#WrestleCasablanca

Nigeria perfect in Women's Wrestling; Egypt wins Freestyle title

Monday, May 5, 2025 - 09:08 By Vinay Siwach

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CASABLANCA, Morocco (May 4) -- Nigeria entered nine wrestlers in Women's Wrestling at the 2025 African Championships and all nine are going back home with gold medals.

The country emerged as the top nation in Women's Wrestling and by some distance. It had had 225 points, 109 points more than second-placed Algeria which won one gold -- at 57kg, a weight class that did not feature a Nigerian wrestler. Egypt finished third with 115 points. Hosts Morocco finished a close fourth with 113 points.

After Nigeria won four gold medals on Saturday through Christianah OGUNSANYA (NGR) at 53kg, Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR) at 62kg, Hannah RUEBEN (NGR) at 68kg and Damola OJO (NGR) at 76kg, it added five more on Sunday.

Mercy GENESIS (NGR) defended her 50kg gold medal with a clean 11-0 win over Cheima CHEBILA (ALG) in the final. That was her fourth victory via technical superiority.

Soon after, defending champion Adijat IDRIS (NGR) dominated Achouak TEKOUK (ALG) in the 55kg final, winning the gold 11-1, her fifth technical superiority win similar to Genesis.

Jumoke ADEKOYE (NGR), who won gold medal at 55kg in 2022 and 2023, returned after two years and showed no signs of rust due to the break. She also won five bouts, three via fall and two via superiority. In the final, she defeated Rahma BEDIWY (EGY) via fall after building a 10-0 win.

Ebipatei MUGHENBOFA (NGR) too defended her 65kg gold medal but needed some effort as Cara DU PLESSIS (RSA) posed a threat in the final. But Mughenbofa secured a fall over Du Plessis, denying the South African a historic gold.

South Africa was searching for its first Women's Wrestling gold at the African Championships since 2000 and Du Plessis fell short. However, she became the first South African wrestler to reach the final since 2015.

In a round-robin bracket, Ebi BIOGOS (NGR) clinched the 72kg gold medal to maintain a perfect record for Nigeria which had nine wrestlers participating in the tournament and all nine won gold medals.

Omar MOURAD (EGY)Omar MOURAD (EGY) won the 74kg gold medal at the African Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Egypt maintain Freestyle dominance

After clinching the Greco-Roman team title, Egypt won the Freestyle team title as well. It scored 182 points to finish at the top followed by Morocco with 110 points and Algeria was third with 105 points.

Egypt won four gold medals, two silvers and two bronzes. Two wrestlers did not win any medals but added 12 points to the total to help the country to the title.

The young pair of Omar MOURAD (EGY) and Aabdelrahman SHEYATAN (EGY) won gold medals at 74kg and 97kg respectively. Hassan ELSAYED (EGY) upgraded his bronze to gold at 61kg while Ahmed MAHMOUD (EGY) returned to the African Championships after two years to win the 86kg gold medal.

Cedric ABOSSOLO (CMR)Cedric ABOSSOLO (CMR) celebrates after winning the 92kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

But the story of the tournament was Cedric ABOSSOLO (CMR), who won the 92kg gold medal after a stunning performance with four wins, all without giving up a point. The gold medal was Cameroon's first in Freestyle at the African Championships since 1998.

Abossolo, who had not won a medal at the African Championships in his past three attempts, defeated Ebikeme NEWLIFE (NGR) via fall in the final after building a 9-0 lead.

The 25-year-old Abossolo scored  takedown and turn while Newlife was on activity clock to lead 5-0. He hit an arm throw for four points and then held Newlife on the mat for a fall with 2 minutes remaining on the clock.

In other weight classes, Oussama ASSAD (MAR) gave hosts Morocco the lone gold medal in Freestyle at 125kg. His win ended Egypt's 11-year golden streak at the African Championships as the last time a non-Egyptian wrestler won gold at 125kg was in 2014 when Slim TRABELSI (TUN) won gold.

Paris Olympian Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS) completed a hat-trick of gold medals at 57kg after he sneaked through a thrilling 10-8 win over Salah KATEB (ALG) in the final. 

Kateb opened the scoring with a arm-throw for four points but Iuna Fafe recovered to block Kateb for a pin which he survived and scored a reversal for a 5-2 lead. A point was awarded to Kateb as Iuna Fafe headbutted, a reaction to open hand hitting from Kateb. A second into the restart, Kateb was docked a point for open hands.

