Top Stories of the Decade

Japan's Kaori Icho Become First-Ever Wrestler to Win Four Olympic Golds

Monday, December 30, 2019 - 14:30 By Ken Marantz

Share this article

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 30) -- As the precious seconds ticked down, Kaori ICHO (JPN) was not to be denied. She was on the brink of making sporting history and earning a place among a pantheon of Olympic legends, and she didn't earn all of those previous gold medals by not fighting to the final second.

Somehow, someway, Icho managed to break the desperate hold that Valeria KOBLOVA (RUS) had on her leg and spun behind for a takedown in the final seconds, giving her a dramatic 3-2 victory in the women's 58kg final at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

She had done it. Icho became the first woman in Olympic history to win four gold medals in the same individual event in any sport. It put her in exclusive company with the only men to have achieved the feat: American athletes Al Oerter (discus, 1956-68) and Carl Lewis (long jump, 1984-96) and swimmer Michael Phelps (200m individual medley (2004-16).

"All the support I received up to now gave me the power to win this gold medal," Icho said. "I'm happiest with this gold medal."

Icho had won her first three Olympic golds at 63kg. When the number of women's weight divisions were expanded for Rio, she moved down to the newly set 58kg. That didn't mean she had it any easier. Earlier in the year, she was dealt a technical fall loss by Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL) at the Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix, ending a 189-match winning streak that spanned 13 years.

Although Koblova had lost to Icho in their only previous meeting, a 10-0 technical fall in the final at the 2014 World Championships, she was no easy opponent. The Russian was one of only three non-Japanese wrestlers to ever beat Saori YOSHIDA (JPN), having defeated her at the 2008 World Cup, and had knocked off Purevdorj en route to the final in Rio. She came out determined and ready for revenge in the Carioca Arena.

Icho gained the first point with Koblova on the activity clock, but the Russian took advantage of a rare opening to gain a single leg, fight out of a whizzer and get behind for a takedown and a 2-1 lead with :35 left in the first period. In the second period, Koblova remained on the offensive, getting deep with a double leg but Icho forced the situation into a stalemate.

With 30 seconds to go, Icho made a futile grab for a leg, and as she came back up, Koblova shot in to secure a leg hold herself. Racing against the clock, Icho grabbed an ankle and applied a crossface, and it became a matter of whether she could break the hold in time. Her leg slipped away with :06 left, and the referee flashed the 2 points that gave Icho the epoch-making victory.

After taking two years off from competition, Icho would return in 2018 to begin a quest to become the first five-time Olympic champion at Tokyo 2020. But that dream ended when Icho lost out to fellow Rio champion Risako KAWAI (JPN) for the spot at 57kg to this year's World Championships in Nur-Sultan, where Kawai's run to the gold medal clinched her place at Tokyo 2020.

Icho's bid officially ended when she did not enter this month's All-Japan Championships in either of the two weight classes -- 50kg and 68kg --- in which the Tokyo 2020 entries had not been decided in Nur-Sultan.

Throughout her career, Icho's accomplishments paralleled those of Yoshida, but because she was less outgoing of the two, she never gained the same national notoriety. Yoshida earned more world titles (13 to 10) than Icho (mainly because Icho often took time off after an Olympics), but Icho's four Olympic golds (to Yoshida's three) will forever put her in a class of her own.

Following her Rio triumph, Icho was awarded the prestigious People's Honor Award, given for achievements that inspire the nation, from the Japanese Prime Minister. That made her only the second wrestler to ever receive the honor. Yoshida had been honored after the London 2012 Olympics, where both of them won their third Olympic golds.

#WrestleAmman

Asian Championships 2025 Entries

Friday, March 7, 2025 - 11:55 By United World Wrestling Press

Share this article

AMMAN, Jordan (March 7) -- The Asian Championships will be held in Amman, Jordan from March 25 to 30 with 378 wrestlers expected to compete.

Olympic champion Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) is returning after his shoulder surgery and is one of the three Paris Olympic champions expected to compete.

There is also DPR Korea returning to the Asian Championships for the first time since 2019.

UWW+ and uww.org will have all the action, highlights and news live from Amman, Jordan.

