Wrestler of the Year

“Best Wrestler of the Year” Awarded to Taylor, Olli, and Bacsi

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (January 1) – With the 2018 wrestling season officially at a close, United World Wrestling has awarded “Best Wrestler of the Year” honors to David TAYLOR (USA) in freestyle, Petra OLLI (FIN) in women’s wrestling, and Peter BACSI (HUN) in Greco-Roman.

The award was based on the number of ranking points each of the wrestlers attained over the course of the 2018 season. A majority of points were earned at the world and continental championships, with additional points earned at a number of style-specific Ranking Series tournaments around the world.

For their efforts, Taylor, Olli and Bacsi each received a 10,000 CHF prize from United World Wrestling.

Taylor, the 86kg world champion in freestyle finished the season with 112 total ranking points. In addition to his world title Taylor took gold at 2018 Senior Pan-American championships, the Ivan Yariguin (Ranking Event), and the Yasar Dogu (Ranking Event). Taylor didn’t lose a match all season.

“I’m really grateful for the opportunity to compete for the USA and represent the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club,” said Taylor. “I wouldn’t have been able to reach this point without my coaches, training partners, and the treigning lab. I’m honored to be the wrestler of the year and look forward to 2019!


Olli, the 62kg world champion in women’s wrestling finished the season with 110 points. The first-ever Finnish world champion in women’s wrestling, Olli also took gold at the 2018 Senior European championships and the Klippan Ladies Open (Ranking Event), as well as a silver at the Ziolkowski/Pytlasinski/Poland Open (Ranking Event).

"I am very grateful and surprised to get such a great honor of recognition,” said Olli. “Wrestlers of the Year is a recognition means a lot of our team who works with me every day, but also for all of the Finland wrestling family.”


Bacsi, the 82kg world champion in Greco-Roman finished the season with 82 ranking points. In addition to his world title, the Hungarian wrestler also the gold medalist at the Granma y Cerro Pelado (Ranking Event) and silver at the Hungarian Grand Prix (Ranking Event).

At 35 years old, Bacsi was also this year’s oldest world champion in any wrestling style.


The 2019 United World Wrestling season will start on January 24th at the Ivan Yariguin Grand Prix in Krasnoyarsk, Russia with Ranking Series points up for grabs in freestyle and women’s wrestling.

#WrestleTirana

List of superstars headed to Senior World Championships

By United World Wrestling Press

TIRANA, Albania (October 2) -- The World Championships in Non-Olympic Weight Classes is making a return after eight years and will be held in Tirana, Albania from October 28 to 31.

The wrestlers who participated in the 2024 Paris Olympics cannot compete at this World Championships. Close to 300 wrestlers will be in Tirana competing in 12 weight classes in Freestyle, Women's Wrestling and Greco-Roman.

Freestyle competition will be in 61kg, 70kg 79kg and 92kg. Women's Wrestling will be in 55kg, 59kg, 65kg and 72kg and Greco-Roman will compete in 55kg, 63kg, 72kg and 82kg.

The World Championships will be live on uww.org and the UWW App.

Note: The entries are subject to change as a few countries are yet to hold their selections

Freestyle

61kg
Aryan TSIUTRYN (AIN)
Zavur UGUEV (AIN)
Endrio AVDYLI (ALB)
Mezhlum MEZHLUMYAN (ARM)
Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE)
Christopher MERLO (CAN)
Weiyu LI (CHN)
Rabby KILANDI (COD)
Peter HAMMER CUDE (CRC)
Joshua KRAMER (ECU)
Arman ELOYAN (FRA)
Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO)
Niklas STECHELE (GER)
Gamzatgadzsi HALIDOV (HUN)
UDIT (IND)
Reza Hossein MOMENIJOUJADEH (IRI)
Masanosuke ONO (JPN)
Assyl AITAKYN (KAZ)
Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ)
Leomid COLESNIC (MDA)
Tsogbadrakh TSEVEENSUREN (MGL)
Besir ALILI (MKD)
Joseph SILVA (PUR)
Razvan KOVACS (ROU)
Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB)
Nils LEUTERT (SUI)
Tolga OZBEK (TUR)
Andrii DZHELEP (UKR)
Vitali ARUJAU (USA)

