#WomensDay2022

Olympic Champ Focken: Women Inspire Women

By Aline Focken

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (March 8) -- Happy International Women's Day to all the great women wrestlers worldwide! And to those great people who empower these women to live their dreams -- the mothers, grandmothers, sisters, coaches and friends who support our strong women in their internal and external development -- we could not do this wonderful sport without you. 

Now, to all of you strong girls and women worldwide; I know there's resistance, and there are so many obstacles that you have to overcome. I know that not everyone supports what you do and that it is much harder for women to convince people of our great potential. However, do not worry about them. I have experienced this for many years. Just know that these are not your limitations but theirs.

Germany is a modern and progressive country but women who wrestle are still a minority.

I started wrestling when I was four years old and was the only girl wrestling with 40-50 boys for over 15 years. Of course, it was hard. Many boys were always trying to beat me up, and they did. Nevertheless, I worked harder and listened to my coaches, ultimately becoming my country, state and club's most successful wrestler ever.

Moreover, I married, had many friends -- inside and outside the sport -- and earned a master's degree without being "a right woman."

Suddenly, I earned everyone's respect.

Smile at those critical people, pick the right individuals willing to help and work professionally with you, and show them what you got.

Yes, we are far from having the same rights and chances as men anywhere in the world but I think we are on the right path. It's getting better and better.

Just 18 years ago, the Olympic Games welcomed women's wrestling as a sport with four weight classes. Nine years later, we grew to six Olympic weight classes and our style is growing faster than ever. More and more countries are promoting and developing women's wrestling, which excites me to see where we'll be in 10 years.

But we need more strong and brave women going this way to show every critic that we are worth being promoted.

Despite the obstacles and years of hard work, I will never regret choosing this way. Nothing else has taught me more in life than wrestling. There's no better feeling than beating up on the boys and showing the entire world our capabilities!  

So, keep going, tell all the little girls how beautiful wrestling is and enjoy every minute of your journey! You are already the best role models for so many people out there and you should be proud of how far you have come!

[Aline FOCKEN (GER) won the 76kg gold medal at the Tokyo Games and became Germany's first-ever Olympic champion]

2026 U23 European Championships

U23 European Championships 2026 Entries

By United World Wrestling Press

ZRENJANIN, Serbia (February 24) -- The 2026 U23 European Championships will be held in Zrenjanin, Serbia from March 9 to 15. Freestyle will kick off on Monday, followed by Women's Wrestling and Greco-Roman to finish the tournament.

More than 400 wrestlers are registered to compete at the continental event. Click here for the full schedule of 2026 U23 European Championships.

Greco-Roman

55kg
Manvel KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Farid SADIKHLI (AZE)
Alyosha ILIEV (BUL)
Filip BARTOSIK (CZE)
Koba KARUMIDZE (GEO)
Edmond DOMOKOS (HUN)
Maxim SARMANOV (MDA)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Alibek AMIROV (RUS)
Sercan KESGIN (TUR)
Ivan STEFANSKYI (UKR)

60kg
Andi MUCA (ALB)
Suren AGHAJANYAN (ARM)
Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE)
Borislav KIRILOV (BUL)
Brian SANTIAGO (DEN)
Ilian AINAOUI (FRA)
Giorgi KOCHALIDZE (GEO)
Georgios PAPAGEORGIOU (GRE)
Levente FIGE (HUN)
Olivier SKRZYPCZAK (POL)
Murat KHATIT (RUS)
Ahmet TASKINOGLU (TUR)
Yevhen POKOVBA (UKR)

63kg
Mikel TROPLINI (ALB)
Armen SUKIASYAN (ARM)
Ilkin GURBANOV (AZE)
Hristiyan IVANOV (BUL)
Al Bara CHOPALAEV (EST)
Lucas LO GRASSO (FRA)
Rati KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO)
Marios KAPANTAIS (GRE)
Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)
Miguel LOUREIRO (POR)
Dordzhi SHUNGURTSIKOV (RUS)
Andrej VELISAVLJEV (SRB)
Algot GAMELIUS (SWE)
Enes ULKU (TUR)
Maksut SULTANOV (UKR)

67kg
Yurik HOVEYAN (ARM)
Farid KHALILOV (AZE)
Ihar YERMACHENKAU (BLR)
Kristiyan MILENKOV (BUL)
Matous JANKOVIC (CZE)
William REENBERG (DEN)
Nestori MANNILA (FIN)
Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO)
Janis HEINZELBECKER (GER)
David MANYIK (HUN)
Kipras PUIKIS (LTU)
Pavel DENISENCO (MDA)
Bers TIMIRBIEV (NOR)
Arslanbek SALIMOV (POL)
Pavel ALEXE (ROU)
Daniial AGAEV (RUS)
Dejan BERKEC (SRB)
Saya BRUNNER (SUI)
Magnus EKEROT (SWE)
Azat SARIYAR (TUR)
Imed KHUDZHADZE (UKR)

