#UWWAwards

'21 Comeback Wrestlers of the Year: Vlasov and Maroulis

By Eric Olanowski

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 10) -- Roman VLASOV (RWF) and Helen MAROULIS (USA) have been named United World Wrestling’s ’21 Male/Female Comeback Wrestlers of the Year.

After the Russian Olympic Committee inserted Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RWF) into their Tokyo Olympic lineup at 77kg, Roman Vlasov’s dreams of winning a third consecutive Olympic title were put on hold until the ’24 Paris Olympic Games.

The 31-year-old Russian great put the Tokyo snub in the rearview mirror and captained Russia’s lineup at the Oslo World Championships with renewed vigor. He led his country to the GR team title while reaching the top of the world podium for the third time in his storied career.  

Maroulis was voted UWW’s women’s Comeback Wrestler of the Year.  

After suffering her well-documented brain injury, Maroulis leaped past the physical and mental hurdles en route to winning a Tokyo Olympic bronze medal before capping off her season by adding a third world title to her resume.

#WrestleBratislava

UWW to test new Greco rule at 2025 European Championships

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (March 28) -- United World Wrestling Technical Commission has approved the testing of a Greco-Roman rule change at the European Championships next month.

According to the new rule in Greco-Roman, in case a bout ends 1-1, victory will be awarded to the wrestler who scored the first point. This modification will be implemented exclusively in Greco-Roman and will apply only to matches that end in a 1-1 tie.

The change, which is only being tested, was approved after the new UWW Technical Commission reviewed the current regulations. It unanimously acknowledged that the existing rule, which awards victory to the athlete who scores the last point, may unintentionally encourage passivity at the start of the bout.

Following the discussions, the Commission agreed to test the proposed change of awarding victory to the wrestler who scores the first point during the 2025 Senior European Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia to be held from April 7-13.

Additional senior Continental Championships or international tournaments may also be selected for further testing. United World Wrestling will provide updates should additional test events be required.