayden ZILLMER (USA)
Trent HILLGER (USA)

Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN)Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) will compete at 87kg in Nice. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Raymond LANGLET (FRA)
Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO)
Ramaz SILAGAVA (GEO)
Giorgi KOCHALIDZE (GEO)

60kg
Marat GARIPOV (BRA)
Nikolai MOHAMMADI (DEN)
Aser EBRO RODRIGUEZ (ESP)
Daniel BOBILLO VIGIL (ESP)
Ilian AINAOUI (FRA)
Lucas LO GRASSO (FRA)
Beso MAKHARADZE (GEO)
Dimitri KHACHIDZE (GEO)
Romeo BERIDZE (GEO)
Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
Rashad ORUJEVI (GEO)
Abere FETENE (ISR)
Melkamu FETENE (ISR)
Romio GOLIATH (NAM)
Grzegorz KUNKEL (POL)
Michal TRACZ (POL)
Mohamed HKIRI (TUN)
Taylor LA MONT (USA)
Jamal VALIZADEH (UWW)

63kg
Gildas CHAMBINAUD (FRA)
Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO)
Rati KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO)
Avtandil MAMALADZE (GEO)
Beka GURULI (GEO)
Jonas MUELLER (SUI)
Mathias MARTINETTI (SUI)

67kg
William REENBERG (DEN)
Nestori MANNILA (FIN)
Tigran GALUSTYAN (FRA)
Hocine AKLI (FRA)
Nika BROLADZE (GEO)
Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO)
Shon NADORGIN (ISR)
Piotr STOLARCZYK (POL)
Michal BISKUPSKI (POL)
Dorien HUTTER (SUI)
Saya BRUNNER (SUI)
Fritz REBER (SUI)
Souleymen NASR (TUN)

72kg
Matias LIPASTI (FIN)
Haik Michel SARGSYAN (FRA)
Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Otar ABULADZE (GEO)
Piotr LEWANDOWSKI (POL)

77kg
Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARG)
Oliver KRUEGER (DEN)
Junior BENITEZ (ESP)
Marcos SANCHEZ (ESP)
Tornike MIKELADZE (GEO)
Nikoloz TCHIKAIDZE (GEO)
Khvicha ANANIDZE (GEO)
Shafaihuuna BENHARD (NAM)
Kamil CZARNECKI (POL)
Konrad KOZLOWSKI (POL)
Aleksander MIELEWCZYK (POL)
David LOHER (SUI)
Sami SLAMA (TUN)

82kg
Yvan GUIADEM (FRA)
Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA)
Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Adam GARDZIOLA (POL)

87kg
Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN)
Daniel HERRERO (ESP)
Waltteri LATVALA (FIN)
Artem SHAPOVALOV (FIN)
Tourpal MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Vladimeri KARCHAIDZE (FRA)
Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Lasha GOBADZE (GEO)
Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO)
Arkadiusz KULYNYCZ (POL)
Islam ALIEV (POL)
Hakim TRABELSI (TUN)

97kg
Loic SAMEN (FRA)
Roberti KOBLIASHVILI (GEO)
Giorgi MELIA (GEO)
Artsiom SHUMSKI (POL)
Igor SHEPETUN (POL)

130kg
Saba CHILASHVILI (GEO)
Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO)

Jonna MALMGREN (SWE)Jonna MALMGREN (SWE) is entered at 53kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

50kg 
Katie DUTCHAK (CAN)
Justine VIGOUROUX (FRA)
Joséphine HAEMMERLE (FRA)
Juliette LESCURE (FRA)
Lola JACQUINOT (FRA)
Jasmine BOUAZERIA (FRA)
Julie SABATIE (FRA)
Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA)
Joanna SAMSONOWICZ (POL)
Amanda TOMCZYK (POL)
Natalia WALCZAK (POL)
Georgiana ANTUCA (ROU)
Svenja JUNGO (SUI)
Erin GOLSTON (USA)

53kg
Samantha STEWART (CAN)
Aintzane GORRIA (ESP)
Maria BAEZ (ESP)
Maelyss ROUSSELET (FRA)
Lilya COHEN (FRA)
Laurie LESAFFRE (FRA)
Tetiana PROFATILOVA (FRA)
Christianah OGUNSANYA (NIG)
Florentina ROTARU (ROU)
Elena IONESCU (ROU)
Jonna MALMGREN (SWE)
Lobna ICHAOUI (TUN)
Abir ZARROUKI (TUN)
Alisha HOWK (USA)
Katie GOMEZ (USA)
Hannah HALL (USA)
Lauren MASON (USA)