70kg
Niurgun SKRIABIN (AIN)
Magomed MAGOMAEV (AIN)
Eriglent PRIZRENI (ALB)
Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM)
Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE)
Ramazan RAMAZANOV (BUL)
Peiman BIABANI (CAN)
Shijian ZHOU (CHN)
Norvil BUKASA (COD)
Anthony WESLEY (CPV)
Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO)
Manish GOSWAMI (IND)
Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI)
Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR)
Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN)
Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ)
Alibek OSMONOV (KGZ)
Nicolai GRAHMEZ (MDA)
Temuulen ENKHTUYA (MGL)
Fati VEJSELI (MKD)
Patryk OLENCZYN (POL)
Stefan COMAN (ROU)
Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK)
Umut ERDOGAN (TUR)
Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR)
James GREEN (USA)

79kg
Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN)
Orges LILA (ALB)
Chems FETAIRIA (ALG)
Arman AVAGYAN (ARM)
Orkhan ABASOV (AZE)
Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN)
Mihail GEORGIEV (BUL)
Adam THOMSON (CAN)
Nan CAO (CHN)
Andy MUKENDI (COD)
Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA)
Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO)
Lucas KAHNT (GER)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
Parvinder SINGH (IND)
Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI)
RAFFAELE MATRULLO (ITA)
Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN)
Daulet YERGESH (KAZ)
Alans AMIROVS (LAT)
Traian CAPATINA (MDA)
Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL)
Ahmad MAGOMEDOV (MKD)
Andrzej SOKALSKI (POL)
Shane JONES (PUR)
Zurab KAPRAEV (ROU)
Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK)
Magomet EVLOEV (TJK)
Ahmet YAGAN (TUR)
Valentyn BABII (UKR)
Jordan BURROUGHS (USA)
Mirzo KHAYITOV (UZB)

92kg
Yaraslau IADKOUSKI (AIN)
Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN)
Marjus MALKO (ALB)
Igor SARKISIAN (ARM)
Aslan ABAKAROV (AZE)
Akhmed MAGAMAEV (BUL)
Andrew JOHNSON (CAN)
Zushen LIN (CHN)
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Lars SCHAEFLE (GER)
Balazs JUHASZ (HUN)
Sandeep MANN (IND)
Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI)
Matthew FINESILVER (ISR)
Benjamin HONIS (ITA)
Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN)
Nurdaulet BEKENOV (KAZ)
Egzon SHALA (KOS)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)
Domantas PAULIUSCENKO (LTU)
Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA)
Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL)
Dejan MITROV (MKD)
Filip ROGUT (POL)
Samuel SCHERRER (SUI)
Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK)
Bekir Talip OVEC (TUR)
Illia ARCHAIA (UKR)
David TAYLOR (USA)

Risako KINJO (JPN)Former Olympic and world champion Risako KINJO (JPN) will be eyeing another world title, first since 2019. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

55kg
Iryna KURACHKINA (AIN)
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (AIN)
Irena BINKOVA (BUL)
Karla GODINEZ (CAN)
Jin ZHANG (CHN)
Maria BAEZ (ESP)
Tatiana DEBIEN (FRA)
Nina HEMMER (GER)
Ramona GALAMBOS (HUN)
KIRTI (IND)
Moe KIYOOKA (JPN)
Zulfiya YAKHYAROVA (KAZ)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Zeltzin HERNANDEZ (MEX)
Otgontuya CHINBOLD (MGL)
Jowita WRZESIEN (POL)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR)
Areana VILLAESCUSA (USA)

59kg
Svetlana LIPATOVA (AIN)
Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE)
Ana PEREIRA FRANCA (BRA)
Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL)
Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN)
Yongxin FENG (CHN)
Elena BRUGGER (GER)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
MANSI (IND)
Risako KINJO (JPN)
Diana KAYUMOVA (KAZ)
Mariana CHERDIVARA (MDA)
Alejandra RIVERA ARRIAGA (MEX)
Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL)
Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR)
Othelie HOEIE (NOR)
Magdalena GLODEK (POL)
Kateryna ZHYDACHEVSKA (ROU)
Evelina HULTHEN (SWE)
Sevim AKBAS (TUR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA)