Iuna Fafe got going soon after and scored two step outs to reduce Kateb's lead to 6-5 with 1:25 remaining on the clock. But Kateb made it 10-5 as he countered a forward pressure from Iuna Fafe with a underhook sidethrow for four points.

Iuna Fafe challenged the four-point call and on review it was scored only two points as his knees were still on the mat when he got thrown. He had 31 seconds to recover from 8-5 to win the final.

A moment of brilliance from Iuna Fafe with 20 seconds on the clock saw him score a takedown and then a turn using figure 4 to win 10-8. He broke out into a dance celebration making his hands as tiger claws, symbolizing a hunt on the mat.

Algeria did win a gold medal through Abdelkader IKKAL (ALG) who blanked Mohammed BOUAZOUNI (MAR), 10-0, in the 79kg final.

At 65kg, Stephen IZOLO (NGR) defeated Farouk JELASSI (TUN), 5-1, to give Nigeria a gold medal, the country's first in Freestyle at African Championships in five years.

The 70kg gold medal went to Tunisia after Khairiddine BEN TLILI (TUN) defeated Mohamed AHMED (EGY), 10-0, in the final, his third technical superiority win in three bouts.

Photo

RESULTS

Women's Wrestling

50kg
GOLD: Mercy GENESIS (NGR) df. Cheima CHEBILA (ALG), 11-0

BRONZE: Malak AHMED (EGY) df. Chloe BREWIS (RSA), via inj. def.

55kg
GOLD: Adijat IDRIS (NGR) df. Achouak TEKOUK (ALG), 11-1

BRONZE: Lobna ICHAOUI (TUN) df. Sara ETTAKI (MAR), 3-1

59kg
GOLD: Jumoke ADEKOYE (NGR) df. Rahma BEDIWY (EGY), via fall (10-0)

BRONZE: Chahd JELJELI (TUN) df. Rayane HOUFAF (ALG), via fall (10-0)

65kg
GOLD: Ebipatei MUGHENBOFA (NGR) df. Cara DU PLESSIS (RSA), via fall (8-2)

BRONZE: Mouda HAMDOUN (EGY) df. Kawiyatou ISSIFOU (BEN), 12-2
BRONZE: Lec ANDE (CAF) df. Vihanshy KANAPETRADU (MRI), 8-2

72kg
GOLD: Ebi BIOGOS (NGR)
SILVER: Yasmine BOUREGBA (ALG)
BRONZE: Rosie TABORA (COD)

Freestyle

57kg
GOLD: Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS) df. Salah KATEB (ALG), 10-8

BRONZE: Roland TAMBI NFORSONG (CMR) df. Lenerd VAN SCHALKWYK (RSA), 7-2
BRONZE: Omar FAYE (SEN) df. Ben TARIK (MAR), 10-7

61kg
GOLD: Hassan ELSAYED (EGY) df. Didier DIATTA (SEN), 8-6

BRONZE: Radouane SISSAOUI (ALG) df. Rabby KILANDI (COD), 9-8
BRONZE: Khalil BARKOUTI (TUN) df. Ndjidda BOUBA (CMR), via fall (10-0)

65kg
GOLD: Stephen IZOLO (NGR) df. Farouk JELASSI (TUN), 5-1

BRONZE: Wotna NDOC (GBS) df. Godefroid KALUBI (COD), 13-1
BRONZE: Said ELGAHSH (EGY) df. Rida DJEFFAL (ALG), 15-4

70kg
GOLD: Khairiddine BEN TLILI (TUN) df. Mohamed AHMED (EGY), 10-0

BRONZE: Gabriel MUANDA (COD) df. Anthony WESLEY (CPV), via fall (13-4)
BRONZE: Tope ADEBAYO (NGR) df. Otmane EL BAHJA (MAR), 6-1

74kg
GOLD: Omar MOURAD (EGY) df. Saad BOUGUERRA (ALG), 10-0

BRONZE: Ebierelayefa ANDREW (NGR) df. Jesse VAN BAALEN (RSA), 11-0
BRONZE: Caetano ANTONIO SA (GBS) df. Joao BARBOSA (CPV), 10-4

79kg
GOLD: Abdelkader IKKAL (ALG) df. Mohammed BOUAZOUNI (MAR), 10-0

BRONZE: Mbaye DIOP (SEN) df. Mathayo MAHABILA (KEN), 5-2
BRONZE: Andy MUKENDI (COD) df. Alfred DANIEL (SLE), 10-0