72kg
Ashot KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Faraim MUSTAFAYEV (AZE)
Zakhar YANEVICH (BLR)
Dimitar GEORGIEV (BUL)
Gonzalo CAPARROS DIEGUEZ (ESP)
Artur JEREMEJEV (EST)
Oliver PADA (FIN)
Nika BROLADZE (GEO)
Magomed KARTOJEV (GER)
Arionas KOLITSOPOULOS (GRE)
Steve MOMILIA (ITA)
Vasile ZABICA (MDA)
Hubert SIDORUK (POL)
Joao DUARTE SIMOES (POR)
Leonard IURASCU (ROU)
Rabil ASKEROV (RUS)
Djordje HIRCL (SRB)
Mathias MARTINETTI (SUI)
Ali GOCMEN (TUR)
Dmytro VASYLIEV (UKR)

77kg
Samvel TERTERYAN (ARM)
Ravan NURIYEV (AZE)
Kiryl VALEUSKI (BLR)
Albert DOEV (BUL)
Luka IVANCIC (CRO)
Dalgat MAGOMEDOV (CZE)
Miro LEINONEN (FIN)
Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO)
Louis LAY (GER)
Dominik BOTOS (HUN)
Rokas CEPAUSKAS (LTU)
Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA)
Igor BOTEZ (ROU)
Danil GRIGOREV (RUS)
Zalan PEK (SRB)
Fritz REBER (SUI)
Adam STRANDNER (SWE)
Cengizhan DAG (TUR)
Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR)

82kg
Martik PETROSYAN (ARM)
Elmin ALIYEV (AZE)
Ibrahim TABAEV (BEL)
Illia VALEUSKI (BLR)
Martin SHISHEKOV (BUL)
Michal ZELENKA (CZE)
Jose TESO SOBA (ESP)
Ekke LEITHAM (EST)
Vikke TARKKIO (FIN)
Tornike MIKELADZE (GEO)
Andreas VASILAKOPOULOS (GRE)
Szabolcs SZINAY (HUN)
Matija RADOJEVIC (MNE)
Alexander AEMAES (NOR)
Oskar LUBERA (POL)
Gamzat GADZHIEV (RUS)
Antal VAMOS (SRB)
Ognjen JAKOVLJEVIC (SRB)
Alexander JOHANSSON (SWE)
Yusuf GOLBASI (TUR)
Ruslan ABDIIEV (UKR)

87kg
Vigen NAZARYAN (ARM)
Said AKHUNDZADA (AZE)
Andrey ATANASOV (BUL)
Antonio LUKAC (CRO)
Frederik MATHIESEN (DEN)
Elias LYYSKI (FIN)
Vladimeri KARCHAIDZE (FRA)
Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Nikolaos IOSIFIDIS (GRE)
Leon RIVALTA (ITA)
Martin LJOSAAK (NOR)
Yassine BEN LABED (POL)
Patrik GORDAN (ROU)
Imam ALIEV (RUS)
Andrija MIHAJLOVIC (SRB)
Alperen BERBER (TUR)
Vladyslav SOLODCHUK (UKR)

97kg
Ruben GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Ali GULIYEV (AZE)
Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (BLR)
Kaloyan IVANOV (BUL)
Tomislav BRKAN (CRO)
Robin USPENSKI (EST)
Luka GABISONIA (GEO)
Darius KIEFER (GER)
Christos CHATSATOUROV (GRE)
Vendel VITAI (HUN)
Ilia CERNOVOL (MDA)
Wojciech IWANOWSKI (POL)
Saipula GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (RUS)
Uros KRSTIN (SRB)
Muhittin HELVACI (TUR)
Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR)

130kg
Aramayis HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Leonhard JUNGER (AUT)
Aykhan MARDANOV (AZE)
Viachaslau FEDARYNA (BLR)
Alan DZABIEV (BUL)
Marko MILANOVIC (CRO)
Artur SARKISJAN (CZE)
Eerik PANK (EST)
Rati TALIKISHVILI (GEO)
Achilleas CHRYSIDIS (GRE)
Laszlo DARABOS (HUN)
Sebastian WARCHOL (POL)
Aleksandr MELEKHOV (RUS)
David MOLNAR (SRB)
Huseyin CIL (TUR)
Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR)

Manuel WAGIN (GER)Manuel WAGIN (GER) will compete at 74kg in Zrenjanin, Serbia. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Freestyle

57kg
Arman HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Vasif BAGHIROV (AZE)
Artsiom PAULIUCHENKA (BLR)
Nik DOYCHINOV (BUL)
Rassoul GALBOURAEV (FRA)
Danoush JOWKAR (GBR)
Nikoloz BOTCHORISHVILI (GEO)
Karamjeet HOLSTEIN (GER)
Nektarios KOUZOUPIS (GRE)
Balazs RACZ (HUN)
Ion BULGARU (MDA)
Aiandai ONDAR (RUS)
Baris UNSAL (TUR)
Mykola BRATOV (UKR)