Note: These are preliminary entries and subject to change. For final entries, refer to UWW Arena

57kg
Muqibullah NEZAMI (AFG)
Weiyu LI (CHN)
Zainal ABIDIN (INA)
CHIRAG (IND)
Milad VALIZADEH (IRI)
Husein ALBEHADILALBORS (IRQ)
Rin SAKAMOTO (JPN)
Merey BAZARBAYEV (KAZ)
Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ)
Sunggwon KIM (KOR)
Munkh BATKHUYAG (MGL)
Chong Song HAN (PRK)
Gayan EKANAYAKA (SRI)
Aiaal BELOLYUBSKII (TJK)
Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)

61kg
Wanhao ZOU (CHN)
UDIT (IND)
Ahmad JAVAN (IRI)
Suhib ALMARAFI (JOR)
Takara SUDA (JPN)
Meirambek KARTBAY (KAZ)
Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ)
Hyeonsik SONG (KOR)
Tuvshintulga TUMENBILEG (MGL)
Kum Chol RI (PRK)
Dzhamshed SHARIFOV (TJK)
Behruzbey TURANMURATOV (UZB)

65kg
Alibeg ALIBEGOV (BRN)
Baowen WEI (CHN)
Hamka HAMKA (INA)
SUJEET (IND)
Abbas EBRAHIMZADEH (IRI)
Kaisei TANABE (JPN)
Nursultan SADYK (KAZ)
Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ)
Junsik YUN (KOR)
Tsogbadrakh TSEVEENSUREN (MGL)
Abdullah ASSAF (PLE)
Kwang Jin KIM (PRK)
Yan LEE (SGP)
Divoshan CHARLES FERNANDO (SRI)
Gurbanmuhammet CHARYYEV (TKM)
Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB)

70kg
Tao WEI (CHN)
VISHAL (IND)
Sina KHALILI (IRI)
Mohammed KAREEM (IRQ)
Zaid MESLAH (JOR)
Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN)
Nachyn KUULAR (KAZ)
Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ)
Seonho YOO (KOR)
Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL)
Viktor RASSADIN (TJK)
Shirmuhammet BEKIYEV (TKM)
Begijon KULDASHEV (UZB)

74kg
Zaid SALIHI (AFG)
Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN)
Tu Erxun AHEIYOU (CHN)
Gilang ILHAZA (INA)
JAIDEEP (IND)
Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI)
Ali AL OBAIDI (IRQ)
Orts ISAKOV (JOR)
Hikaru TAKATA (JPN)
Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ)
Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ)
Daegil HAN (KOR)
Batbayar BATSUKH (MGL)
Ok Chol HAN (PRK)
Madushanka LAKMAL (SRI)
Mustafo AKHMEDOV (TJK)
Perman HOMMADOV (TKM)
Fazliddin NASRITDINOV (UZB)

79kg
Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN)
Feng LU (CHN)
CHANDERMOHAN (IND)
Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI)
Erzo ISAKOV (JOR)
Ryunosuke KAMIYA (JPN)
Daulet YERGESH (KAZ)
Arsalan BUDAZHAPOV (KGZ)
Bumgue SEO (KOR)
Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL)
Magomet EVLOEV (TJK)
Asadbek KARIMOV (UZB)

86kg
Nan CAO (CHN)
FAHRIANSYAH (INA)
Mukul DAHIYA (IND)
Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI)
Mustafa AL AZZAWI (IRQ)
Abdallah MAKOON (JOR)
Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN)
Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ)
Mukhammad ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Gyeongyeon LEE (KOR)
Batbilguun NAADAMBAT (MGL)
Weng CHOW (SGP)
Salimzhoni KHALIMZODA (TJK)
Dovletgeldi MYRADOV (TKM)
Bobur ISLOMOV (UZB)

92kg
Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN)
Zushen LIN (CHN)
Deepak PUNIA (IND)
Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI)
Abdul ABUIDAIJ (JOR)
Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN)
Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ)
Bekzat RAKHIMOV (KGZ)
Gwanuk KIM (KOR)
Bat Erdene BYAMBASUREN (MGL)
Soltan BEGENJOV (TKM)
Sherzod POYONOV (UZB)

97kg
Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN)
Awusayiman HABILA (CHN)
Muhamad RUDIANSYAH (INA)
JOINTY (IND)
Mohammadmobin AZIMI (IRI)
Abdullah SAMEER (IRQ)
Arash YOSHIDA (JPN)
Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ)
Kanybek ABDULKHAIROV (KGZ)
Jeongwoo PARK (KOR)
Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL)
Shatlyk HEMELYAYEV (TKM)
Makhsud VEYSALOV (UZB)

125kg
Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN)
BUHEEERDUN (CHN)
DINESH (IND)
Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI)
Ahmed AL JAMIE (IRQ)
Taiki YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Nursultan AZOV (KAZ)
Gyeongmin KIM (KOR)
Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL)
Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM)
Sardorbek KHOLMATOV (UZB)