86kg
GOLD: Ahmed MAHMOUD (EGY) df. Siny SEMBENE (SEN), via fall (2-1)

BRONZE: Matteo MONTEIRO (CPV) df. Iliassou BONI (BEN), 12-1
BRONZE: Houssem OUCIF (ALG) df. Walid CHEIKH LAHLOU (MAR), 10-0

92kg
GOLD: Cedric ABOSSOLO (CMR) df. Ebikeme NEWLIFE (NGR), via fall (9-0)

BRONZE: Mohamed AHMED (EGY) df. Mamadou DIOUF (SEN), 8-4

97kg
GOLD: Aabdelrahman SHEYATAN (EGY) df. Gino INTCHALA (GBS), 14-3

BRONZE: Barthelemy TSHOSHA (COD) df. Ayoub NASSR ELLAH (MAR), 11-1

125kg
GOLD: Oussama ASSAD (MAR)
SILVER: Youssef ABOUDAWABA (EGY)
BRONZE: Issah FUSEINI (GHA)

#WrestleTirana

Vynnyk Wins First Career Gold Amid Ukraine Gold Rush

Friday, April 24, 2026 - 10:05 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (April 23) -- Eight years. 23 competitions. Three silver medals. Nine bronze medals. 11 medalless tournaments.

Mariia VYNNYK (UKR) spent all these years watching others win the gold medals at various tournaments. She was close to winning a few herself but never could

She reached her first final in 2022 at the Ranking Series in Rome, then at the U23 European Championships in 2024. She fell short both times. Then in 2025, she reached the final of the World Championships in Zagreb before dropping the final 17-8 against Sakura ONISHI (JPN).

 

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But Vynnyk ended her wait for a gold medal in Tirana on Thursday by winning her career's first-ever gold medal at the European Championships.

"It’s actually been a very tough road to this victory," Vynnyk said. "I’ve been training since I was eight and I’ve always pictured myself on the podium with a gold medal. Today that dream came true. I’m absolutely delighted. I was certain I’d win. And it happened."

Vynnyk was one of the three Ukraine wrestlers who won gold medals in Tirana. Defending champion Oksana LIVACH (UKR) at 50kg and Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) at 76kg successfully managed to retain their titles.

Andreea Beatrice ANA (ROU) denied Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) and Ukraine a fourth gold medal after beating her 10-0 in the 55kg final and winning her fourth gold European gold medal.

At 68kg, Nesrin BAS (TUR) won gold after defending champion Alina SHAUCHUK (UWW) withdrew due to an injury, giving Bas her second European title.

Mariia VYNNYK (UKR)Mariia VYNNYK (UKR) at the medal ceremony for 59kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Vynnyk won two matches on Wednesday to reach the final in which she faced veteran Jowita WRZESIEN (POL). Both wrestlers began on a slow note and Wrzesien was put on the activity clock first. Vynnyk hit a low single as soon as the clock start and scored a takedown. A powerful gut-wrench added two more points to score before the activity clock finished and Vynnyk led 5-0.

The next takedown came in the second period when Wrzesein hit a half-hearted attack and Vynnyk easily brought her down to the mat for two points and extend her lead to 7-0. Wrzesien managed to get a takedown to cut the lead to 7-2 and later Vynnyk was cautioned one point for blocking action.

Wrzesien tried a desperate throw but Vynnyk fell on top of her, earning herself two points. But Poland challenged the call and won it. The score was reset to 7-3 with four seconds remaining. Wrzesien got a point for Vynnyk's fleeing but failed to score any takedown in the final seconds. Poland challenged again but lost it this time, giving Vynnyk a 8-4 win and finally, a golden celebration for the first time in eight years.

"The most important thing, in my opinion, is mental preparation," she said about what changes she made to finally win the gold medal. "I’m sure it plays the most crucial role in this."

Mariia VYNNYK (UKR)Mariia VYNNYK (UKR) hits an attack on Jowita WRZESIEN (POL) during the 59kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Born in Chernivtsi, a city in south-west Ukraine close to the Romanian border, Vynnyk was introduced to wrestling, along with her other siblings, by her mother. While her brothers stopped wrestling, the Vynnyk sisters, Mariia and Solomiia, continued.

"My two older brothers used to wrestle, but they gave it up, whilst my sister and I carried on, striving for results and winning gold medals together," she said.

