#WrestleOslo

25 Tokyo Olympic Medalists Highlight #WrestleOslo World Entries

By Eric Olanowski

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (September 8) – Fresh off winning his second Olympic title, wrestling's most prominent star Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RWF) will return to the mat October 02-10 for the Oslo World Championships. He'll lead a group of 25 newly minted Olympic medalists – including four champs – into Norway for this year's historic World Championships.

Due to the Tokyo Olympic Games postponement, the 2021 World Championships will be the first of its kind. It'll be the first time wrestling has held the Olympic Games and an all-weight world championship in the same year.

Sadulaev, alongside fellow Tokyo champs David TAYLOR (USA), Tamyra STOCK-MENSAH (USA) and Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) will have the unprecedented opportunity to win World and Olympic gold in the same season.

But the path to history for 'The Russian Tank,' Taylor and Mensah-Stock, in particular, won't be easy. Instead, they'll share the bracket with at least two other Tokyo Olympic medalists – including the wrestlers they defeated in early August to win Olympic gold. 

Sadulaev will have to get through Kyle SNYDER (USA) to win his fifth world title. His American nemesis is the only person who's handed him a world championship loss in his previous five world appearances. But, as of last month, the 25-year-old Russian broke the series tie and gained the one-match advantage on Snyder with his 6-3 victory in the 97kg Tokyo gold-medal match. He also defeated 'Captain America' to win '18 world gold, which came a year after falling to Snyder in the '17 world finals. 

Outside of Sadulaev and Snyder, Olympic bronze medalist Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO RUANO (ITA) will also compete at 97kg.

Taylor will share the 86kg bracket with Rio Olympic champion Hasan YAZDANI (IRI). They've met three times since 2017, with "The Magic Man" owning the 3-0 series lead. Taylor picked up his most recent victory over 'The Greatest' in Tokyo with a last-second takedown to claim the 86kg Olympic title.

Artur NAIFONOV, the Russia Wrestling Federation's Toyko Olympic bronze medalist, is also entered at 86kg.

Mensah will wrestle alongside Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) and Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) in the 68kg bracket. She defeated her Nigerian foe for gold, while the Kyrgyz wrestler ended her Tokyo campaign with a bronze medal.

On the Greco-Roman side of the competition Olympic champ Geraei will compete at 67kg.

Freestyle wrestling kicks off the 2021 World Championships on October 2. Women’s wrestling takes center stage at the Jordal Amfi Arena on October 4, with Greco-Roman closing out the competition in Norway beginning on October 7.

*Please note that these entries are subject to change, and National Federations can update names and weight categories until three days before the start of each style.

Musa EVLOEV (RWF) celebrates with his coaches after winning 97kg gold in Tokyo. He'll wrestle at 97kg in Oslo. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

Here's a breakdown of all of the reigning Tokyo Olympic medalists that'll lay it on the line in Oslo. 

By the numbers:
Freestyle: 11 medalists (2 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze)
Greco-Roman: 5 medalists (1 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze)
Women’s Wrestling: 9 medalists (1 gold, 3 silver and 5 bronze)

Freestyle
57kg  - Thomas Patrick GILMAN (USA) – Tokyo Olympic bronze
74kg - Kyle Douglas DAKE (USA) - Tokyo Olympic bronze
86kg  - David Morris TAYLOR III (USA) - Tokyo Olympic gold
86kg - Hassan Aliazam YAZDANICHARATI (IRI) - Tokyo Olympic silver
86kg - Artur NAIFONOV (RWF) - Tokyo Olympic bronze
97kg - Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RWF) - Tokyo Olympic gold
97kg - Kyle SNYDER (USA) - Tokyo Olympic silver
97kg - Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO RUANO (ITA) - Tokyo Olympic bronze
125kg  -Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) - Tokyo Olympic silver
125kg - Amir Hossein Abbas ZARE (IRI) - Tokyo Olympic bronze
125kg - Taha AKGUL (TUR) - Tokyo Olympic bronze

Greco-Roman
67kg  - Mohammadreza Abdolhamid GERAEI (IRI) - Tokyo Olympic gold
82kg  - Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) - Tokyo Olympic bronze
87kg  - Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) - Tokyo Olympic bronze
97kg - Mohammadhadi Abdollah SARAVI (IRI) - Tokyo Olympic bronze
130kg  - Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) - Tokyo Olympic silver

Women’s Wrestling
50kg  - Sarah Ann HILDEBRANDT (USA) - Tokyo Olympic bronze
53kg  - Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL) - Tokyo Olympic bronze
57kg - Helen Louise MAROULIS (USA) - Tokyo Olympic bronze
57kg - Evelina Georgieva NIKOLOVA (BUL) - Tokyo Olympic bronze
62kg  - Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) - Tokyo Olympic silver
68kg  - Tamyra Mariama STOCK MENSAH (USA) - Tokyo Olympic gold
68kg - Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) - Tokyo Olympic silver
68kg - Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) - Tokyo Olympic bronze
76kg - Adeline Maria GRAY (USA) - Tokyo Olympic silver