Jin ZHANG (CHN)Zhang twins -- Yu and Jin -- are competing at the Asian Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Yu ZHANG (CHN)
ANKUSH (IND)
Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN)
Svetlana ANKICHEVA (KAZ)
Miran CHEON (KOR)
Munkhnar BYAMBASUREN (MGL)
Jiah PINGOT (PHI)
Myonggyong WON (PRK)
Nipuni WASANA (SRI)
Gozel KURBANOVA (TKM)
Yi Hui LIN (TPE)
Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB)
Thi Nga DUONG (VIE)

53kg
Jin ZHANG (CHN)
ANTIM (IND)
Noura TAAIBIN (JOR)
Moe KIYOOKA (JPN)
Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ)
Seoyoung PARK (KOR)
Otgontuya CHINBOLD (MGL)
Aliah GAVALEZ (PHI)
Hyo Gyong CHOE (PRK)
Meng Hsuan HSIEH (TPE)
Shokhida AKHMEDOVA (UZB)

55kg
Yuxuan LI (CHN)
NISHU (IND)
Layal SUKKAR (JOR)
Haruna MURAYAMA OKUNO (JPN)
Zulfiya YAKHYAROVA (KAZ)
Aruuke KADYRBEK KYZY (KGZ)
Hyerim LEE (KOR)
Otgontuya BAYANMUNKH (MGL)
Kyong Ryong OH (PRK)
Dilshoda MATNAZAROVA (UZB)
Thi My Trang NGUYEN (VIE)

57kg
Kexin HONG (CHN)
Neha SHARMA (IND)
Sara NATAMI (JPN)
Nilufar RAIMOVA (KAZ)
Sezim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Youngjin KWON (KOR)
Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL)
Il Sim SON (PRK)
Danielle LIM (SGP)
Nethmi AHINSA (SRI)
Pei Ying LIAO (TPE)
Laylokhon SOBIROVA (UZB)
Thi Hien DANG (VIE)

59kg
Mengyu XIE (CHN)
MUSKAN (IND)
Sakura ONISHI (JPN)
Guldana BEKESH (KAZ)
Tancholpon KYBALBEKOVA (KGZ)
Hyeonju KWON (KOR)
Altjin TOGTOKH (MGL)
Arian CARPIO (PHI)
Pyol HONG (PRK)
Sarbinaz JIENBAEVA (UZB)

62kg
LILI (CHN)
MANISHA (IND)
Tala ABUKHEIT (JOR)
Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)
Tynys DUBEK (KAZ)
Kalmira BILIMBEKOVA (KGZ)
Hanbit LEE (KOR)
Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL)
Ok Ju KIM (PRK)
Miyasar KUSHMURATOVA (UZB)

65kg
Qi ZHANG (CHN)
MONIKA (IND)
Balqis TAAIBIN (JOR)
Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN)
Yelena SHALYGINA (KAZ)
Dilnaz SAZANOVA (KGZ)
Jeongae BARK (KOR)
Enkhjin TUVSHINJARGAL (MGL)
Aylah Mohammed MAYALI (PLE)
Maysa YUSUPJANOVA (TKM)
Shakhzoda ALLANIYAZOVA (UZB)
Dieu Thuong LAI (VIE)

68kg
Zelu LI (CHN)
Mansi LATHAR (IND)
Ami ISHII (JPN)
Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ)
Gulnura TASHTANBEKOVA (KGZ)
Miju KIM (KOR)
Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL)
Sol Gum PAK (PRK)
Sheng Fang CAI (TPE)
Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB)

72kg
Yuqi LIU (CHN)
Jyoti BERWAL (IND)
Masako FURUICHI (JPN)
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ)
Sehee KIM (KOR)
Bolortungalag ZORIGT (MGL)
Svetlana OKNAZAROVA (UZB)

76kg
YANGLA (CHN)
Reetika HOODA (IND)
Nodoka YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Seoyeon JEONG (KOR)
Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL)
Mi Hyang KIM (PRK)
Yan Ju JIANG (TPE)
Ozoda ZARIPBOEVA (UZB)

Saied ESMAEILI (IRI)Paris Olympic champion at 67kg Saied ESMAEILI (IRI) will be competing in Amman. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan) 

