Women's Day

Eight Years After Olympic Struggle, Women Look to Become Wrestling's Next Generation of Leaders

Monday, March 8, 2021 - 10:28 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (March 8) — When Nenad Lalovic was appointed interim president of the international federation for wrestling in 2013 the sport faced an uphill battle for Olympic reinstatement and lacked wide-reaching respect among those in the global sports community.  

Behind the scenes, the federation was suffering from a number of issues, primary among them an ineffective outreach to female athletes and leaders. Few opportunities existed for women interested in taking the mats and even fewer were available for those interested in positions of leadership.  

On the mats women only had four Olympic weight categories while their male counterparts in freestyle enjoyed seven. There were few female bureau members, no commissions aimed at increasing diversity, and an overall dearth of experienced women in place to change the future.

“We knew that we needed to change,” said Lalovic. “Re-branding and changing the rules were important, but as a federation it was vital we make efforts to diversify and include more women. We wanted to find a way to promote their activities and give them opportunities to succeed and gain experience.”
 

The 2016 Games in Rio saw male and female freestyle wrestlers compete in the same number of weight categories for the first time ever.

The first change was increasing the number of competed Olympic opportunities to ensure that men’s and women’s freestyle were equal with six categories a piece. Having an equal playing field, meant having more gold medal opportunities. The media splash from that move was well-documented, but behind the scenes a larger – and arguably more important mission -- was made clear: equalize the opportunities for women to participate in the organization and to take leadership positions within their own NF’s.

Eight years later Lalovic and the worldwide wrestling family are witnessing an era of unparalleled opportunity for women. With an eye on total gender equality, wrestling implemented a vision where wrestling would be 50-50 male/female participation at the 2022 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar (now postponed to 2026). The sport of women’s wrestling has also garnered an incredible online following with the top social media moments in four of the last five years belonging to women.  

The most-watched match on the United World Wrestling YouTube page features female wrestlers Vinesh Phogat (IND) and Victoria Anthony (USA).
 

“I’m very pleased with the performance of our women,” said Lalovic. “When I look around an arena and see the crowds growing, I’m grateful but also not that surprised. We have the toughest women in the world, and they train as hard as anyone else. I’m happy for their continued success.”

But the triumph of wrestling’s eight years promoting women’s wrestling isn’t contained to the mats. Scroll past the action posts and you’ll find that women are also being provided opportunities to take leadership opportunities off-the-mat – a powerful option to create a sport that is stronger and more diverse than previous to 2013.  

“We aren’t reinventing the wheel,” said United World Wrestling development director Deqa Niamkey. “We have fantastic existing programs with room to accommodate our gender and diversity goals. Our national federations have responded well and have been using quotas for men and women.”  

The programming works, and with more attention to quotas and educating the national federations on the benefits of sending female leaders on educational and professional development programs, the opportunities for women have flourished. Niamkey herself was named as a member of ASOIF’s Gender Equality and Diversity Committee. 

Participants at one of the very succesful Women's Global Wrestling Forums.

“Professional opportunities equal to that of men are important because it allows the women to be promoted on merit throughout their national federations and to take leaderships positions within our commissions and committees,” said Niamkey. “They now can attain the same qualifications and that’s the key.” 

In addition to the existing programming, there has been an effort to create conversation and collaboration via initiatives like the Women's Global Wrestling Forum, which began three years ago in Mexico. The second conference included female wrestling leaders from each continent and more than 20 nations across five days of unique programming, networking, and educational seminars in Istanbul. The forum was last hosted in 2019 and will be held again this November at a location to be determined. 

Aline Silva was the 2018 winner of the Women's Prize Award.

Since 2015 wrestling has also recognize powerful leaders in the women’s wrestling community through the “Women’s Prize Award” a certificate noting the individual's unique work in the space and a generous $10,000 award to support their initiatives to promote women's wrestling from the grassroots level to the elite.  

The development department has also added women referee’s educational courses, coaching courses, and created women’s wrestling training camps to respond to the needs of the national federations. 

