#WrestleHammamet

African Championships: Battle for continental supremacy heats up

Wednesday, May 17, 2023 - 12:14 By Vinay Siwach

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HAMMAMET, Tunisia (May 15) -- With fresh memories from last year's African Championships, Tunisia will hope to win the women's wrestling team title, this year at home.

The African Championships got underway in Hammamet on Monday but the senior competition will be held on Friday and Saturday with Greco-Roman and women's wrestling on the first day and freestyle on the second.

Tunisia will have a chance to claim a team title in front of the home if it can repeat the performance from El Jadida. They won the title with 179 points over Nigeria which finished with 170 points.

Rio Olympics bronze medalist Marwa AMRI (TUN) will lead the charge with youngsters Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) at 72kg and Khadija JLASSI (TUN) at 65kg. Siwar BOUSETA (TUN) at 59kg will also be a big medal hope. The absence of defending champ at 50kg Sarra HAMDI (TUN) may hurt the hosts but they will back the younger wrestlers in the squad.

Nigeria will be led by Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) who is going for a record 13th African title. She won unstoppable last year but has not competed since the 2022 World Championships in which she failed to win a medal.

Defending champion at 55kg Jumoke ADEKOYE (NGR) is back in the competition but 59kg champ and three-time world medalist Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR) is missing from the list as she continues to sit off the competition since winning the Islamic Solidarity Games in August 2022.

Jumping up to 57kg Mercy ADEKUOROYE (NGR) would be hoping for back-to-back gold medals as she won the 53kg weight class last year. Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR) at 62kg, Ebipatei MUGHENBOFA (NGR) at 65kg and Hannah RUEBEN (NGR) at 72kg will try to be among the medals to push Nigeria to the top.

At 76kg, world silver medalist Samar HAMZA (EGY) will be eyeing another African title and she is the favorite in the weight class which has seen only four entries. Arianna XAVIER (CPV), Anta SAMBOU (SEN) and Ranim SAIDI (TUN) will be the challengers for Hamza.

Egypt pipped Algeria for both freestyle and Greco-Roman team titles despite the latter's spirited performances to win four golds in freestyle and five in Greco-Roman. In women's wrestling, Tunisia scored past Nigeria to win the team title.

But with the entry list finalized for the senior competition for the African Championships, it is clear that the contest will once again be between Egypt and Algeria.

Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY)Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) is a bronze medalist from Tokyo Olympics. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Egypt, Algeria favorites

In Greco-Roman, Egypt can take confidence from the fact that Olympic bronze medalist Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) is back in the line-up as he prepares for the 2024 Paris Olympics. He will be competing at 67kg with the hope of leading his country to the team title.

Others on the team include 130kg defending champion Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY), Haithem MAHMOUD (EGY) at 60kg, Yehia ABDELKADER (EGY) at 72kg and Mohamed KHALIL (EGY) at 77kg among others.

These wrestlers will be challenged by Mohamed DRIDI (ALG) at 55kg, 60kg champion Abdeldjebar DJEBBARI (ALG) who has moved to 63kg, silver medalist from 2022 Ishak GHAIOU (ALG) at 67kg and three other defending champs -- Abd OUAKALI (ALG) at 82kg, Bachir SID AZARA (ALG) at 87kg and Adem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG) at 97kg.

Freestyle followed a similar script in El Jadida as Algeria scripted a late comeback to give Egypt a score for the title but fell short.

But with gold medalists returning it will be interesting to see if Egypt can keep it at bay as it did with two points last year.

Development

More Than Medals Americas wraps up in Rio de Janeiro

Tuesday, July 8, 2025 - 14:07 By United World Wrestling Press

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (July 8) — With young athletes at the center of United World Wrestling’s development strategy, the 2025 edition of *More Than Medals Americas* was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from June 23rd to 29th, following the U17 Pan-American Championships.

Over the course of seven days, 46 wrestlers and 10 coaches from 11 countries came together for a full program of training sessions, educational workshops, cultural excursions, and recreational activities making this a comprehensive experience beyond the mat.

Held at the state-of-the-art facilities of CEFAN (Centro de Educação Física Almirante Adalberto Nunes), the camp kicked off with a vibrant opening ceremony, attended by Brazilian Wrestling Federation President Flavio Cabral and UWW Education Director Zach Erret. The schedule included three daily meals, on-site accommodation, and seamless logistics that contributed to the event's success.

Among the educational highlights were sessions on safe sport, mental health, injury prevention, and anti-doping each delivered by expert facilitators in a format designed to foster active participation from the athletes. These workshops aimed to equip young wrestlers not only with athletic tools but with life skills as well.

The technical sessions were held on four official mats, strength training, and physical conditioning. Coaches collaborated in a joint planning meeting to create an integrated training environment, where athletes learned from each other’s styles and backgrounds.

Outside the gym, participants explored the iconic city of Rio de Janeiro. They visited Sugarloaf Mountain, Christ the Redeemer, and the historic Maracanã Stadium. An ecological outing to Copacabana Beach was also part of the program, emphasizing environmental awareness—even if a planned cleanup was rendered unnecessary thanks to local conservation efforts.

This edition of *More Than Medals* once again demonstrated the transformative power of sport. Participants described the experience as “great,” and organizers emphasized that the success of the program lies in its ability to holistically nurture the next generation of wrestlers not just as athletes, but as global citizens.