57kg
Giullia PENALBER (BRA)
Hannah TAYLOR (CAN)
Graciela SANCHEZ (ESP)
Celeste SION (FRA)
Gaelle RUIZ (FRA)
Mia OLIVIER (FRA)
Romaissa EL KHARROUBI (FRA)
Mathilde RIVIERE (FRA)
Amel REBIHA (FRA)
Ester ABRAHAM (NAM)
Patrycja STRZELCZYK (POL)
Julia NOWICKA (POL)
Ana PUIU (ROU)
Evelina HULTHEN (SWE)
Tilda NAESLUND (SWE)
Faten HAMMAMI (TUN)
Alexandra HEDRICK (USA)
Abigail NETTE (USA)
Bridgette DUTY (USA)

62kg
Lais NUNES (BRA)
Lydia PEREZ (ESP)
Mathilde GUEDON (FRA)
Esther KOLAWOLE (NIG)
Nicola WASILEWSKA (POL)
Olha PADOSHYK (POL)
Aleksandra WITOS (POL)
Annatina LIPPUNER (SUI)
Johanna LINDBORG (SWE)
Siwar BOUSETA (TUN)
Lexie BASHAM (USA)
Ana LUCIANO (USA)
Lauren LOUIVE (USA)
Skylar HATTENDORF (USA)

65kg
Madison CLAYTON (CAN)
Iris THIEBAUX (FRA)
Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT)
Alicja NOWOSAD (POL)

68kg
Nerea PAMPIN (ESP)
Lorena LERA (ESP)
Dalma CANEVA (ITA)
Paulina DANISZ (POL)
Georgiana ANDRIES (ROU)
Nour JELJELI (TUN)
Khadija JLASSI (TUN)
Kaylynn ALBRECHT (USA)

72kg
Thamires MARTINS (BRA)
Ambre CHEVREAU (FRA)
Kendra DACHER (FRA)
Karolina JAWORSKA (POL)
Paula ROTARU (ROU)
Maria NITU (ROU)
Tindra SJOEBERG (SWE)
Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)

76kg
Meiriele CHARAMBA (BRA)
Epp MAE (EST)
Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Patrycja CUBER (POL)
Daniela TKACHUK (POL)
Anna BRAUN (SWE)
Dymond GUILFORD (USA)
Skylar GROTE (USA)
Yelena MAKOYED (USA)
Precious BELL (USA)
Brooklyn HAYS (USA)

#WrestleTirana

Muhamet Malo 2025: Bumpy ride to gold for Kiyooka in 53kg debut

By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (March 1) -- When Olympic 53kg champion Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) moved up to 57kg last year, Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) emerged as the top wrestler in Japan at 53kg by winning the Emperor's Cup.

On Saturday, Kiyooka made her 53kg debut internationally at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series in Tirana. Though she captured the gold medal, her road to gold was not a smooth sailing.

Kiyooka defeated European champion Andreea ANA (ROU) 6-0 in the final to given Japan its sixth gold medal in Women's Wrestling. The world 55kg champion opened her tournament with two technical superiority wins but come the semifinals, Kiyooka was given a reality check.

Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) opened the scoring in the semifinals and led 6-0 after she used a bow and arrow to turn Kiyooka. A little stunned with start, Miyooka remained calmed and did not allow Malanchuk more openings. She clawed her way back to make it 8-8 but Malanchuk was leading on criteria. It was only after Kiyooka blasted a double-leg and later added more takedowns to 15-8.

"I didn't expect my opponent to score six points in the first place," Kiyooka said. "I was really nervous, and I was also thinking about how I was going to get it from here. There was still time to calm down so I thought that if I continued with my wrestling, I would be able to win. So I just kept in mind that I needed to stay calm without getting anxious."

In the final, Kiyooka wrestled European champion Andreea ANA (ROU) who kept the Japanese world champion quiet for the first period, with only 1-0 lead. But Kiyooka blasted double-legs in the second period, earning a stepout and takedown. A takedown finished things off for Kiyooka.