David TAYLOR (USA) finishes a shot on Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) during their meeting in Tokyo for 86kg gold. They are both entered at 86kg. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

Freestyle

57kg 
Afgan KHASHALOV (AZE)
Mikyay Salim NAIM (BUL)
Darthe CAPELLAN (CAN)
Levan  METREVELI VARTANOV (ESP)
Goga DZIGUA (GEO)
Horst Justin Junior LEHR (GER)
Pankaj PANKAJ (IND)
Alireza Nosratolah SARLAK (IRI)
Toshiya ABE (JPN)
Meirambek KARTBAY (KAZ)
Simon Kamau WAINAINA (KEN)
Changjun PARK (KOR)
Bekhbayar ERDENEBAT (MGL)
Vladimir EGOROV (MKD)
Abubakar MUTALIEV (RWF)
Suleyman ATLI (TUR)
Roman HUTSULIAK (UKR)
Thomas Patrick GILMAN (USA)
Gamal Mohammed Yahya ALSABRI (YEM)

61kg
Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)

Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE)
Alibeg ALIBEGOV (BRN)
Georgi Valentinov VANGELOV (BUL)
Arman Norik ELOYAN (FRA)
Beka LOMTADZE (GEO)
Nico MEGERLE (GER)

Gamzatgadzsi HALIDOV (HUN)
Ravinder RAVINDER (IND)
Rahman Mousa AMOUZADKHALILI (IRI)
Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN)
Kenneth KOECH (KEN)
Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ)
Sunggwon KIM (KOR)
Chakir ANSARI (MAR)

Igor CHICHIOI (MDA)
Tuvshintulga TUMENBILEG (MGL)
Eduard GRIGOREV (POL)
Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RWF)
Stevan Andria MICIC (SRB)
Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR)
Yaroslav HURSKYY (UKR)
Daton FIX (USA)

65kg
Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM)
Gabriel JANATSCH (AUT)
Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE)
Ayub Muratovitch MUSAEV (BEL)
Marcos Wesley DE BRITO SIQUEIRA (BRA)
Haji Mohamad ALI (BRN)
Ruhan Hyusnyu RASIM (BUL)
Dillon Emmanuel WILLIAMS (CAN)
Ilman MUKHTAROV (FRA)
George Anthony RAMM (GBR)
Rohit ROHIT (IND)
Amirmohammad Babak YAZDANICHERATI (IRI)
Colin John REALBUTO (ITA)
Kaiki YAMAGUCHI (JPN)
Alibek OSMONOV (KGZ)
Junsik YUN (KOR)
Maxim SACULTAN (MDA)
Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL)
Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL)
Sebastian C RIVERA (PUR)
Zagir SHAKHIEV (RWF)

Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN (TUR)
Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR)
John Michael DIAKOMIHALIS (USA)

70kg
Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM)
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Adam BATIROV (BRN)
Carlos Eduardo ROMERO MILLAQUEO (CHI)
Nicolae COJOCARU (GBR)
Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO)
Shamil USTAEV (GER)
Daniel ANTAL (HUN)
Sushil SUSHIL (IND)
Erfan Mohammad ELAHI (IRI)
Gianluca TALAMO (ITA)
Jintaro MOTOYAMA (JPN)
Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ)
Seungchul LEE (KOR)
Nicolai GRAHMEZ (MDA)
Temuulen ENKHTUYA (MGL)
Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL)

Evgenii ZHERBAEV (RWF)
Zaur EFENDIEV (SRB)
Anil NiroshanMunasinghe KARUNA PELI GEDARA (SRI)
Marc DIETSCHE (SUI)
Daniel CHOMANIC (SVK)

Mustafa KAYA (TUR)
Ivan KUSYAK (UKR)
James Malcolm GREEN (USA)

Hussein Abdullah Hussein Abdullah AL AZZANI (YEM)

74kg
Joshgun AZIMOV (AZE)
Ali Pasha Ruslanovich UMARPASHAEV (BUL)
Jasmit Singh PHULKA (CAN)
Aimar ANDRUSE (EST)
Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO)
Osman Kubilay CAKICI (GER)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
Yash YASH (IND)
Yones Aliakbar EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI)
Mitchell Louis FINESILVER (ISR)
Masaki SATO (JPN)
Mathayo Matonya MAHABILA (KEN)
Byungmin GONG (KOR)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Byambadorj BAT ERDENE (MGL)
Suresh CHUNARA (NEP)
Kamil RYBICKI (POL)