65kg
Veranika IVANOVA (AIN)
Valeriia DONDUPOVA (AIN)
Albina DRAZHI (ALB)
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE)
Olivia DI BACCO (CAN)
Jia LONG (CHN)
Kendra DACHER (FRA)
MANISHA (IND)
Aurora CAMPAGNA (ITA)
Eldarah BROWN (TON)
Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN)
Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ)
Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT)
Alexis GOMEZ (MEX)
Enkhjin TUVSHINJARGAL (MGL)
Natalia KUBATY (POL)
Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU)
Duygu GEN (TUR)
Iryna BONDAR (UKR)
Macey KILTY (USA)

72kg
Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (AIN)
Vusala PARFIANOVICH (AIN)
Thamires MARTINS MACHADO (BRA)
Aleah NICKEL (CAN)
Qian JIANG (CHN)
Rosie TABORA (COD)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
BIPASHA (IND)
Ami ISHII (JPN)
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Emilia CRECIUN (MDA)
Bolortungalag ZORIGT (MGL)
Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU)
Tindra SJOEBERG (SWE)
Nazar BATIR (TUR)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)
Kylie WELKER (USA)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Emin SEFERSHAEV (AIN)
Bajram SINA (ALB)
Manvel KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
Stefan GRIGOROV (BUL)
Haifeng ZHANG (CHN)
Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO)
SANJEEV (IND)
Poya DAD MARZ (IRI)
Kagetora OKAMOTO (JPN)
Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ)
Ulan MURATBEK UULU (KGZ)
Artiom DELEANU (MDA)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Servan CINAR (TUR)
Koriun SAHRADIAN (UKR)
Brady KOONTZ (USA)

63kg
Hleb MAKARANKA (AIN)
Sadyk LALAEV (AIN)
Jurgen UKU (ALB)
Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM)
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
Abu AMAEV (BUL)
Haodong TAN (CHN)
Stefan CLEMENT (FRA)
Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
CHETAN (IND)
Iman Hossein MOHAMMADI (IRI)
Ayata SUZUKI (JPN)
Yerzhet ZHARLYKASSYN (KAZ)
Dastan KADYROV (KGZ)
Munthir JANDU (KSA)
Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT)
Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)
Michal TRACZ (POL)
Servet ANGI (TUR)
Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR)
Ildar HAFIZOV (USA)

72kg
Mikita MURASHKA (AIN)
Aslan VISAITOV (AIN)
Gjete PRENGA (ALB)
Hayk MELIKYAN (ARM)
Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)
Ivo ILIEV (BUL)
Ji LENG (CHN)
Reangan NDOMBASI (COD)
Dominik ETLINGER (CRO)
Mikko PELTOKANGAS (FIN)
Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA)
Otar ABULADZE (GEO)
Michael WIDMAYER (GER)
Amadeusz VITEK (HUN)
Ankit GULIA (IND)
Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI)
Kensuke SHIMIZU (JPN)
Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ)
Yryskeldi KHAMZAEV (KGZ)
Ahmed BARAHMAH (KSA)
Mihai PETIC (MDA)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Mateusz BERNATEK (POL)
Ali ARSALAN (SRB)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Per Albin OLOFSSON (SWE)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Ihor BYCHKOV (UKR)
Benjamin PEAK (USA)
Abdullo ALIEV (UZB)

82kg
Stanislau SHAFARENKA (AIN)
Islam ALIEV (AIN)
Kevin KUPI (ALB)
Karen KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Gurban GURBANOV (AZE)
Sosruko KODZOKOV (BRA)
Rosian DERMANSKI (BUL)
Pengcheng WANG (CHN)
Karlo KODRIC (CRO)
Michal ZELENKA (CZE)
Artem SHAPOVALOV (FIN)
Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Pascal EISELE (GER)
Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)
Rohit DAHIYA (IND)
Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI)
Matteo MAFFEZZOLI (ITA)
Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN)
Yevgeniy POLIVADOV (KAZ)
Azat SALIDINOV (KGZ)
Hassan BARNAWI (KSA)
Mihail BRADU (MDA)
Patryk BEDNARZ (POL)
Ramon BETSCHART (SUI)
Per Albin OLOFSSON (SWE)
Alperen BERBER (TUR)
Ruslan ABDIIEV (UKR)
Aliaksandr KIKINIOU (USA)
Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)