#ANOCWorldBeachGames

Four Different Nations Close out ANOC World Beach Games With Gold Medals

Tuesday, October 15, 2019 - 20:58 By United World Wrestling Press

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DOHA, Qatar (October 16) -- The medals continued to diversify at the ANOC World Beach Games as beach wrestlers from Georgia, Iran, Italy and Nigeria closed out the final day wrestling in Qatar with shiny gold medals draped around their necks. 

The first men's wrestler who impressed the energetic crowd on Katara Beach was Davit KHUTSISHVILI (GEO). The Georgian, with his pearly white smile that matched his tights, circled the sand with his nation's flag after downing Ibrahim YUSUBOV (AZE), 5-1, in the opening period of the 80kg finals. 

Pouya RAHMANI (IRI), the 90kg champion, is joined by the weight's other two medalists, Ufuk YILMAZ (TUR) and Mamuka KORDZAIA (GEO) (Photo: Theo Lowenstein) 

The second male gold medal of the day went to Iran’s Pouya RAHMANI (IRI), who cruised to a 3-0 win over Ufuk YILMAZ (TUR) in the 90kg gold-medal match. His finals blanking of Yilmaz was the tattooed Iranian's fifth shutout win of the day. In group action, Rahmani outscored his four opponents 13-1, then earned his finals berth with a 3-0 shutout win over Oyan NAZARIANI (AZE). In total, Rahmani outscored his six ANOC World Beach Games opponents by an impressive 19-1 margin.

Blessing ONYEBUCH (NGR) celebrates after defeating Zsanett NEMETH (HUN) in the over 70kg finals. (Photo: Theo Lowenstein) 

On the women's side of the competition, Nigeria's Blessing ONYEBUCH scored an emotional 3-2 over fellow Nur-Sultan World Championships competitor, Zsanett NEMETH (HUN), in the over 70kg finals. The final women's wrestling champion was Francesca INDELICATO (ITA), who stood above second and third-place finishers, respectively, Mehlik OZTURK (TUR) and Shauna KEMP (USA), on the 60kg podium. 

The ANOC World Beach Games closed out the beach wrestling calendar year, but fans can continue to join the discussion around the rapidly growing sport by following @uwwbeachwrestling on Instagram and @uwwbeach on Twitter.

RESULTS

Men's Beach Wrestling
80kg 
GOLD - Davit KHUTSISHVILI (GEO) df. Ibrahim YUSUBOV (AZE), 5-1 
BRONZE – Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR) df. Sami UNAL (TUR), 3-0 

+90kg 
GOLD – Pouya RAHMANI (IRI) df. Ufuk YILMAZ (TUR), 3-0 
BRONZE - Mamuka KORDZAIA (GEO) df. Oyan NAZARIANI (AZE), 1-1

Women's Beach Wrestling
60kg
GOLD - Francesca INDELICATO (ITA) df. Mehlik OZTURK (TUR)
BRONZE - Shauna KEMP (USA) df. Kateryna ZHYDACHECSKA (ROU)

+70kg 
GOLD - Blessing ONYEBUCH (NGR) df. Zsanett NEMETH (HUN), 3-2 
BRONZE - Iryna PASICHNYK (UKR) df. Cataline AXENTE (ROU), 3-1 

#WrestlePontevedra

Wrestling legend Medved, three-time Olympic champion, passes away aged 86

Monday, September 2, 2024 - 09:36 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (September 2) -- Aleksandr MEDVED, the most successful Freestyle wrestler with 10 Olympic and World Championships gold medals, died on Monday aged 86 years.

Medved made his international debut at the 1961 World Championships, where he won bronze in the 87kg weight class. A year later, he jumped to 97kg and won the gold medal at the World Championships.

Barring 1965, Medved won all the World Championships gold medals from 1962 to 1971, majorly competing in the +100kg. He was considered small for the weight class, yet he dominated it for more than a decade.

Apart from winning seven gold medals, Medved also won a silver medal (1965) and a bronze medal (1961) at the World Championships.

Aleksandr MEDVEDAleksandr  MEDVED as a referee in a wrestling bout. (Photo: IMAGO / ITAR-TASS)

"The passing of Aleksandr saddens us," United World Wrestling President Nenad LALOVIC said. "He was an ambassador of our sport and his achievements show that the world regarded him as the best."

"It's a great loss to the wrestling world and we are with the Medved family in this time of grief."

Medved won his first Olympic gold medal in 1964 at the Tokyo Olympic Games in the 97kg weight class. He repeated as the Olympic champion in the +97kg at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games, beating Osman DURALIEV (BUL). The two met in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games in the +100kg final and Medved defeated Duraliev again to win his third Olympic gold medal.

He also has three European Championships titles as well.

After retiring from the sport, Medved was actively involved in coaching. He was inducted into the UWW Hall of Fame in 2003.

United World Wrestling expresses its condolences to the Medved family.