Timur BIZHOEV (RWF)
Malik Michael AMINE (SMR)
Hetik CABOLOV (SRB)
Tajmuraz Mairbekovic SALKAZANOV (SVK)
Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR)
Zielimkhan TOHUZOV (UKR)
Kyle Douglas DAKE (USA)

79kg
Arman AVAGYAN (ARM)
Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE)
Oktay Ruzhdi HASAN (BUL)
Samuel Jacob BARMISH (CAN)
Erik REINBOK (EST)
Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA)
Nika KENTCHADZE (GEO)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
Csaba VIDA (HUN)
Baliyan GOURAV (IND)
Mohammad Ashghar NOKHODILARIMI (IRI)
Aron CANEVA (ITA)
Ryuki YOSHIDA (JPN)
Saiakbai USUPOV (KGZ)
Manho OH (KOR)
Alans AMIROVS (LAT)
Wilson Hallowanger TOAYEN (LBR)
Evgheni NEDEALCO (MDA)
Bat Erdene BYAMBASUREN (MGL)
Andrzej Piotr SOKALSKI (POL)
Maxim VASILIOGLO (ROU)

Radik VALIEV (RWF)
Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK)
Muhammet Nuri KOTANOGLU (TUR)

Rustam RASUIEV (UKR)
Jordan Ernest BURROUGHS (USA)

86kg
Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
Dzhemal Rushen ALI (BUL)
Hunter Jeffery LEE (CAN)
Taimuraz FRIEV NASKIDAEVA (ESP)
Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA)
Sandro AMINASHVILI (GEO)
Ahmed Ruslanovic DUDAROV (GER)
Sandeep Singh MANN (IND)
Hassan Aliazam YAZDANICHARATI (IRI)
Uri KALASHNIKOV (ISR)
Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN)
Mark Omumasaba INGUYESI (KEN)
Gwanuk KIM (KOR)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)

Piotr IANULOV (MDA)
Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL)
Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL)
Ethan Adrian RAMOS (PUR)
Artur NAIFONOV (RWF)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)
Osman GOCEN (TUR)
Mukhammed ALIIEV (UKR)
David Morris TAYLOR III (USA)

92kg
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)

Akhmed Adamovich MAGAMAEV (BUL) 
Jordan STEEN (CAN)
Heriberto SANDI CASTILLO (CRC)
Irakli MTSITURI (GEO)

Pruthviraj Babasaheb PATIL (IND)
Kamran Ghorban GHASEMPOUR (IRI)
Simone IANNATTONI (ITA)
Takuma OTSU (JPN)
John Odhiambo OMONDI (KEN)
Hyeokbeom GWON (KOR)
Georgii RUBAEV (MDA)
Orgilokh DAGVADORJ (MGL)
Zbigniew Mateusz BARANOWSKI (POL)
Magomed Guseynovitch KURBANOV (RWF)
Erhan YAYLACI (TUR)
AndriI VLASOV (UKR)
Jden Michael Tbory COX (USA)
Gilberto Segundo AYALA RODRIGUEZ (VEN)

97kg
Islam ILYASOV (AZE)
Ahmed Sultanovich BATAEV (BUL)

Nishan Preet Singh RANDHAWA (CAN)
Maxwell Lemar LACEY GARITA (CRC)
Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO)
Satywart KADIAN (IND)
Mojtaba Mohammadshafie GOLEIJ (IRI)
Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO RUANO (ITA)
Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN)
Dan Aura CHEPTAI (KEN)
Minwon SEO (KOR)
Lukas KRASAUSKAS (LTU)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Batzul ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL)
Magomedgadji Omardibirovich NUROV (MKD)
Sumir Kumar SAH (NEP)
Radoslaw BARAN (POL)
Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RWF)
Suleyman KARADENIZ (TUR)
Mahamed ZAKARIIEV (UKR)
Kyle Frederick SNYDER (USA)

125kg
Johannes LUDESCHER (AUT)
Amarveer DHESI (CAN)

Youssif Mohamed Badea HEMIDA (EGY)
Jere Tapani HEINO (FIN)
Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)

Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE)
Kumar ANIRUDH (IND)
Amir Hossein Abbas ZARE (IRI)
Taiki YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Yeihyun JUNG (KOR)
Egor OLAR (MDA)
Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL)
Robert BARAN (POL)

Zelimkhan KHIZRIEV (RWF)
Taha AKGUL (TUR)
Oleksandr KOLDOVSKYI (UKR)
Nicholas Edward GWIAZDOWSKI (USA)

Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) looks to expose Parviz NASIBOV (UKR) during their 67kg battle for Olympic gold. Geraei is entered at 67kg. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

*Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Mohammadhadi Abdollah SARAVI (IRI) was registered at 97kg freestyle. He's been moved to 97kg Greco-Roman.