“We are on a path to long term success,” said Niamkey. “These opportunities will help create a new, diverse class of leaders which will be the backbone for the next generation of wrestling.”

Obituary

Remembering Saitiev: Master on mat who inspired many

Monday, April 7, 2025 - 12:53 By Vinay Siwach

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (April 7) -- Buvaisar SAITIEV was an unknown before the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. And after that he became the legend. 

At 21, Saitiev thrilled the crowd and displayed techniques that the world thought were impossible to execute at 74kg. Saitiev would go on to win two more Olympic golds -- 2004 and 2008 -- as he became the best 74kg wrestler out there. A three-time Olympic champion, six-time world champion, and an inspiration to the wrestling world, Saitiev passed away earlier this month at the age of 49.

"Biggest and greatest wrestler" - Nenad LALOVIC, UWW President

Brandon SLAY (USA) was in that crowd at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. The 21-year-old was amazed what he saw. He watched another 21-year-old win the gold medal.

"It was an honor to watch him in Atlanta," Slay said. "Then study him and compete against him four years later."

Believe it or not, that was the first time Russia won Olympic gold medal at 74kg, a weight class now synonymous with their domination, both at senior and youth level.

Buvaisar SAITIEV (RUS)Buvaisar SAITIEV (RUS). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

At the time, the U.S. was focused on defending its dominance at 74kg, with Iran also challenging for supremacy, while Saitiev had yet to make his mark internationally. The Olympic history saw wrestlers from Turkiye, Japan, the United States and Korea win gold medal in this weight class. So when Saitiev arrived, he was the underdog. In the 1996 Atlanta final, he defeated the defending Olympic champion Park JANG SOON and ushered an era of Russian dominance at this weight class.

It took a once-in-a-lifetime talents like Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) and Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) to deny the gold medals to Russia in 2012 and 2016 respectively. However, Russia is now at top. Zaurbek SIDAKOV (ROC) won gold medals at the 2018 and 2019 World Championships, 2020 Tokyo Olympics [held in 2021] before winning it again in 2023 and Russian transfer to Uzbekistan and Saitiev's student Razambek JAMALOV (UZB) won in 2024.

A little insight on how the U.S. discovered Saitiev is provided in the the documentary 'Slaying Saitiev". Pat SMITH (USA), who was wrestling at the 1995 Ivan Yarygin Memorial, recalls when he first saw Saitiev, his opponent in the final.

Saitiev had not wrestled senior-level yet internationally and was till three months away from winning his first World Championships gold. So Smith and his team thought they are favorites to win the gold medal at the Yarygin.

"I go out on the mat, I see Saitiev, the fight starts," Smith recalls in the documentary. "And right away, right away I thought: “This is the best they have.” Because the way he was punching, his movement, the way he was flowing from one position to another... he was simply unstoppable. I did some takedowns, but in the end he gave me a pretty good beating. I come off the mat, Bruce is standing there, I say: “You were wrong. That guy from the semi-finals wasn’t the best. This is the best . ” – “I didn’t even know who it was!” – “Now you know. Buvaisar Saitiev.” And two months later he won the world championship. The best wrestler I’ve ever wrestled. There’s no question about that. The best.

"He looked like a librarian, skinny, gangly. But the positions he scores from, the way he moves you around the mat... I've never wrestled anyone like that again."

Smith’s observation wasn’t just a fleeting comment. It captured the essence of what made Saitiev so formidable on the mat. Saitiev, standing at 6 feet, defied convention of a tall wrestler standing upright. He would engage in ties which forced his opponents to shoot while he was in control. Saitiev would counter rather easily and score.

Saitiev used to engage with his opponents and yet they found it extremely difficult to score a takedown on him.

Brandon SLAY (USA)Brandon SLAY (USA) over Buvaisar SAITIEV (RUS) at the 2000 Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

Slay, who defeated Saitiev at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, had to study Saitiev for years before breaking through in their Olympic meeting.