Greco-Roman

55kg
Yunlong HU (CHN)
NITIN (IND)
Poya DAD MARZ (IRI)
Sajjad ALBIDHAN (IRQ)
Mostafa ALQADE (JOR)
Kohei YAMAGIWA (JPN)
Yerbol KAMALIYEV (KAZ)
Ulan MURATBEK UULU (KGZ)
Junsik YU (KOR)
Sumiyabazar MUNKHZAYA (MGL)
Yu Chol RO (PRK)
Alexander CUEVAS (SGP)
Abduvali RAHIMBAYEV (TKM)
Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB)

60kg
Ziyue XI (CHN)
SUMIT (IND)
Pouya NASERPOUR (IRI)
Ali ABUNASEER (JOR)
Kaito INABA (JPN)
Bakytzhan KABDYL (KAZ)
Akyl SULAIMANOV (KGZ)
Minwoo KIM (KOR)
Hassan ALHARTHI (KSA)
Se Ung RI (PRK)
Aslamjon AZIZOV (TJK)
Arslanbek ZAKIRBAYEV (TKM)
Alisher GANIEV (UZB)

63kg
Haodong TAN (CHN)
UMESH (IND)
Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI)
Suhib ALHASANAT (JOR)
Godai MITANI (JPN)
Daulet ASHIRKHANOV (KAZ)
Doolotbek CHOIBEKOV (KGZ)
Hanjae CHUNG (KOR)
Faisal ALDOSSARY (KSA)
Ganbayar NAMSRAI (MGL)
Chan KIM (PRK)
Aref MOHAMMADI (QAT)
Azatjan ACHILOV (TKM)
AYTJAN KHALMAKHANOV (UZB)

67kg
Lei LI (CHN)
NEERAJ (IND)
Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI)
Ali ALBIDHAN (IRQ)
Katsuaki ENDO (JPN)
Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ)
Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ)
Minseong KWON (KOR)
Munthir JANDU (KSA)
Man Gwang SON (PRK)
Saoud ALMEFQAEY (QAT)
Mcclaren MARREN (SGP)
Sunat ABDULLOEV (TJK)
Nozimjon BOYKUZIEV (UZB)

72kg
Ji LENG (CHN)
KULDEEP (IND)
Danial SOHRABI (IRI)
Omar DARAGHMEH (JOR)
Issei HONNA (JPN)
Adilkhan SATAYEV (KAZ)
Yryskeldi KHAMZAEV (KGZ)
Yeonghun NOH (KOR)
Ahmed BARAHMAH (KSA)
Jason BAUCAS (PHI)
Loiqi AMIRKHONZODA (TJK)
Begmyrat NOBATOV (TKM)
Abdullo ALIEV (UZB)

77kg
Jixin YU (CHN)
SAGAR (IND)
Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI)
Amro SADEH (JOR)
Kodai SAKURABA (JPN)
Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ)
Yryskeldi MAKSATBEK UULU (KGZ)
Dowon LEE (KOR)
Orgil NYAM ERDENE (MGL)
Saad AL SULAITI (QAT)
Aryan BIN AZMAN (SGP)
Muslihiddin UROQOV (TJK)
Hekim GURBANMYRADOV (TKM)
Lai Hsing YAO (TPE)
Aram VARDANYAN (UZB)

82kg
Likui SHI (CHN)
RAHUL (IND)
Mohammad NAGHOUSI (IRI)
Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN)
Omar SATAYEV (KAZ)
Bekzat ORUNKUL UULU (KGZ)
Boseong KANG (KOR)
Shahin BADAGHIMOFRAD (QAT)
Habibjon ZUHUROV (TJK)
Toyly ORAZOV (TKM)
Mukhammadkodir RASULOV (UZB)

87kg
Jiaxin HUANG (CHN)
Sunil KUMAR (IND)
Yasin YAZDI (IRI)
Soh SAKABE (JPN)
Adilkhan ALBAIULY (KAZ)
Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ)
Sanghyeok PARK (KOR)
Sukhrob ABDULKHAEV (TJK)
Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)

97kg
Youfang ZHANG (CHN)
NITESH (IND)
Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI)
Yuri NAKAZATO (JPN)
Ilyas GUCHIGOV (KAZ)
Melis AITBEKOV (KGZ)
Jewoo PARK (KOR)
Ibrahim FALLATAH (KSA)
Eduard BABENOSHEV (TJK)
Amanberdi AGAMAMMEDOV (TKM)
Bekhruz BARNOEV (UZB)

130kg
Wenhao JIANG (CHN)
PREM (IND)
Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI)
Ali AL SHARUEE (IRQ)
Almutasem KASASBAH (JOR)
Yuta NARA (JPN)
Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ)
Erlan MANATBEKOV (KGZ)
Minseok KIM (KOR)
Temurbek NASIMOV (UZB)