55kg
Norayr HAKHOYAN (ARM)
Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
Marat GARIPOV (BRA)
Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
Fabian Bernhard SCHMITT (GER)
Sandeep SANDEEP (IND)
Sajjad Javid ABBASPOURRAGANI (IRI)
Ken MATSUI (JPN)
Khorlan ZHAKANSHA (KAZ)
Nurmukhammet ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Hyeokjin JEON (KOR)
Snorre Harsem LUND (NOR)
Emin Narimanovitch SEFERSHAEV (RWF)
Ekrem OZTURK (TUR)
Koriun SAHRADIAN (UKR)
Max Emiliano NOWRY (USA)

60kg
Gevorg GHARIBYAN (ARM)
Murad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Helary MAEGISALU (EST)
Irakli DZIMISTARISHVILI (GEO)
Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN)
Gyanender GYANENDER (IND)
Mehrdad Abdmohammad MARDANI (IRI)
Ayata SUZUKI (JPN)
Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ)
Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ)
Jinwoong JUNG (KOR)
Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Michal Jacek TRACZ (POL)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)

Stepan MARYANYAN (RWF)
Ahmet UYAR (TUR)
Zhora ABOVIAN (UKR)
Dalton ROBERTS (USA)

63kg
Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM)
Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE)

Ivan LIZATOVIC (CRO)
Mostafa Hassan Abdelaal MOHAMED (EGY)
Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
Deniz MENEKSE (GER)
Erik TORBA (HUN)
Neeraj NEERAJ (IND)
Meysam Karamali DALKHANI (IRI)
Kensuke SHIMIZU (JPN)
Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ)
Kaly SULAIMANOV (KGZ)
Hanjae CHUNG (KOR)
Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT)
Stig Andre BERGE (NOR)
Artor Zaitsev HAGERUP (NOR)
Mihai Radu MIHUT (ROU)
Ibragim LABAZANOV (RWF)
Perica DIMITRIJEVIC (SRB)

Virgil Alexander BICA (SWE)
Mehmet CEKER (TUR)
Lenur TEMIROV (UKR)
Sam JONES (USA)

67kg
Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM)

Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)
Ott SAAR (EST)
Elmer Joakim MATTILA (FIN)
Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)
Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO)
Witalis LAZOVSKI (GER)
Krisztian Istvan VANCZA (HUN)
Gaurav DUHOON (IND)
Mohammadreza Abdolhamid GERAEI (IRI)
Zaur KABALOEV (ITA)
Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA (JPN)
Almat KEBISPAYEV (KAZ)

Gilbert Mbevoni KABOCHE (KEN)
Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ)
Hansu RYU (KOR)
Morten THORESEN (NOR)
Mateusz Lucjan BERNATEK (POL)
Pedro Miguel DE MATOS OLIVEIRA DE MORAIS CA (POR)
Nazir Rachidovitch ABDULLAEV (RWF)
Sebastian NAD (SRB)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Murat FIRAT (TUR)
Oleksii MASYK (UKR)
Peyton OMANIA (USA)

72kg
Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)
Christoph BURGER (AUT)
Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)
Deyvid Tihomirov DIMITROV (BUL)
Jair Alexis CUERO MUNOZ (COL)
Mikko Petteri PELTOKANGAS (FIN)
Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamed Hassan GHANEM (FRA)
Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO)

Idris Hanpasaevic IBAEV (GER)
Robert Attila FRITSCH (HUN)
Vikas VIKAS (IND)
Mohammad Reza Hojatollah MOKHTARI (IRI)
Tomohiro INOUE (JPN)
Kaharman KISSYMETOV (KAZ)
Ruslan TSAREV (KGZ)
Jiyul LEE (KOR)
Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Juan Sebastian AAK (NOR)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Roman PACURKOWSKI (POL)

Sergei KUTUZOV (RWF)
Aleksa ERSKI (SRB)
Leos DRMOLA (SVK)

Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR)
Maksym YEVTUSHENKO (UKR)

Patrick SMITH (USA)

77kg
Boris FRROKAJ (ALB)
Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)
Joilson DE BRITO RAMOS JUNIOR (BRA)
Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)
Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Oliver Marco KRUEGER (DEN)
Matias Olavi Iisakki LIPASTI (FIN)
Evrik NIKOGHOSYAN (FRA)
Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Roland SCHWARZ (GER)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
Sajan SAJAN (IND)
Mohammadali Abdolhamid GERAEI (IRI)
Kodai SAKURABA (JPN)
Tamerlan SHADUKAYEV (KAZ)

Mathayo Matonya MAHABILA (KEN)
Kairatbek TUGOLBAEV (KGZ)
Yeonghun NOH (KOR)
Paulius GALKINAS (LTU)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Emmanuel Alexis BENITEZ CASTRO (MEX)
Per Anders KURE (NOR)
Rabie K. A. KHALIL (PLE)
Gevorg SAHAKYAN (POL)
Bakhit Sharif K BADR (QAT)

