#Tokyo2020

Ethics Meeting, Blockchain, and Day One Draws Highlight Eve of Wrestling Competition at Tokyo 2020

Saturday, July 31, 2021 - 09:45 By United World Wrestling Press

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TOKYO (July 31) -- United World Wrestling president Nenad LALOVIC welcomed IOC Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer Pâquerette GIRARD ZAPPELLI to the sport's opening Technical Delegate meeting Saturday afternoon at the Makuhari Messe in Tokyo.

Zappelli introduced herself to the audience and outlined the IOC's broad mission as a mechanism to showcase cooperation, peace, competitive spirit, and ethical behavior.
Lalovic also addressed the delegation,emphasizing the recent efforts made by the sport to ensure fair play and ethical conduct. As an example, Lalovic discussed wrestling's leadership in the utilization of Blockchain technology to ensure 100-percent random and independently verifiable draws.
 


Youssef BOUAZIZ (UWW) oversees the initiation of the Ethereum-backed Blockchain.

The technology was then used moments later to draw the brackets for the first day of the competition with brackets in Greco-Roman 130kg, Greco-Roman 60kg, and Women's Wrestling 76kg all being drawn instantly on the big screen in Hall 5 of the Makuhari Messe.

UWW updates competition guidelines for Russia, Belarus wrestlers

Tuesday, January 27, 2026 - 09:06 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (January 27) -- United World Wrestling will allow wrestlers from Russia and Belarus to compete under their respective national flags up to the U23 age level.

The decision follows a recommendation from the International Olympic Committee that youth athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports should no longer face restrictions on participation in sports events, both individual and team.

The UWW Bureau met last week to discuss the same and decided to implement the IOC recommendation at the U15, U17, U20 and U23 levels.

Russian and Belarusian wrestlers will now compete under their national flags and country initials, “RUS” and “BLR,” respectively. National anthems of both countries will be played at medal ceremonies at UWW events if their wrestlers win gold medals or if a team wins the team championship.

All other standard UWW protocols will be followed at competitions in accordance with international wrestling rules.

Russia

Last year, UWW had updated its criteria for eligible wrestlers and staff from the two countries, allowing them to participate under UWW flag at all competitions.

Despite the updated recommendations, both the IOC and UWW stress that all athletes and their support staff must continue to uphold the Olympic Movement’s mission of promoting unity and peace.

The latest IOC guidance means the March 2023 recommendations regarding Russia and Belarus are no longer mandatory for youth events.

However, the IOC maintains that no government officials from Russia or Belarus should be accredited or invited to international sports events or meetings for either senior or youth competitions.

It also said that International Federations should refrain from organizing or supporting international sports events in Russia, while this recommendation no longer applies to Belarus.