#kaspeuro2018

Eleven Nations Represented in Day Four Women's Wrestling Semifinals

Thursday, May 3, 2018 - 11:02 By Eric Olanowski

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KASPIISK, Russia (May 3) - Russian women reached the semifinals in four of the five weight categories during the fourth day of competition at the 2018 European Championships. Ten other nations will be represented in the semifinals with Belarus and Bulgaria each having a trio of wrestlers vying for a spot in tomorrow’s finalist. 

Two of the most intriguing semifinals match-ups will be at 53kg and 57kg. 

Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL) and Stalvira ORSHUSH (RUS) will battle for the finals spot at 53kg. 

Poland’s Krawczyk, a two-time European medalist is on a quest to make her second trip to the finals. She finished with a silver medalist after dropping the 2015 European Games finals to Sweden's Sofia MATTSSON.

Orshush has been on a tear this year, only dropping a single match. She’s currently ranked no. 11 in the world after capturing the Klippan Lady Open gold medal and the silver medal at the Ivan Yarygin. 


At 57kg, Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE) and Irina OLOGONOVA (RUS) will wrestle for a spot in Friday night’s finals.

Ologonova, the three-time world finalist will be making her second finals appearance. In her first showing at the European Championships, the Russian walked away with the gold medal.

Kolesnik, last years European bronze medalist will be looking to make her first senior-level Euro finals.

Other wrestlers to pay attention to in tonight's semifinals are 2017 world champion, Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR), 2016 Rio bronze medalist, Jenny FRANSSON (SWE) and world no. 1 Petra OLLI (FIN). 

MATCH-UPS 
53kg
SEMIFINAL - Stalvira ORSHUSH (RUS) vs. Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL) 
SEMIFINAL - Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE) vs. Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR)

Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL). (Photo by Max Rose-Fyne) 

57kg
SEMIFINAL - Irina OLOGONOVA (RUS) vs. Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE) 
SEMIFINAL - Emese BARKA (HUN) vs. Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL)

62kg
SEMIFINAL -  Taybe Mustafa YUSEIN (BUL) vs. Veranika IVANOVA (BLR) 
SEMIFINAL - Inna TRAZHUKOVA (RUS) vs. Luzie MANZKE (GER)

65kg
SEMIFINAL - Viktoria BOBEVA (BUL) vs. Petra OLLI (FIN)
SEMIFINAL - Elis MANOLOVA (AZE) vs. Henna JOHANSSON (SWE)

Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (BLR). (Photo by Max Rose-Fyne) 

68kg
SEMIFINAL - Alena PEREPELKINA (RUS) vs. Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (BLR) 
SEMIFINAL - Jenny FRANSSON (SWE) vs. Beste ALTUG (TUR)

#CanadaWrestling

Former world champion Di Stasio of Canada retires

Thursday, March 13, 2025 - 17:45 By United World Wrestling Press

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OTTAWA, Canada (March 13) -- After nearly 15 years of representing Canada, Justina DI STASIO (CAN) has decided to retire.

During her career, Di Stasio built an impressive resume that will go down as one of the all-time greats in Canadian wrestling history. The 32-year-old represented Canada at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Di Stasio won gold medal at the World Championship in 2018, a Pan-American Games gold medal in 2019 and Commonwealth Games gold in 2022. In addition, she is a multiple-time Pan-Am Championships gold medalist.

While there have been many memorable moments, a few stood out to Di Stasio, including her start with the national team, her win at the 2018 worlds, being coached on the national team by two-time Olympic medalist Tonya VERBEEK (CAN), and making her first Olympics in 2024.

“Winning worlds was a special moment, especially because I could hear my parents cheering from the stands," Di Stasio said. "It reminded me of my tournaments as a kid. It also helped me frame everything in my life better. I realized it is about the journey and not the destination. It was amazing to feel the way I did on that one day, but it was only one day. I had worked so hard in the lead up, but I realized I had to enjoy those days too. I still wanted to be the best in the world and I never didn’t train like it, but from that point, I made sure to enjoy my wrestling every day.”

That love for the sport kept Di Stasio going despite setbacks that stalled her dream of competing at the Olympics. After failing to qualify for the Rio and Tokyo Games, Di Stasio qualified for Paris 2024, eventually finishing 12th.

“Making it to the Olympics came with lots of pressure, but good pressure. I had won everything else and trained every day thinking I could be an Olympic champion. Even though it was a heart-breaking result, I know I couldn’t have worked harder and that helped me accept the result. I would have loved to make it there when I was younger, but I think I needed to be more mature to handle the result.”

Read full news on Wrestling Canada Lutte website.