#WrestleOslo

Live Blog: Senior World Championships Day 4 - WW 50kg, 53kg, 65kg, 76kg

By Vinay Siwach

All the talk will be about women's wrestling Tuesday as 50kg, 53kg, 65kg and 76kg wrestler take the mat at the senior World Championships here in Oslo, Norway. Tokyo Olympians, age-group world champion, future stars will try their fate at the Jordan Amfi arena. If you missed the action on Monday, here's the wrap -- Burroughs wins 5th world title

MATCH ORDER | WATCH LIVE | ALL PHOTOS

1305: Results of WW 53kg quarterfinals

Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL) df Emma MALMGREN (SWE), via fall
Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) df Luisa VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU), 10-0
Khrystyna BEREZA (UKR) df Zeynep YETGIL (TUR), 6-3
Iulia LEORDA (MDA) df Samantha STEWART (CAN), 10-4

1255: Results of WW 76kg quarterfinals

Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) df Marina SUROVTSEVA (RWF), 10-0
Samar HAMZA (EGY) df Yasuha MATSUYUKI (JPN), 4-2
Epp MAEE (EST) df Zagardulam NAIGALSUREN (MGL), 12-2
Adeline GRAY (USA) df KIRAN (IND), via fall

1240: Results of WW 65kg quarterfinals

Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL) df Asli DEMIR (TUR), 7-2
Irina RINGACI (MDA) df Malin MATTSSON (SWE), 6-2
Forrest MOLINARI (USA) df Koumba LARROQUE (FRA), 3-3
Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) df Aina TEMIRTASSOVA (KAZ), 6-2

1230: Results of WW 50kg quarterfinals

Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (RWF) df Hanny KUMARI (IND), 10-0
Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN) df Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL), via fall
Emilia VUC (ROU) df Madison PARKS (CAN), 14-3
Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) df Lisa ERSEL (GER), 10-0

1220: We are ready for the quarterfinals at WW 50kg. That will be followed by 65kg, 76kg and then 53kg

1155: Five-time world champion Adeline GRAY (USA) gets going with a fall on Mat D. In the freestyle, Iran has dropped out of the team title race after Erfan ELAHI (IRI) lost the repechage bout at 70kg

1141: Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) with a takedown in the final second to beat Tetiana RIZKHO (UKR) 4-3 and advance to the quarterfinals.

1140: Rio Olympics silver medalist Maryia MAMASHUK (BLR) is up against Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) on Mat B at 65kg. Meanwhile, Larroque has cut the lead to 3-2 with a takedown

1130: Huge match on Mat C. Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) is up against Tetiana RIZKHO (UKR). On Mat A, Forrest MOLINARI (USA) defeats Dinara KUDAEVA SALIKHOVA (RWF) 10-0 at 65kg. Rizkho is leading Larroque 3-0

1115: Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist doesn't take time to get her first win. A takedown and lace from her to get a 10-0 win over Bohdana KOKOZEI YASHCHUK (UKR)

1100: In a battle of Tokyo Olympians, Elis MONOLOVA (AZE) and Koumba LARROQUE (FRA), the latter wins a snooze-fest 1-1 after claiming the criteria with the latest point

1030: Nothing could have been a better start to a women's wrestling day than a Japanese winning a bout in just 25-second technical superiority. Former cadet world champion Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN) completes a 10-0 win over Gabija DILYTE (LTU). 

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open Flashback: Iran, U.S. opened season with success

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (January 18) -- United World Wrestling's 2026 season will kick off with the Ranking Series in Zagreb February 4. The recent memories of Zagreb may be the September World Championships but the 2025 season also kicked off with the Ranking Series in the Croatian capital.

Iran and the United States had strong performances in the first of the four stops of the Ranking Series, a theme which continued throughout the 2025 season as the U.S. dominated Freestyle while Iran dominated Greco-Roman.

Women's Wrestling participants were less in numbers but still saw U.S. and UWW wrestlers share gold medals.

Here's a trip down memory lane of the 2025 Zagreb Open Ranking Series before the 2026 season kicks off:

WATCH ZAGREB OPEN 2025 TOP BOUTS HERE

Freestyle

A young Iranian team snapped four gold medals in Zagreb with Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) winning gold at 61kg, Abbas EBRAHIM (IRI) winning at 65kg, Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) became champion at 92kg and Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) winning the 125kg gold.

For the U.S., Spencer LEE (USA) kicked off the season with 57kg with gold, Zahid VALENCIA (USA) won at 86kg and Kyle SNYDER (USA) at 97kg. Both Valencia and Snyder went on to win gold at the World Championships later in the season.

Azerbaijan, Slovakia and France won one gold each, with Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) winning at 70kg for Azerbaijan, Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) winning gold at 74kg, and Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) winning at 79kg for France.

Iran dominance began when Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) won gold at 61kg, beating the likes of Nuraddin NUVROZOV (AZE), Nashon GARRETT (USA), Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO) and Ebrahim KHARI (IRI). Javan would later win a silver medal at the World Championships. At 65kg, Ebrahim held his own in a thrilling final against Joseph MCKENNA (USA) to grab the second gold for Iran.

Young superstars Firouzpour and Masoumi put up a show to win gold medals at 92kg and 125kg respectively.

Lee was making a returning to competition six months after winning the silver medal at the Paris Olympics. He won the Zagreb Open gold with rather ease. For the U.S., Valencia saw himself win gold at 86kg outscoring his opponents 35-4 in four bouts. In the final, Valencia defeated world bronze medalist Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE), 8-0.

Snyder opened his season with a 33-1 scoring run in three bouts at 97kg in Zagreb. In the final, he easily defeated Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI).

Heybatov gave early warnings to the 70kg field by winning gold in Zagreb, a run which included wins over Austin GOMEZ (MEX), two back-to-back wins over Iranian wrestlers including a 12-1 one again Sina KHALILI (IRI) in the final. The two would wrestle again towards the end of the year at the U23 World Championships. Heybatov won that final with a 9-4 score.

Two veterans, Salkazanov and Khadjiev, were at their best in the opening Ranking Series tournament. Salkazanov blanked everyone, including winning 4-0 against David CARR (USA) in the final, to win 74kg gold.

Khadjiev had a tougher bat but managed to win the 79kg gold with a 5-3 win over Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI) in the final. The French wrestler would later win silver at the European Championships.