#BeachWrestling

Marchenko wins gold for Ukraine; Romania best at U20 Worlds

Saturday, September 3, 2022 - 12:47 By Vinay Siwach

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CONSTANTA, Romania (September 2) -- When Romania hosted its national championships for beach wrestling, more than 800 wrestlers registered across age groups. Perhaps Romania is by far the most active country in the sport.

So it was no surprise when seven of the eight finalists at the U20 World Championships at the Mamaia beach in Constanta, Romania were from the host country.

Winning three out of the four gold medals, Romania ended the championships as the best team in the women's category, as it did at the U17 edition a day before.

The only non-Romanian wrestler who managed to win the gold on Friday was Sofiia MARCHENKO (UKR), winning the 60kg title after beating Viorica ADAM (ROU) in the final.

While Adam, a silver medalist from the U17 World Championships last year, was the favorite, Marchenko dug deep to upset the local in the final minute of the bout.

Surprised by the constant attacks from Adam, Marchenko took time to adjust to Adam's style. On a few occasions, Adam almost got the fall but Marchenko managed to defend the attempted throws.

After two minutes of no action, Adam got the first point but Marchenko answered with a takedown four seconds later. But since she had a caution against her, Adams led 1-1 on criteria.

But Marchenko remained calm and scored a stepout with just 18 seconds remaining to win the gold medal.

"The final match was tough," Marchenko said. "The girl [Adam] was really active. I was risking with the hip-toss, but I did everything right and won."

Marchenko finished ninth at the U17 Worlds where Adams won the silver but has been training for the championships and it paid off.

"I practice freestyle wrestling, but when it’s getting warmer in summer I practice beach wrestling," she said.

The 18-year-old showed her class in the semifinal as well when she defeated Ana PUIU (ROU) 3-2 in the semifinal. She took a 1-0 lead with a snap down in the first four seconds but Puiu countered with an ankle pick. As the bout neared its end, Puiu took the lead when Marchenko's knee touched the sand.

With 37 seconds remaining, Puiu was happy defending her lead but Marchenko scored via a strong snap. She ended the bout with another snap down.

But Romania's three gold medalists came at 50kg, 70kg, and +70kg.

'21 U20 world bronze medalist Ana PIRVU (ROU) upgraded her medal to gold this year as she won her four bouts at 50kg to remain undefeated.

She began with a 1-0 win over Fanny VIGOUROUX (FRA) in Round 2 before beating Andreea BARAGA (ROU) 3-1 in Round 3, Nicoleta BAJAN (ROU) 3-0 in Round 4 and  Cristina ANDUJAR (ESP) 3-0 in Round 5.

At 70kg, Teodora SIRBU (ROU) defeated compatriot Paula ROTARU (ROU) 3-1 in the final to claim the gold medal. Sirbu had missed out on a medal last year but dominated the field on Friday to win her first world title in beach wrestling.

Drosoula TZIANAKOPOULOU (GRE) won the bronze medal after she beat Georgiana ANDRIES (ROU) 3-0. She won her second bronze in two days as she was a medalist at the U17 Worlds as well.

In the +70kg weight class, Elena MARGAS (ROU) pulled off a thrilling 2-2 win over Andreea SCARLATESCU (ROU) to win the gold medal.

Both wrestlers were tied 0-0 for the first two minutes before the referee penalized Margas for passivity. Scarlatsecu then scored a stepout to lead 2-0.

But Margas managed to get a point with five seconds remaining. She then got another throw in the final second to win 2-2.

Amalia RATUNZEANU (ROU) defeated Maren ANDERSON (USA) 3-0 in the bronze medal bout to ensure a sweep of the podium for Romania.

Georgian TRIPON (ROU)Georgian TRIPON (ROU), dark, won the +90kg gold medal. (Photo: FRL)

3 gold for Romania men

Like the women's category, Romania dominated the show in men's as well, winning three out of the four gold medals on offer.

At 70kg, Daniel SANDU (ROU) put the Round 1 loss against Alin CIORICI (MDA) behind him to reach the semifinals in which he defeated Rubail IBRAHIMLI (AZE) 3-2 in a close decision. Ibrahmili got behind Sandu and almost forced the Romanian's knee to touch the sand but his own knee touched first which gave Sandu the win.

In the final, he defeated Ion MARCU (MDA) 3-1 to be crowned champion, an improvement from his bronze medal at the U17 Worlds last year.

The final was expected to be a rematch between Sandu and Ciorici but in the semifinal, the Moldovan was tied 0-0 with Marcu. In such a case, the wrestler with lower weight wins. But both Marcu and Ciorici had the exact weight of 69.85kg.

As luck would have it, Marcu's draw number was lower than Ciorici which gave him the win over his teammate.

Ibrahimli bounced back in the bronze medal bout and defeated Ciorici 3-0 for the win.

At 80kg, Thor MICHAELSON (USA) looked in some form as he dominated his way to reach the semifinals against Ion MARCU (MDA). He was trailing 2-0 when he scored a three-point move to win and reach the final against Denis CHIRICA (ROU).

He once again came from behind with a lead 2-2 on criteria against Chirica but as he tried defending his lead with 10 seconds left, Chirica used a snap down in which Michaelson's knee touched the sand the Romanian won 3-2.

Marcu returned to beat Luca FINIZIO (ITA) 3-0 and win the bronze medal.