Roman VLASOV (RWF)
Viktor NEMES (SRB)
Bogdan KOURINNOI (SWE)

Daler REZA ZADE (TJK)
Yunus Emre BASAR (TUR)
Dmytro PYSHKOV (UKR)
Jesse Alexander PORTER (USA)

82kg
Gegham TORGOMYAN (ARM)
Rohan Peter KALISCH (AUS)
Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Tarek Mohamed ABDELSLAM SHEBLE MOHAMED (BUL)
Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO)
Oldrich VARGA (CZE)
Ranet KALJOLA (EST)
Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO)
Hannes WAGNER (GER)
Laszlo SZABO (HUN)
Singh HARPREET (IND)
Pejman Soltanmorad POSHTAM (IRI)
Igor PETRISHIN (ISR)
Satoki MUKAI (JPN)
Maxat YEREZHEPOV (KAZ)
Kalidin ASYKEEV (KGZ)
Byeongcheol SHIN (KOR)

Per Anders KURE (NOR)
Edgar BABAYAN (POL)
Adlan AKIEV (RWF)
Branko KOVACEVIC (SRB)
Alex Michel BJURBERG KESSIDIS (SWE)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Dmytro GARDUBEI (UKR)
Benjamin Errol PROVISOR (USA)

87kg
Artur SHAHINYAN (ARM)
Michael WAGNER (AUT)
Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
Yoan Danielov DIMITROV (BUL)
Vjekoslav LUBURIC (CRO)
Petr NOVAK (CZE)
Turpan Ali Alvievich BISULTANOV (DEN)
Raido LIITMAEE (EST)
Lasha GOBADZE (GEO)
Pascal EISELE (GER)
Istvan TAKACS (HUN)
Kumar SUNIL (IND)
Ramin Soltanmorad TAHERISARTANG (IRI)
Takahiro TSURUDA (JPN)
Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
Seunghwan LEE (KOR)
Julius MATUZEVICIUS (LTU)
Mihail BRADU (MDA)
Ruben Elias BEEN (NOR)
Magnus GROENVIK (NOR)
Arkadiusz Marcin KULYNYCZ (POL)

Milad Valerikovitch ALIRZAEV (RWF)
Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB)
Kristoffer Zakarias BERG (SWE)

Metehan BASAR (TUR)
Alan VERA (USA)
Semen NOVIKOV (UKR)

97kg
Murat LOKIAYEV (AZE)
Kiril Milenov MILOV (BUL)
Ioannis NARLIDIS (CAN)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Mathias BAK (DEN)
Melonin NOUMONVI (FRA)
Giorgi MELIA (GEO)
Peter OEHLER (GER)
Alex Gergo SZOKE (HUN)
Ravi RAVI (IND)

Mohammadhadi Abdollah SARAVI (IRI)
Yuta NARA (JPN)
Yerulan ISKAKOV (KAZ)
Beksultan Makhamadzhanovich MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)
Jewoo PARK (KOR)
Vilius LAURINAITIS (LTU)
Felix BALDAUF (NOR)
Marcus WORREN (NOR)
Gerard Cyprian KURNICZAK (POL)

Artur SARGSIAN (RWF)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB)
Pontus Johan LUND (SWE)
Ibrahim TIGCI (TUR)
Yevhenii SAVETA (UKR)
Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA)

130kg
David OVASAPYAN (ARM)
Beka KANDELAKI (AZE)
Radoslav Plamenov GEORGIEV (BUL)
Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI)
Marko KOSCEVIC (CRO)

Stepan DAVID (CZE)
Konsta Johannes MAEENPAEAE (FIN)
Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)
Jello KRAHMER (GER)
Naveen NAVEEN (IND)

Aliakbar Hossein YOUSOFIAHMADCHALI (IRI)
Arata SONODA (JPN)
Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ)

Seungchan LEE (KOR)
Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
Oskar MARVIK (NOR)
Nikola MILATOVIC (NOR)
Rafal Andrzej KRAJEWSKI (POL)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)

Zurabi GEDEKHAURI (RWF)
Mykola KUCHMII (UKR)
Cohlton Michael SCHULTZ (USA)

 Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA) finishes a shot on Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) during their battle for the 68kg Olympic title. They are both registered at 68kg. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
Patricia Alejandra BERMUDEZ (ARG)
Turkan NASIROVA (AZE)
Kamila BARBOSA VITO DA SILVA (BRA)
Miglena Georgieva SELISHKA (BUL)

Madison Bianca PARKS (CAN)
Lisa ERSEL (GER)
Kumari HANNY (IND)
Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN)
Miran CHEON (KOR)
Gabija DILYTE (LTU)
Emilia CIRICU BUDEANU (MDA)

Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL) 
Ramona ERIKSEN (NOR)
Anna LUKASIAK (POL)
Emilia Alina VUC (ROU)
Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (RWF)
Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Bohdana KOKOZEI YASHCHUK (UKR)
Sarah Ann HILDEBRANDT (USA)

53kg
Samantha Leigh STEWART (CAN)
Annika WENDLE (GER)
Pooja POOJA (IND)
Akari FUJINAMI (JPN)
Eunyoung PARK (KOR)
Kamile SERNAUSKAITE (LTU)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL)
Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL)
Anzhelika VETOSHKINA (RWF)
Emma Jonna Denise MALMGREN (SWE)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Khrystyna BEREZA (UKR)

Amy FEARNSIDE (USA)

55kg
Natasha Irene Vera FOX KRAMBLE(CAN)
Nina HEMMER (GER)
Pinki PINKI (IND)
Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN)
Soyeon KIM (KOR)
Sumiya ERDENECHIMEG (MGL)
Esther Omolayo KOLAWOLE (NGR)
Anne SVARSTAD (NOR)
Roksana Marta ZASINA (POL)
Andreea Beatrice ANA (ROU)
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RWF)

Mehlika OZTURK (TUR)
Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR)
Jenna BURKERT (USA)  

57kg
Jeannie Agnes KESSLER (AUT)
Giullia RODRIGUES PENALBER DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Evelina Georgieva NIKOLOVA (BUL)
Alexandria Rebekkah TOWN (CAN)
Elena Heike BRUGGER (GER)
Ramona GALAMBOS (HUN)
Anshu ANSHU (IND)
Sae NANJO (JPN)
Sophia Omutichio AYIETA (KEN)
Davaachimeg ERKHEMBAYAR (MGL)

Patrycja GIL (POL)
Veronika CHUMIKOVA (RWF)

Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
Helen Louise MAROULIS (USA)

59kg
Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE)
Bilyana Zhivkova DUDOVA (BUL)

Linda MORAIS (CAN)
Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER)
Sarita SARITA (IND)
Akie HANAI (JPN)
Ineta DANTAITE (LTU)

Shoovdor BAATARJAV (MGL)
Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR)

Jowita Maria WRZESIEN (POL)
Svetlana LIPATOVA (RWF)
Sara Johanna LINDBORG (SWE)

Ebru DAGBASI (TUR)
Oksana KUKHTA HERHEL (UKR)
Maya Gabriella NELSON (USA)

62kg
Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Ana Paula GODINEZ GONZALEZ (CAN)
Luisa Helga Gerda NIEMESCH (GER)
Sangeeta SANGEETA (IND)
Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Hwa Young SUNG (KOR)

Gantuya ENKHBAT (MGL)
Aleksandra WOLCZYNSKA (POL)
Alina KASABIEVA (RWF)

Merve KARADENIZ (TUR)
Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR)
Kayla Colleen Kiyoko MIRACLE (USA)

65kg
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE)
Mimi Nikolova HRISTOVA (BUL)
Koumba Selene Fanta LARROQUE (FRA)
Eyleen SEWINA (GER)
Bhateri BHATERI (IND)
Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN)

Winrose ALIVISA (KEN)
Hyebin AHN (KOR)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)

Enkhjin TUVSHINJARGAL (MGL)
Ingrid Bergh SKARD (NOR)

Kamila Czeslawa KULWICKA (POL)
Kriszta Tunde INCZE (ROU)
Dinara KUDAEVA SALIKHOVA (RWF)
Malin Johanna MATTSSON (SWE)

Asli DEMIR (TUR)
Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR)

Forrest MOLINARI (USA) 

68kg
Olivia Grace DI BACCO (CAN)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Ritu RITU (IND)
Rin MIYAJI (JPN)
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Minji HA (KOR)
Danute DOMIKAITYTE (LTU)
Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL)
Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)

Natalia Iwona STRZALKA (POL)
Khanum VELIEVA (RWF)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Anastasiia LAVRENCHUK (UKR)
Forrest Ann MOLINARI (USA)
Tamyra Mariama STOCK MENSAH (USA)

72kg
Sofiya Hristova GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Kayla Mary BEDNARCIK BRODNER (CAN)
Anna Carmen SCHELL (GER)
Divya KAKRAN (IND)
Masako FURUICHI (JPN)
Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL)

Kseniia BURAKOVA (RWF)
Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK)
Buse CAVUSOGLU TOSUN (TUR)

Alla BELINSKA (UKR)
Kylie Renee WELKER (USA)

