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Live Blog: Poland Open Ranking Series, Day Three

Thursday, June 10, 2021 - 08:17 By Eric Olanowski

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Poland Open enters day three with women's wrestling in action in Warsaw on Thursday. Stars like Mariya STADNIK (AZE), Erica Wiebe (CAN), Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) and many more will take the mat. (Day 2 Recap)

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

Final Matches: (As they come in):
50kg - Oksana LIVACH (UKR) vs. Mariya STADNIK (AZE)
55kg -  Sumiya ERDENECHIMEG (MGL) vs. Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS) 
62kg - Ana Paula GODINEZ GONZALEZ (CAN) vs. Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) 
65kg - Henna Katarina JOHANSSON (SWE) vs. Anastasiia LAVRENCHUK (UKR) 
76kg - Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER) vs. Epp MAEE (EST) 

13:16: That does it for the morning session. We'll see you back here at 18:00 for Thursday's women's wrestling medal matches. 

12:36: Very limited action in that semifinal, but Rotter Focken holds on to criteria and reaches the finals with a 1-1 win over Olympic champ Wiebe. She'll take on the winner of Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) and Epp MAEE (EST).

12:22: I'm not sure how today flew by so fast, but we're already to the Day Three semifinals. We'll wrap up these final matches on each mat and roll right into today's semifinals. 

12:18: If there's such thing as too many world champions wrestling in one day, today is that day! One world champion walks off Mat A and another one walks on! Mat A welcomes Bulgaria's Taybe Yusein! 

12:15: What a show Tynybekova and Ovcharova are putting on! There are 18 points on the board already and we still have two minutes left to go!

12:05: World champion Aisuulu Tynybekova is coming up on Mat A. She's wrestling '19 world silver medalist Liubov OVCHAROVA (RUS).

12:04: Stadnik is on fire today. She's won both matches by technical superiority. 

12:03: Stadnik is back up again. She's wrestling Golston on Mat A. Stadnik scored two early takedowns and leads 4-0 after the opening 45 seconds.

11:51: Mae does it again! This time, she scored a takedown and won the match, 3-1.

11:46: Mae beat Olympic champion Vorobieva to win European gold a few months ago. The two are wrestling again on Mat C right now!

11:41: Olympic champion Erica Wiebe built a substantial lead over on Mat C. It looks like she's going to close things out with a 7-0 win over Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ). Weibe will wrestle the winner of Bout 119 (Mat A) between Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA) and Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER) 

11:31: Olympic bronze medalist and four-time world medalist -- including '13 world champion -- Maria SASTIN (HUN) are squaring off on Mat B. Amri leads 1-0 after the first period. 

11:27: Tynybekova Watch: She'll be up in seven matches on Mat A.

11:24: Quick suggestion: do not take down Stanik. Vuc took her down and led, 2-0. Stadnik proceeded to score 12 points in 25 seconds and moved into the quarterfinals where she'll wrestle the winner of Erin Simone GOLSTON (USA) and Weronika SIKORA (POL).

11:19: We have a rematch of the '19 world finals between Mariya STADNIK (AZE) and Emilia Alina VUC (ROU) going on on Mat A. 

11:15: For a second time this season, Olympic champion Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) defeats Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR). She also beat her in the finals of the European Olympic Qualifier. Today, the final score was 4-1 in favor of the Russian.

11:14: World bronze medalist Epp MAE (EST) is making her tournament debut on Mat A. This is her first competition since back since becoming Estonia's first woman to win gold at the European Championships. She's wrestling Aysegul OZBEGE (TUR). 

11:11: Good morning, wrestling fans! After two days of exciting days of wrestling, freestyle is in the rearview mirror.  Women's wrestling takes center stage on  Day Three in Poland.

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#WrestleWarsaw Rivalry-to-Watch: Geno vs. Taha

Friday, April 16, 2021 - 12:22 By Eric Olanowski

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WARSAW, Poland (April 15) --- When it comes to heavyweight wrestling rivalries, few capture the attention of fans more than “Taha vs. Geno” the multiyear joust between future Hall of Famers Taha AKGUL (TUR) and Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO).

Combined, their trophy cases include an Olympic gold medal, Olympic bronze, five world titles and eight European golds. The pair of dominant legends have claimed every world or Olympic title since the ’14 World Championships and every continental gold medal since the ’12 European Championships.

The career-long rivals have met again and again in their quest for continental supremacy – a ballad of wills that’s likely to be repeated at this week's European Championships (April 19-25).

“It doesn’t matter what round we meet in the tournament; our matches are always close. He’s definitely my hardest opponent,” said Akgul, the Rio Olympic champion.

Since their first meeting at the ’11 Yasar Dogu, they knew the talents the other possessed. Akgul said, “I knew right away that he’s a strong opponent. We have a very similar physique and wrestling style.” Geno added, “He’s a strong sportsman. In every aspect, whether it’s a physical, technical or tactical – he’s a well-rounded wrestler.”

Akgul won that initial meeting at the ’11 Yasar Dogu and held the upper hand in the rivalry until the ’17 World Championships. Prior to that epic Paris meeting, Akgul had a stronghold on the weight class. He won five European gold medals and summited the 125kg podium at the ’14 and ’15 World Championships before grabbing Olympic gold in Rio.

The momentum shifted in the rivalry on the final night of the 2017 World Championships when Geno overtook Akgul in the 125kg finals. Petriashvili trailed 4-0 with two minutes left but stormed back to upset Akgul in what many fans consider one of the sport's greatest heavyweight matches.

Since that momentum-shifting win in Paris, the 27-year-old Georgian added a pair of world golds to his resume, but it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Geno momentarily surrendered supremacy after falling to Akgul, 7-0, in the gold-medal match at the ’19 European Championships. Five months later, in their latest meeting, Petriashvili stopped Taha from winning his third world title and claimed his third consecutive 125kg world crown.

Freestyle wrestling at the European Championships begins on Monday (April 19), but 125kg action starts on Tuesday, with the finals taking place on Wednesday night. Depending on how the brackets play out, this means we could see the Geno and Taha rivalry renewed as early as Tuesday morning.