"The greatness of Saitiev came from how extremely hard it was to finish takedowns on him," Slay says. "Most of the time when people attacked Saitiev, either he scored or no one scored. And, most of the time when he attacked, he scored. That makes for a very challenging opponent to beat, which is why he rarely lost. I am so thankful I had the opportunity to wrestle the greatest wrestler of all time."

Saitiev had it all. Snapdowns, feints, two-on-one, underhooks, overhooks, defense, attack, chain wrestling, innovations, and techniques that made him score points from any positions. So many options to immobilize his opponents who would eventually break down.

On March 3, the day he passed away, the internet saw outpouring tributes to his legacy. But some of the most shared posts were his clips from various bouts on his career. A few wrote how they began wrestling because of him, others explained why he inspired them to adapt and study wrestling.

Buvaisar SAITIEV (RUS)Buvaisar SAITIEV (RUS). (Photo: United World Wrestling)

2008 Olympic champion Henry CEJUDO (USA) called him the "greatest" and he was a 'fanboy.'

"A man that was poetry in motion at its finest, and in my opinion, the greatest athlete who has ever ever lived or walked on planet Earth," Cejudo wrote on his Instagram. "I would never fanboy over anybody but Buvaisar. I was so honored of the times that I did get a chance to hang out as I had a permanent smile the whole day. Thank you for all the great years that you gave the wrestling community and inspiring millions of people across the world. I can honestly say without Saitiev I wouldn’t be the wrestler that I am today."

John DIAKOMIHALIS (USA), a wrestler known for his crafty moves and detailing of wrestling, tributed his passion to Saitiev, who himself was known as a wizard on the mat for his moves.

"Buvaisar Saitiev was how I fell in love with the art of wrestling, I wanted to be like him," Diakomihalis wrote on X. "His innovation and passion for improvement were some of the staples of how I approached learning the sport or learning anything in my life."

Saitiev had that impact on people. Jamalov, who won the 2024 Paris Olympic gold medal, was Saitiev's student. Jamalov said that Saitiev was family.

"His approach was very subtle and deep, he always knew how to choose the right and necessary words for support," Jamalov said. "Every meeting with him was unforgettable and every word of his was unforgettable. Outside of wrestling, he was very caring and compassionate towards me, he was always worried about my injuries and operations."

While Jamalov was his student, Saitiev never backed from helping any wrestler. He 'couldn't stop himself from talk to even strangers if he had a broken ear.'

 

After Tokyo Olympic champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) lost her first-ever international bout to VINESH (IND) in Paris, she talked to Saitiev who had lost in Sydney after winning Atlanta but still won two more Olympic golds.

"I had a video call with him right after the Paris Olympics," Susaki said. "Like me, he didn't do well in his second Olympics. But he won gold medals in two more Olympics. I vowed to him that I would win gold medals in two more Olympics like him to become a legend.

"He also taught me that to become a legend, I should never lose again. I owe it all to him that I was able to stand up strong after losing. Thanks to him, I decided to keep fighting to win two more Olympic gold medals. And I vowed to become a legendary wrestler like him. I won't lose anymore. I will keep winning. Your message is a treasure for my life. He is a legend and his wrestling has always fascinated me. His matches are always amazing to watch and I think he is the most talented wrestler in history."

This off the mat personality of Saitiev resonated with many, even with people outside of wrestling. He was humble, witty and respectful.

Sports Express journalist Yuri GOLYSHAK recalled his moments with Saitiev who was part of many reception after his 2008 Beijing gold medal. 

"I was sure that we would meet again. Saitiev had enough stories for ten interviews," Golyshak wrote in his tribute. "I even imagined how it would be - not in a hurry, like after Beijing. Not in a car, no. Everything will be different. I will come to his home in Khasavyurt. It will be a fairy tale. We will go to the mountains. I will understand something that I did not understand before, in this amazing, invincible man. And in life in general."

Saitiev's influence transcends mere records and titles. His tactics on the mat just when the internet era arrived gave insights into a wrestler may only be imagined. He passed on that mastery to a special few who remember him as a mentor, inspiration and the greatest ever.