76kg
Mariya Gerginova ORYASHKOVA (BUL)
Samar Amer Ibrahim HAMZA (EGY)
Epp MAEE (EST)
Cynthia Vanessa VESCAN (FRA)
Georgina Olwen NELTHORPE (GBR)
Francy RAEDELT (GER)
Zsanett NEMETH (HUN)
Kiran KIRAN (IND)
Yasuha MATSUYUKI (JPN)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Cholee KIM (KOR)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Zagardulam NAIGALSUREN (MGL)
Iselin Maria Vilde Moen SOLHEIM (NOR)

Marina SUROVTSEVA (RWF)
Aysegul OZBEGE (TUR)
Anastasiia OSNIACH SHUSTOVA (UKR)
Adeline Maria GRAY (USA)

#WrestleZagreb

Ex-Japan champ Shimoyamada trying to put Australia on wrestling map

By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (Sept. 3) -- When Tsuchiku SHIMOYAMADA (AUS) decided to relocate from his native Japan to Australia, he wasn't showered with gifts from a grateful federation looking for an established wrestler to give the country a global boost.

He was more interested in golden beaches than bringing his new homeland gold medals.

"I was in Cairns, and I was feeling like, 'I want to move to Australia,'" Shimoyamada said during a trip back to Japan in July for a tournament. "I like this place. It's good for me. The lifestyle is easy."

Four years after announcing his retirement and three years after making the bold move to Land Down Under, the 31-year-old is back in the game, hoping to put a country more known for its swimmers and rugby players onto the world wrestling map.

While a longshot at best, Shimoyamada, a two-time Japan national champion and two-time Asian medalist, will get a chance to become Australia's first-ever world medalist when he takes the mat at Greco 67kg next week in Zagreb.

It will be the third World Championships of his career and first since 2021, when he nearly knocked off the Olympic champion and symbolically left his shoes on the mat after a repechage-round loss as a sign of his retirement. He finished ninth in his only other appearance in 2018.

Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA (AUS)Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA (AUS) had left his shoes on the mat during the 2021 World Championships to mark his retirement. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

Success breeds success, and Australian wrestling officials are hoping that Shimoyamada, in addition to helping cultivate a new generation of wrestlers, can produce results that will spark more interest in the sport. Getting through the rounds, even if he falls short of a medal, would have a positive effect, says one official.

"That would be a very good achievement for us," says Aryan Negahdari, president of New South Wales Wrestling Federation, who accompanied him and several wrestlers to Japan. "For many, many years, we haven't a wrestler making it into the semifinals, or even the quarterfinals of the World Championships. Even that itself would be a good achievement."

While Australia has never won a world medal, it may be surprising to learn that the country has actually brought home three Olympic medals -- although it has been nearly eight decades since the most recent one.

Eddie SCARF broke the ice with a bronze medal at freestyle 87kg at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. Australia then got two at the 1948 London Games, a silver from Richard GARRARD at freestyle 73kg and a bronze from Joseph ARMSTRONG at freestyle over-87kg. The closest the country has come since then was a fourth place at Freestyle 62kg by Cris BROWN at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

On the world stage, the highest finishes by Australians were fifth places by Jackie BRYDON at women's 50kg in 1993 at Stavern, Norway, and Macedonian-born Lila RISTEVSKA at women's 47kg at Moscow 1995. There have been three men who have placed sixth, all in freestyle, with the most recent being Uzbekistan-born Talgat ILYASOV at 74kg at New York 2003.

Tsuchika SHIMOYAMA (JPN)Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA advances to the semifinals at the All-Japan Non-Student Championships in July with a 52-second win over Kokoro GOTO. (Photo: Koji Fuse / wrestling-spirits.jp)

As a Greco wrestler, Shimoyamada will be trying to beat even longer odds. Up to now, Australia has never placed higher than 18th at a World Championships.

Following his graduation from Nippon Sports Science University, which also produced Paris Olympic champions Kenichiro FUMITA and Nao KUSAKA as well as Tokyo bronze medalist Shohei YABIKU, Shimoyamada joined the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department team. He stayed on the force after ending his wrestling career, but found it wasn't for him.

"When I was back in Japan, I started working for the police," he says. "To be honest, it was stressful. It was not for me."

A trip to Australia opened his eyes to a place where he could start a new life. At first, he planned to only go into coaching, but a practical reason arose that led him to decide to return to the mat -- it helped him get the visa he needed to live in the country.

"I didn't think about wrestling by myself, I thought I could help as a coach," he says. "But for the visa condition, it's better to keep active."

In 2023, he received a residence visa as a "global talent," and in January 2024, United World Wrestling approved his switch of national affiliation to Australia.

Unfortunately, the approval did not come in time for him to try to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. He is still working on gaining citizenship. His need to find a way to make a living proved harder than he expected as he settled in Sydney.

"I'm teaching wrestling, and I'm working as a lifeguard at a swimming pool," he said. "Life is not easy. It's expensive, everything, rent, bills, car."