The Nordic bracket was followed at 90kg and Farid JABBAROV (AZE) emerged as the unbeaten wrestler after Round 5. 

He began with a win against Razvan PAVALASC (ROU), followed by Alexandru OLTEAN (ROU) and David MITRAN (ROU). In Round 5, he defeated Konstantinos TSAKNAKIS (GRE) to claim the gold medal.

Oltean with three wins was the silver medalist while Pavalasc took home the bronze with two wins.

Azerbaijan could have won a second gold medal but Georgian TRIPON (ROU) defeated Zafar ALIYEV (AZE) in the +90kg final to deny it.

In a rematch of the Round 3 bout which Tripon won, 3-2, Aliyev tried to avenge that loss but Tripon was well prepared for the final which he won 2-1.

The bronze medal was won by Rafail GKIRNIS (GRE) who defeated Eduard POPESCU (ROU) 2-0.

#JapanWrestling

Two-time Olympic champ Risako Kinjo brings curtain down on stellar career

Sunday, October 12, 2025 - 23:14 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO, Japan (October 12) -- Risako KINJO (JPN), who won two Olympic gold medals under her maiden name of Kawai before capturing a fourth world title last year after giving birth, officially announced her retirement over the weekend.

"I felt that I had experienced everything that was good about being a wrestler," the 31-year-old Kinjo told the Japanese media Sunday on bringing down the curtain on one of wrestling's most sterling careers. "I felt fulfilled and happy with a life in which wrestling was my passion."

Kinjo also revealed that she is pregnant with her second child as she spoke to the media at the Japan Women's Open in Akitsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, where she was coaching younger sister Yukako TSUNEMURA (JPN), who was returning to the mat for the first time since becoming a mother herself.

Kinjo first announced her retirement on her Instagram account on Saturday night, stating that in the 24 years since she started wrestling at age 7, "I have had good experiences and bad, highs and lows. But to win four world championships and two consecutive Olympics was all due to the support and encouragement of many people. I thank them all."

Kinjo first struck Olympic gold at 63kg at Rio in 2016, then won out in a duel that captivated the wrestling world with fellow Rio and four-time Olympic champion Kaori ICHO (JPN) for the 57kg spot at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where she took home a second gold.

Of the clash of the titans with Icho, Kawai remarked, "I had no more difficult period than that. I'm glad I was able to experience it."

In the Tokyo semifinals, Kinjo had to face yet another Rio gold medalist in Helen MAROULIS (USA), who had moved up from 53kg. Kinjo came away with a 2-1 win, then defeated Iryna KURACHKINA (UWW) 5-0 for the gold.

With Yukako also winning the 62kg gold, it elevated the Kawai sisters to celebrity status in the host country. The two got their start in the sport at the kids' club run by their mother. Both of their parents were national-level wrestlers.

Soon after Tokyo, Risako married former wrestler Kiryu KINJO, and in May 2022, gave birth to a baby girl. Instead of settling down to a domestic life, motherhood lit a fresh flame to continue the sport.

"I had originally planned to win the Tokyo Olympics and then retire gracefully," Kinjo said. "I even told people around me that I would quit after the Tokyo Olympics. But when I got married and got pregnant, I felt that my body wasn't only my own, and I wanted to continue wrestling.

"While I was pregnant, I watched Yukako's matches and thought to myself, 'If it were me, I would do it like this,' so after my child was born, I decided to try it again."

Her bid to win a third straight Olympic gold in Paris, however, was derailed by the reigning world 57kg champion Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN), who went on to triumph in the French capital.

Rebuffing speculation that the loss would mark her swan song, she showed her passion for the sport by sticking around. With the incentive of wanting to have her daughter see her compete and make some history, she had no qualms about moving into the non-Olympic weight of 59kg.

She suffered a setback of sorts at the Asian Championships in April 2024, when she lost to Qi ZHANG (CHN) in the semifinals and had to settle for a bronze medal.

But she righted the ship at the Non-Olympic Weight World Championships in October that year in Tirana, Albania, where she cruised into the 59kg final and defeated Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) 4-2.

"No one from Japan had ever achieved becoming a 'world No. 1 as a mama', and it would be ideal if I could do it," Kinjo recalled thinking. "When I accomplished it at the World Championships last October, as soon as it was over I thought there is nothing else that I want."

That victory added to the three consecutive senior world golds that she won from 2017 to 2019. She also has a silver from 2015, and her laurels include a world cadet (U17) gold and two world junior (U20) titles, and she was a four-time Asian champion.

Kinjo was a star at Shigakkan University during its golden era as the elite powerhouse of women's wrestling in Japan, also producing such greats as Icho, Saori YOSHIDA (JPN), Eri TOSAKA (JPN), Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN) and Sara DOSHO (JPN).

Looking ahead, she says her focus will be on raising her new baby while staying involved in the sport.

"Right now I am eight months pregnant, and first and foremost I will put my full efforts into proper childcare. And at the same time, I will be Yukako's coach and always maintain a link to wrestling," she said.

At the Japan Women's Open, a second-tier event that offers qualifying spots at the All-Japan Championships, Yukako showed she still has some rust to be knocked off. Entered at 59kg, she won her first two matches before falling to high schooler Miuna KIMURA (JPN) 4-1 in the semifinals.

The tournament also saw the return of Sakurai for her first competition since winning the gold in Paris. She needed three wins to take the 57kg title, defeating collegian Himeka HASEGAWA (JPN) 5-0 in the final.