Beach wrestling

Beach Wrestling World Championships titles up for grabs in Zagreb

Friday, September 6, 2019 - 19:59 By United World Wrestling Press

Share this article

Zagreb, Croatia (September 6) - After three tough and testing competitions in Portugal, Brazil and Ukraine, athletes from 10 nationalities take to the sand to fight for world championships honors in four weight classes for the men and women.

 When the debut Beach Wrestling World Series climaxes this weekend in the heart of Croatia, the 70kg winner of the Odessa leg and 2017 World Champion Semen Radulov from Ukraine as well as Georgia’s Dato Maragashvili, 2012 Olympic bronze medalist, will be amongst the most glamorous fighting for the title of King of the Beach 2019.

 

In the women’s Brazil’s Camila Fama Tristao in the 60kg, Sonia Marina Pereira Brazio from Portugal (70kg) and Greek heavyweight Aikaterini Eirini Pitsiava, who competed in two of the previous three meets, bear the biggest chances to receive the Queen of the Beach trophy.

 While the Ukraine sent the biggest team of eight wrestlers to the World Series final, the leaders in seven of eight weight classes - all 4 men’s, 3 in the women’s - travelled to Zagreb ready to battle it out on Croatian sands, where a rainy weather forecast could add additional spice to the competitions.

 

With 3-times the points from a regular World Series event available, wrestlers from Azerbaijan, Brazil, Croatia, Georgia, Greece, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine and the US will guarantee a thrilling final showdown of the Beach Wrestling season 2019.

 

Standings Beach Wrestling World Series (after 3 of 4 stops)

MEN

70kg

1. Levan KELEKHSASHVILI, GEO  20000*

2. Semen RADULOV, UKR                                   18000*

3. Panah ILYASLI, AZE                        13000

 

80kg

1. Davit KHUTSISHVILI, GEO          20000*

2. Georgios KOULOUCHIDIS, GRE                  18800*

3. Ibrahim YUSUBOV, AZE                16000

 

90kg

1. Dato MARSAGISHVILI, GEO        20000*

2. Murat OZKAN, TUR                         13000

3. Kanan ALIYEV, AZE                        10900

 

+90kg

1. Oyan NAZARIANI, AZE                                    28000*

2. Ioannis KARGIOTAKIS, GRE       20300*

3. Mamuka KORDZAIA, GEO           15800*

 

WOMEN

50kg

1. Kamila BARBOSA VITO DA SILVA, BRA                                     18000

2. Carmen Nireida GOMES TEIXEIRA VIEIRA, POR                                  11500*

3. Stefania Claudia PRICEPUTU, ROU                                            10000

 

60kg

1. Camila FAMA TRISTAO, BRA                       18000*

2. Isabel Cristina RODRIGUES, POR              11600*

3. Georgiana Narcisa FILIP, ROU                    10000

 

70kg

1. Sonia Marina PEREIRA BRAZIO, POR     14500*

2. Adina Elena POPESCU, ROU                       10000

3. Brenda AGUIAR DOS SANTOS, BRA         10000

 

+70kg

1. Aikaterini Eirini PITSIAVA, GRE               20000*

2. Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA, BRA                10000

3. Halyna KOVALSKA, UKR                                8000

 

*registered for Zagreb

#UWWAwards

UWW's 2024 Wrestlers of the Year: Petriashvili, Tosun, Kusaka

Monday, December 16, 2024 - 16:45 By United World Wrestling Press

Share this article

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 16) -- United World Wrestling has announced the wrestlers of the year in Freestyle, Women's Wrestling and Greco-Roman. UWW’s 2024 Wrestler of the Year award winners are Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO), Buse TOSUN (TUR) and Nao KUSAKA (JPN).

Freestyle: Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)

The 30-year-old Georgian finished with a style-best 68,200 Ranking Series points through his finishes at the four point-based events of the year -- Olympic Games, European Championships, Croatian and Hungarian Ranking Series -- in which he collected a 13-4 record with 8 wins coming against top 20 ranked opponents.

Petriashvili’s 2024 season didn’t start well, as he finished in fifth place with a 3-2 record at the Croatian Ranking Series. This marked Petriashvili’s sixth consecutive full season in which he started on a losing note before regaining focus and peaking at the most opportune times.

In his next outing, Petriashvili scored three wins before reaching the European finals for the seventh time in his career. However, he fell short against career rival Taha AKGUL (TUR) for silver.

The three-time world champion then went to Hungary for the final tune-up before the Paris Olympics. While at the second Ranking Series event of the year, Petriashvili grabbed three wins, but not before falling to Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) in the semifinals while nursing a left elbow injury.

Petriashvili headed to Paris hungry to improve his 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medal. The father of two did exactly that, picking up four victories including a 10-9 shock win over two-time reigning world champion Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI), becoming Georgia’s third-ever freestyle Olympic gold medalist.
 
Greco-Roman: Nao KUSAKA (JPN)

23-year-old Nao KUSAKA (JPN), finished with a Greco-Roman best 79,200 Ranking Series points after winning golds at the Olympics, Asian Championships, and Hungarian Ranking Series events while also winning a bronze at the Croatian Ranking Series event at the beginning of the season.

After falling in the semifinals of his first competition of the year, Kusaka rallied off 14 consecutive victories -- four of which came against former world champions Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA), Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) and Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) -- on his way to winning golds in Paris, Bishkek and Budapest.

Kusaka’s win in Paris at 77kg, alongside his fellow teammate Kenichiro FUMITA’s gold, ended Japan’s 40-year Greco-Roman Olympic gold-medal drought.

Women's Wrestling: Buse TOSUN (TUR)

Buse TOSUN (TUR) is UWW’s Women’s wrestler of the year after topping the rankings with a style best 60,200 points. She narrowly edged Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) by 200 points for the coveted award.

Tosun, the reigning world champion at 68kg, finished 2024 with an impressive 11-2 record. Of those 11 wins during the season, a staggering eight came against wrestlers in the top 15 of the world rankings.

She dropped her first match of the season to Feng ZHOU (CHN) but went on to win 11 of her remaining 12 bouts, falling only at the Paris Olympics to eventual champion Amit ELOR (USA), en route to winning an Olympic bronze which was just Turkiye's second-ever women’s wrestling Olympic medal.

United World Wrestling congratulates Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO), Nao KUSAKA (JPN), and Buse TOSUN (TUR) for their incredible achievements this year and for being named the 2024 Wrestlers of the Year.