Shimoyamada's need for gainful employment produced a symbiotic relationship with his hosts, who suddenly found themselves blessed with a world-class competitor to help raise the level of the sport.

"I really think we're super lucky to have him because not only is he a high-level athlete, but he has been helping us a lot as a coach, especially Greco-Roman coach," Negahdari says. "So because of him, we have a lot more athletes doing Greco-Roman, training under Tsuchika."

Shimoyamada's arrival also gave Australia a bonus of sorts -- a connection with an established power in the sport. Through Shimoyamada's ties with his alma mater NSSU, there have been numerous exchanges of wrestlers between the two countries.

Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA (AUS)Tsuchika SHIMOYAMA faces Keitaro ONO in his opening match at the All-Japan Non-Student Championships in July. (Photo: Koji Fuse / wrestling-spirits.jp)

In the early summer, Paris Olympic silver medalist Daichi TAKATANI and former women's U23 world champion Yu SAKAMOTO went to Australia to put on clinic. In July, Shimoyamada led a contingent of Australian wrestlers who participated in the All-Japan Non-Student Championships (a second-tier national tournament) before training at NSSU.

"He's also been very good for us to build connections with Japan," Nagahdari says. "We've been coming [to Japan] for four years now, like twice a year, training with the Japanese teams. We've had a lot of Japanese athletes coming over to Australia to do seminars for us, to do training with us...It has been very, very beneficial for us in many different ways."

Shimoyamada entered the Non-Student meet at 72kg to give him the high-level competition he needed as preparation for the World Championships, and which is sorely lacking back in Australia. Aside from the low-level Oceania Championships and tournaments in Australia, it was his first outing since the 2021 World Championships.

He held his own, although he lost in the semifinals to Yamato HAGIWARA before winning his bronze-medal match over Rintaro SOGABE, the younger brother of Paris Olympian Kyotaro SOGABE, a fellow NSSU alum who will be Japan's entry at 67kg and a potential opponent of Shimoyamada in Zagreb.

Shimoyamada made his international debut at the 2016 Asian Championships in Bangkok, placing eighth. He won his first All-Japan title in December 2017, earning a return to the continental meet in 2018 in Bishkek, where he took home the silver medal after losing in the final to Almat KEBISPAYEV (KAZ).

Just when it looked like he had lost his edge after losing back-to-back All-Japan finals to Shogo TAKAHASHI in 2018 and 2019, Shimoyamada rebounded to claim his second title in 2020 with a victory over rising NSSU star Katsuaki ENDO. After Shimoyamada left the scene, Endo and Kyotaro Sogabe would battle ruthlessly for supremacy at 67kg.

His final year wrestling for Japan may have been his most productive. At the 2021 Asian Championships in Almaty, he avenged his loss to Kebispayev from three years before to capture the elusive gold. He followed that with a victory at the All-Japan Invitational Championships, known as the Meiji Cup, to clinch his ticket to the World Championships in Oslo.

Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA (AUS)Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA (AUS) was dominating Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) in their match at the 2021 World Championships before being pinned. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

In the second round, Shimoyamada encountered Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI), one of the few gold medalists from the Tokyo Olympics two months earlier who were entered at the worlds. It would probably be the most impressive loss of his career.

Shimoyamada was dominating the Iranian, scoring with a 4-point arm throw to build up a 6-1 lead. But disaster struck with just over a minute to go. Geraei caught Shimoyamada in a lapse and bear-hugged him backward directly to his back for a shocking victory by fall.

Shimoyamada then lost his repechage match to teenager Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE), and the last we saw of him was him walking off the mat, leaving his shoes behind.

Fast forward four years, and Shimoyamada is now competing for himself and his adopted homeland. While he would like to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, age and opportunity might be too big hurdles to get over.

"I think that's a last challenge, for the Olympics, because I'm not young," Shimoyamada said. "If I can make it for Australia, that's good. Everyone will get interested in wrestling. That's what I should do."

Looking long range, Australian officials are hoping to develop talent to make a good showing when the country hosts the Olympics in Brisbane in 2032. They are hoping that Shimoyamada can spark enough interest and help raise the level in time.

"I think we're in the very early stages, compared to international standards," Nagahdari says. "But I think we can definitely see a very huge improvement, like in the last few years. We have a lot more members now, the number of our wrestlers. For example, compared to only three or four years ago, it has doubled. It's growing slowly, but at a good pace.

"It's a very slow progress, because you know that wrestling is super hard. It takes like a decade to build an athlete to that level. And we're really focusing our efforts toward the Brisbane Olympics in 2032."

Shimoyamada is determined to do whatever he can to make it happen.

"It's hard to get a gold medal at the World Championships and the Olympics, to be honest," he says. "If I make the Olympics, the next generation can become interested in getting to the Olympics or World Championships and they will practice hard."