#Zagreb2019

Five "Must Watch" Matches from the Zagreb Open

Wednesday, February 13, 2019 - 14:23 By Eric Olanowski

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There were countless great matches that took place over the two days of wrestling at the first Greco-Roman Ranking Series event of the year, the Zageb Open, and we took the time to compile a list of the ten best matches with the most action and biggest storylines. 

82kg FINALS - Bulgaria's Daniel ALEKSANDROV erased a 7-0 opening-period deficit and scored eight unanswered points in the final period to upend returning world runner-up Emrah KUS (TUR), 8-7 in the 82kg Zagreb Open gold-medal bout. 

Aleksandrov trailed 7-0 after the first two minutes of action. He was dinged for passivity and thrown in the par terre position, where Kus grabbed four-points from a reverse lift and controlled the 5-0 advantage. Aleksandrov found himself down 7-0 after Kus grabbed another two for exposure, but got on the board with a step out point and trailed 7-1 heading into the second period. 

The Bulgarian exploded for seven unanswered points in the closing three minutes and hung on to the one-point lead, knocking off the noticeably deflated returning world runner-up, 8-7.

97kg FINALS - Ilia BORISOV (RUS) knocked off returning Budapest world runner-up Kiril MILOV (BUL) to win the 97kg Zagreb Open title. Borisov, the lone Russian finalist, tossed around the returning world finalist with ease and scored the 9-0 technical superiority victory in the opening period. 

Borisov grabbed the 1-0 lead after Milov was hit for passivity, then went to work in par terre, throwing Milov for four points and used a pair of gut wrenches to close out the 97kg gold-medal match with a 9-0 technical superiority victory. 

77kg QUARTERFINALS - Croatia's Bozo STARCEVIC stunned Olympic champion KIM Hyeonwoo (KOR), 8-2, in the quarterfinals, before ultimately winning his fifth consecutive Zagreb Open title. 

Starcevic avenged his 6-4 2016 Olympic bronze-medal bout loss to Kim, where the Korean wrestler claimed his second overall Olympic medal.

In their quarterfinals meeting on Saturday, Starcevic built a commanding 6-0 lead before Kim used an arm-spin to pick up his lone takedown, closing the deficit to 6-2. Starcevic somehow came away from Kim's arm-spin attempt with an exposure of his own and locked up his semifinals win with an 8-2 victory. 

130kg SEMIFINALS - Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) blasted U23 world silver medalist Osman YILDIRIM (TUR), 9-0, in the semifinals, picking up his second consecutive victory over a world medalist. Abdullaev's first win over a world medalist came in the quarterfinals when he knocked off 2017 world bronze medalist Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI), 2-2.

The Uzbek nearly finished the job off and captured the 130kg gold medal but lost to Norway's Oskar MARVIK in the finals, 1-0. 

87kg SEMIFINALS - This all-Hungary semifinals bout was one of the Zagreb Open's most important matches. The reason being, Viktor LORINCZ and Erik SZILVASSY are battling for Hungary's 2019 Astana World Championship spot.

In their Zagreb Open semifinal's meeting, Lorincz scored the critical 3-0 win over the U23 world champion and grabbed a leg up on his fellow Hungarian heading into the second Greco-Roman Ranking Series event, the Hungarian Grand Prix.  

Lorincz went on to beat Sweden's Kristoffer BERG, 3-1 in the 87kg finals.

International Athletes’ Forum 2023 concludes with focus on upcoming Olympic Games

Tuesday, October 3, 2023 - 11:49 By International Olympic Committee

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LAUSANNE, Switzerland (October 3) --- Over the past two days, the 11th International Athletes’ Forum (IAF) brought together over 400 athlete representatives in Lausanne to discuss the most important issues for athletes across the Olympic Movement.

United World Wrestling's President Nenad LALOVIC (UWW) was in attendance, alongside wrestling participants: Mia AQUINO (GUM), Romio GOLIATH (NAM), Lowe BINGHAM (NRU), Yoon Suk KIM (KOR), Arsen JULFALAKYAN (UWW) and Deqa NIAMKEY (UWW).

The two days of discussion and debate resulted in a series of outcomes, announced by the IOC Athletes’ Commission (AC) today.

AC members from 181 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), 54 International Federations (IFs), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), Organising Committees for the upcoming Olympic Games (OCOGs) and Continental Associations, as well as members of the Athletes’ Declaration Steering Committee and representatives from the World Olympians Association (WOA), were present in Lausanne for the two days.

The IAF ended with an in-depth, two-hour Q&A session with the IOC President, Thomas Bach. In typical IAF fashion, the IOC President took to the stage and engaged directly with the athlete representatives to answer their questions – no topics were off limits. Safe sport, the upcoming Olympic Games Paris 2024, the participation of individual neutral athletes with a Russian or Belarussian passport in international competitions during the qualification period, and the mission of the Olympic Games to unite the world in peaceful competition and contribute to peace and understanding were all part of the discussion.

OLYParticipants of the 11th International Athletes’ Forum (IAF) pose for a photo together in Lausanne. (Photo: Olympics.com)

Other topics raised and addressed by the IOC President were: the situation of athletes from countries and regions affected by the too many wars and conflicts around the world; the digitalisation of sport, with Artificial Intelligence on the rise; the growing popularity of esports; the inclusion of AC chairs in the NOC delegations at the Olympic Games; the inclusion of new sports in the Olympic programme; cooperation with the Deaflympics; the length of the stay of athletes in the Olympic Village; the support of the IOC for the Olympic Community of Ukraine; the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 as an event for the entire African continent; and safeguarding and protection for athletes. 

“You can all look forward to the Olympic Games Paris 2024, which will be the Games of a new era,” the IOC President said. “They will be the first Olympic and Paralympic Games to be planned and delivered in line with the reforms of our Olympic Agenda. They will be sustainable, urban, inclusive and youthful Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Olympic Games Paris 2024 will also be the first-ever Olympic Games with gender parity. The IOC has allocated exactly the same number of quota places to female and male athletes.”

Summarising the Forum, IOC AC Chair Emma Terho said: “Over the past two days, we’ve covered topics ranging from what it takes to build an effective AC to what it means to be an Olympian. We’ve looked ahead to Paris 2024, Milano Cortina 2026 and LA2028, highlighting the huge number of programmes and initiatives in place to support athletes on their journeys. We’ve discussed how to support a safe space for us to speak openly about the issues that matter most to us as athletes and athlete representatives.”

She continued: “On a personal note, I’ve been touched by the honesty and courage so many of you have displayed during these sessions, particularly in our discussion on neutral athletes. This remains a difficult topic, but I come away from this Forum inspired and with very valuable feedback.”

Click here to see the key points that emerged from the various discussions and sessions in three areas on Olympics.com.