Beach wrestling

Georgia Shines in ‘Beach Wrestling World Series’; Qatar and 2020 Season on the Horizon

By United World Wrestling Press

VEVEY, Switzerland (October 11) -- The 2019 Beach Wrestling World Series concluded last month in Zagreb with several of the world’s top beach grapplers wrestling for gold and securing top billing in the overall rankings.

Led by enigmatic Olympic bronze medalist Dato MARSAGISHVILI (90kg), Georgia captured a whopping three out of a possible four top place finishes in men’s beach wrestling.

Marsagishvili, Levan KELEKHSASHVILI (70kg), and Davit KHUTSISHVILI (80kg) earned the top ranking in their respective weight categories by winning each event they entered. Each of the three wrestlers claimed three gold medals in three attempts and scored 50,000 points.

Oyan NAZARIANI (AZE) finished No.1 at +90kg. The heavyweight wrestler competed in all four events, winning three gold medals and one silver to finish with 58,000 points.

Despite a runner-up finish in the rankings Semen RADULOV (UKR) wow'ed fans across the world with his big throws (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Two Ukrainian women, Kateryna MASHKEVYCH (50kg) and Anna MAZURKEVYCH (70kg), finished No. 1 in their respective weight categories. Both Mashkevych and Mazurkevych earned a pair of gold medals, competing in Odessa and Zagreb and finished with 40,000 points.

Camila FAMA TRISTAO (BRA) earned the No.1 ranking in the women's competition at 60kg after winning two gold medals and a silver medal in the World Series. Her golds came in Rio and Zagreb.

Aikaterini PITSIAVA (GRE) won three golds in three attempts and finished No.1 at +70kg.

Many of the top finishers, including Georgia’s World Series champions, will be in Doha October 15-16 to compete at the 2019 ANOC World Beach Games.

The 2020 Beach Wrestling World Series will again consist of four stops, with dates and locations to be announced in the coming weeks. At a meeting last month in Nur-Sultan more than 30 national federations from across all continents attended an informational session to help answer questions about the growing style.

National federations or wrestlers interested in learning more details about the 2020 events are asked to reach out to sports@unitedworldwrestling.org.

2019 Beach Wresting World Series Results

Men

70kg

1. Levan KELEKHSASHVILI (GEO) 50,000

2. Semen RADULOV (UKR) 42,000

3. Michael PETERS (USA) 19,500

4. Miljan DUKANOVIC (SRB) 17,400

5. Luka MALOBABIC (CRO) 15,000

 

80kg

1. Davit KHUTSISHVILI (GEO) 50,000

2. Georgios KOULOUCHIDIS (GRE) 42,800

3. Aleksandar NIKOLIC (SRB) 19,500

4. Timotej TRBULIN (SLO) 17,400

5. Ibrahim YUSUBOV (AZE) 16,000

 

90kg

1. Dato MARSAGISHVILI (GEO) 50,000

2. Christos SAMARTSIDIS (GRE) 34,500

3. Strahinja DERMANOVIC (SRB) 19,500

4. Domenik ANDREIC (CRO) 17,400

5. Murat OZKAN (TUR) 13,000

 

+90kg

1. Oyan NAZARIANI (AZE) 58,000

2. Ioannis KARGIOTAKIS (GRE) 44,300

3. Mamuka KORDZAIA (GEO) 35,300

4. Sabolc HORVAT (SRB) 17,400

5. Dorde PESUT (SRB) 15,000

 

Women

 

50kg

1. Kateryna MASHKEVYCH (UKR) 40,000

2. Carmen GOMES TEIXEIRA VIEIRA (POR) 31,000

3. Kristal BETANZO (USA) 24,000

4. Kamila BARBOSA VITO DA SILVA (BRA) 18,000

5. Stefania PRICEPUTU (ROU) 10,000

 

60kg

1. Camila FAMA TRISTAO (BRA) 48,000

2. Valeriia SEMONKINA ZLATOVA (UKR) 34,000

3. Isabel RODRIGUES (POR) 31,100

4. Pia KOCBEK (SLO) 17,400

5. Georgiana FILIP (ROU) 10,000

 

70kg

1. Anna MAZURKEVYCH (UKR) 40,000

2. Sonia PEREIRA BRAZIO (POR) 34,000

3. Diana BETANZO (USA) 24,000

4. Sara TRBULIN (SLO) 17,400

5. Adina Elena POPESCU (ROU) 10,000

 

+70kg

1. Aikaterini PITSIAVA (GRE) 50,000

2. Iryna PASICHNYK (UKR) 24,000

3. Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA) 10,000

4. Halyna KOVALSKA (UKR) 8,000

5. Aysegul OZBEGE (TUR) 8,000

Obituary

Olympian and longtime referee Eberhard Probst passes away

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (February 22) -- Two-time world bronze medalist and Olympian Eberhard PROBST from Germany passed away at the age of 69 years.

Probst was born on June 4, 1955, in Querfurt, where he grew up and began wrestling in 1966 at his club the BSG Merseburg. He attended the Children's and Youth Sports School in Halle an der Saale. From 1970 to 1985, Probst collected 17 East German championship titles for the Chemie Halle Sports Club, making him one of the most successful national freestyle wrestling champions all over Germany. 

At the international level, Probst won World Championships bronze medals in 1979 and 1982 while finishing fifth at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. He also placed eighth at the 1976 Montreal Games. He also won bronze medals at the European Championships in 1976, 1979 and 1981.

After his active career, Probst began a career as a referee in 1984 and, due to his reserved, factual-calm, and expert manner, also internationally developed into one of the best referees in the world from 1986 onwards.

Probst was nominated for his first Olympic Games as a referee in 2004, the third overall, in Athens. As the only German mat official, he represented Germany at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. At the World Championships in Herning, Denmark, in 2009, he received the Golden Whistle, the highest award for referees by UWW.