Kiyooka explained that she may have been victim of overthinking, about her opponents and their styles before the tournament began.

"I was wondering what level the foreign wrestlers in the 53kg class and how well I would be able to compete there," she said. "I researched information about each opponent, match by match, but I thought it was important to win with my own wrestling, so I looked at my opponent."

Kiyooka and other winners of Emperor's Cup will head to Amman for the Asian Championships. The tournament will be without the +2kg allowance which makes it even more difficult for Kiyooka.

"I was able to compete at 55kg this time, which was 2kg over, but I also lost weight," she said. "I'm planning to switch it up as soon as I get back and prepare for the Asian Championship. When it comes to the mat, I have felt that level of competition so high in  previous tournaments. I'm going to reconsider how I can win in wrestling, and I'm going to go back and practice."

Kiyooka's gold was sixth for Japan, which had seven female wrestlers at the Muhamet Malo. Only Nodoka YAMAMOTO (JPN) failed to win a medal at 76kg, a weight class won by Dymond GUILFORD (USA) who defeated Asian Games champion Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ), 2-1, in the final.

Medet Kyzy was not impressed with a few referee calls in the final which only saw activity clock points. Guilford was leading 1-1 on criteria when Medet Kyzy was put on the 30-second clock with a minute left in the match.

Guilford's lead became 2-1 and despite Medet Kyzy's efforts, Guilford did not give up on defense. With 15 seconds on the clock, Guilford was about to be warned for fleeing and at the same time Medet Kyzy hit a leg-attack. But the referee whistle to warn Guilford at the exact moment.

Kyrgyzstan challenged the call and on review Medet Kyzy was seen grabbing Guilford's hair and the American was warned for fleeing. But there was no chance in the score with Guilford leading 2-1 with 10 seconds left.

Guilford would claim the gold with that score, ending Medet Kyzy's great run till the final with a silver medal.

At 57kg, two weeks after winning the 55kg silver medal at the Zagreb Open, Samantha STEWART (CAN) upgraded to gold at 57kg at Muhamet Malo, securing a fall over former U23 European champion Elvira SULEYMAN KAMALOGLU (TUR) with 50 seconds remaining on the clock.

The 34-year-old former world bronze medalist was in stunning form in Tirana, securing a fall over Tamara DOLLAK (HUN) and beating Tokyo Olympian Luisa VALVERDE (ECU) in the semifinals.

"Age is just a number and I don't want to cut weight anymore so I will be staying at 57kg," Stewart said.

With only four wrestlers, the 72kg weight class was a round-robin bracket and three-time world medalist Zhamila BAKBERGENOV (KAZ) emerging as the gold medalist. Three wrestlers ended with two wins each and it wasn't the Round 3 bout between Alla BELINSKA (UKR) and Alexandria GLAUDE (USA) that the medalists were decided.

Bakbergenova pinned Linda MACHUCA (ARG) in her Round 3 bout and finished with 9 classification points from three bouts. Belinska defeated Glaude 4-3 and had 9 classification points as well. However, Bakbergenova had 10 technical points scored while Belinksa had nine. Glaude, who had defeated Bakbergenova in Round 2, finished with a bronze medal.

RESULTS

53kg
GOLD: Moe KIYOOKA (JPN)    df. Andreea ANA (ROU), 6-0

BRONZE: Natalia MALYSHEVA (UWW) df. Zeynep YETGIL (TUR), 7-0
BRONZE: Yuxuan LI (CHN) df. Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR), 10-0

57kg
GOLD: Samantha STEWART (CAN) df. Elvira SULEYMAN KAMALOGLU (TUR), via fall

BRONZE: Amanda MARTINEZ (USA) df. Evelina HULTHEN (SWE), 4-3
BRONZE: Luisa VALVERDE (ECU) df. Tamara DOLLAK (HUN), 5-2

72kg
GOLD: Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
SILVER: Alla BELINSKA (UKR)
BRONZE: Alexendria GLAUDE (USA)

76kg
GOLD: Dymond GUILFORD (USA) df. Medet KYZY AIPERI (KGZ), 2-1

BRONZE: Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) df. Meile ZHANG (CHN), 2-1
BRONZE: Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ) df. YANGLA (CHN), via fall