#UWWAwards

Kougioumtsidis, Antim, Jafarov named 2023 Rising Stars

Wednesday, December 13, 2023 - 09:24 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 13) -- Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE), ANTIM (UWW) and Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) have been named as UWW's Rising Stars of the Year for their phenomenal performances in 2023.

Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) has shown his mettle in the past but the 2023 World Championships made him the one for the future. He began the year with gold at the U23 Europeans, silver at the senior Europeans and his run in Belgrade made him the Rising Star in Freestyle.

At the Olympic weight of 74kg, he opened the World Championships by beating Olympic silver medallist Magomedkhabib KADIMAGOMEDOV (AIN), stunned world silver medallist Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) and almost checked Kyle DAKE (USA) in the semifinals. He then returned to earn a Paris Olympic quota by beating Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE).

 

In women's wrestling, ANTIM (UWW) was awarded the Rising Star for her performances in 2023. She won a silver medal in her senior Asian Championships debut, defended her U20 world title and then won a bronze medal at the World Championships at 53kg. It was her first senior-level World Championships and an unfazed Antim handed defeats to world champion Dom PARRISH (USA), Roksana ZASINA (POL) and European champion Jonna MALMGREN (SWE). She came in touching distance of entering the final but was stunned in the final second of the semifinal by Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA.

The medal in Belgrade made the 19-year-old the youngest Indian to win a medal at the World Championships. Soon after, Antim traveled to Hangzhou, China for the Asian Games and won a bronze medal at 53kg.

Teenage phenom Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) Hasrat Jafarov another step towards stardom as he added a World Championships silver medal to his resume as he reached the 67kg Greco-Roman final. Not only that, Jafarov won his first European title, gold at the Ranking Series and is now the biggest threat for gold for the Paris Olympics. In Belgrade, he defeated Kristizan VANCZA (HUN), Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) and Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) before settling for silver.

Jafarov already has world titles at the U20 and U23 level and his remarkable rise at just 20 years of age wins him the Rising Star award in Greco-Roman.

Obituary

U.S. Greco-Roman star Alan Vera passes away

Wednesday, September 25, 2024 - 07:21 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (September 24) -- United States Greco-Roman wrestler and Pan-Am champion Alan VERA (USA) passed away Monday. Vera suffered a sudden cardiac arrest earlier this year and had been hospitalized since then in recovery from his serious health challenges.

Vera was born in Cuba and won a bronze medal at the 2015 Pan American Games and a gold medal at the 2016 Pan American Championships, while competing for Cuba. He immigrated to the United States and lived in Florida for a number of years. He continued to train and compete in Greco-Roman and various international events for a few years.

Vera qualified the U.S. for the Paris Olympics in 97kg at the 2024 Pan-American Olympic Qualification Tournament in Acapulco, Mexico.

Very saddened to hear about Alan Vera’s passing. In my limited time around him he was always willing to help on the mat, and offer a laugh at a terrible joke I made

— Kyle Dake (@kyledake444) September 24, 2024
 

Domestically, Vera claimed his first U.S. national title in 2020, and won four national titles during his career.

Vera was married to Elena PIROZKHOVA (USA), a two-time Olympian and former world champion.

United World Wrestling mourns the death of Vera and stands with the Vera family.