The two sisters couldn't win gold together but Mariia will cheer for Solomiia, who also doubles up as her friend and training partner, when she takes the mat for her bronze-medal bout on Friday at 57kg.

"I can’t imagine my journey without her, and I only want to win alongside her," Mariia said. "I was really upset that she lost. It was really hard for me to get in the right frame of mind for this final, but I’m sure my sister and I have a bright future ahead of us, and that there are plenty of gold medals in store for us. We never compete against each other, because I couldn’t bring myself to compete against my sister. But in training, we don’t let each other off the hook."

Oksana LIVACH (UKR)Oksana LIVACH (UKR) won her third European title at 50kg on Thursday. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Ukraine's Gold Rush

Livach began the mini gold rush for Ukraine by defending her 50kg gold medal against Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) in what was a rematch of the final from last year.

While last year Livach did not complete a technical superiority victory over Demirhan, she managed to dominate the final in Tirana on Thursday, winning her final 11-0.

At 76kg, Alpyeyeva controlled her final against Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU) to post a 6-2 victory and defend her title. She scored three different takedowns while giving up one in the final.

Andreea ANA (ROU)Andreea ANA (ROU) celebrates winning the 55kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Ukraine could have won four gold medals but three-time European champion Ana denied Malanchuk, 10-0, in the 55kg final.

Ana had a slow start and but was the first to get a point when Malanchuk was warned for pulling hair. Ana's lead went 2-0 when Malanchuk failed to score in the 30-second activity period. Just before the break, Ana snapped Malanchuk and scored a takedown and a turn to make it 6-0.

In the last 20 seconds, Ana caught Malanchuk's leg and brought her down for a takedown and two more points for exposure to finish the bout 10-0 just before time expired. Ana's gold is her sixth European medal -- four golds, one silver and one bronze.

Defending champion at 68kg Shauchuk gave the final against Bas a miss due to an injury, giving a walkover to Bas, who is now a two-time European champion.

Photo

RESULTS

50kg
GOLD: Oksana LIVACH (UKR) df. Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR), 11-0

BRONZE: Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (UWW) df. Svenja JUNGO (SUI), 4-0
BRONZE: Emilia GRIGORE VUC (ROU) df. Agata GOLUCHOWSKA WALERZAK (POL), 11-8

55kg
GOLD: Andreea Beatrice ANA (ROU) df. Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR), 10-0

BRONZE: Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER) df. Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA), 4-3
BRONZE: Tuba DEMIR (TUR) df. Veronika KONSEVICH (MKD), 5-2

59kg
GOLD: Mariia VYNNYK (UKR) df. Jowita WRZESIEN (POL), 8-4

BRONZE: Svetlana LIPATOVA (UWW) df. Othelie HOEIE (NOR), via fall (6-1)
BRONZE: Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE) df. Marta HETMANAVA (UWW), 7-5

68kg
GOLD: Nesrin BAS (TUR) df. Alina SHAUCHUK (UWW), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Tindra SJOEBERG (SWE) df. Alina SHEVCHENKO (UWW), 10-0
BRONZE: Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU) df. Noemi SZABADOS (HUN), 5-4

76kg
GOLD: Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) df. Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU), 6-2

BRONZE: Martina KUENZ (AUT) df. Valeriia TRIFONOVA (UWW), 4-0
BRONZE: Kendra DACHER (FRA) df. Enrica RINALDI (ITA), 9-8

Semifinals

53kg
SF 1: Mariia YEFREMOVA (UKR) df. Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (UWW), 9-3
SF 2: Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE) df. Roksana ZASINA (POL), 6-6

57kg
SF 1: Magdalena GLODEK LISZEWSKA (POL) df. Evelina HULTHEN (SWE), 3-3
SF 2: Elvira SULEYMAN (TUR) df. Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE), 6-2

62kg
SF 1: Amina TANDELOVA (UWW) df. Naemi LEISTNER (GER), 9-0
SF 2: Grace BULLEN (NOR) df. Johanna LINDBORG (SWE), 7-6

65kg
SF 1: Alina KASABIEVA (UWW) vs. Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE), 11-10
SF 2: Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) df. Natalia KUBATY (POL), 11-01

72kg
SF 1: Nadiia SOKOLOVSKA (UKR) df. Kristina BRATCHIKOVA (UWW), via fall (8-0)
SF 2: Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL) df. Buse TOSUN (TUR), 8-2