61kg
Ajndi KRYEZIU (ALB)
Levik MIKAYELYAN (ARM)
Jeyhun ALLAHVERDIYEV (AZE)
Herbert AKAPIAN (BLR)
Erdal GALIP (BUL)
Rezo MARSAGISHVILI (GEO)
Vasile MARCU (MDA)
Besir ALILI (MKD)
Rafal SZEWC (POL)
Anzor MAZHIDOV (RUS)
Robert MESZAROS (SVK)
Tolga OZBEK (TUR)
Andrii SHOKALIUK (UKR)

65kg
Arman MUSIKYAN (ARM)
Luca HARTMANN (AUT)
Musa AGHAYEV (AZE)
Magomedkhan MAGAMEDKHANOV (BLR)
Saba GAMBASHIDZE (GEO)
Magomed KARTOJEV (GER)
Zoltan MIZSEI (HUN)
Mattia BIENTINESI (ITA)
Fiodor CEAVDARI (MDA)
Daniel SANDU (ROU)
Dzhambulat KIZINOV (RUS)
Sandro HUNGERBUEHLER (SUI)
Yusuf TUMER (TUR)
Viktor BOROHAN (UKR)

70kg
Davit MARGARYAN (ARM)
Alexander SEIWALD (AUT)
Ramik HEYBATOV (AZE)
Mikita DZEMCHANKA (BLR)
Kaloyan ATANASOV (BUL)
Denis KODAKOV GIL (ESP)
Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO)
Marcel WAGIN (GER)
Tomas GORMLEY (IRL)
Daniele GUBBIOTTI (ITA)
Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA)
Daniel KULCZYNSKI (POL)
Benjamin BOEJTHE (ROU)
Magomed ELTEMIROV (RUS)
Umut ERDOGAN (TUR)
Mykyta SARIIEV (UKR)

74kg
Grigor CHOLAKYAN (ARM)
Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE)
Aliaksandr HULNIK (BLR)
Petar PETKOV (BUL)
Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA)
Saba KOBAKHIDZE (GEO)
Manuel WAGIN (GER)
Raul CASO (ITA)
Ion MARCU (MDA)
Fabian NIEDZWIEDZKI (POL)
Gigi SUBTIRICA (ROU)
Magomed BAITUKAEV (RUS)
Florian BISSIG (SUI)
Halit OZMUS (TUR)
Mykyta MORHUN (UKR)

79kg
Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM)
Muhamed BEKTEMIROV (AUT)
Sabuhi AMIRASLANOV (AZE)
Aliaksandr VIARBITSKI (BLR)
Aykan SEID (BUL)
Tristan ALEKSANDROV (EST)
Giorgi GOGRITCHIANI (GEO)
Marat KARDANOV (GER)
Vlad STRATAN (MDA)
Dario DIMITROV (MKD)
Mateusz PEDZICKI (POL)
Ismail KHANIEV (RUS)
Andrija IVANOVIC (SRB)
Kimi KAEPPELI (SUI)
Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR)
Bohdan OLEKSIIENKO (UKR)

86kg
Razmik YEPREMYAN (ARM)
Vasif KHUDIYEV (AZE)
Artsiom BELAVUSAU (BLR)
Radomir STOYANOV (BUL)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Tornike SAMKHARADZE (GEO)
Vladimir PLIEV (ISR)
Gabriele NICCOLINI (ITA)
Marius RETCO (MDA)
Bartlomiej NOWAKOWSKI (POL)
Bozigit ISLAMGEREEV (RUS)
Anton VYHIVSKYI (SVK)
Ahmet YAGAN (TUR)
Artur KOSTIUK (UKR)

92kg
Knyaz IBOYAN (ARM)
Ali TCOKAEV (AZE)
Artsiom ALIAKEVICH (BLR)
Sali SALIEV (BUL)
Sandro KURASHVILI (GEO)
Daniel FISCHER (GER)
Grigorios SARIDIS (GRE)
Krisztian ANGYAL (HUN)
Alexandru BORS (MDA)
Igor SZUCKI (POL)
Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (RUS)
David JAKSIK (SVK)
Fatih ALTUNBAS (TUR)
Yehor HOROKH (UKR)

97kg
Gurgen SIMONYAN (ARM)
Zafar ALIYEV (AZE)
Uladzislau KAZLOU (BLR)
Andriyan VALKANOV (BUL)
Aimar ALZON EGUINOA (ESP)
Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE)
Nikita GOUBARETS (ISR)
Davide COSSU (ITA)
Filip SZUCKI (POL)
Mukhamed KHANIEV (RUS)
Adam JAKSIK (SVK)
Emirhan KILIC (TUR)
Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR)

125kg
Khachatur KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE)
Stsiapan MANDRYK (BLR)
Dian MANEV (BUL)
Aleksandre ABRAMISHVILI (GEO)
Emil THIELE (GER)
Milan GELLEN (HUN)
Dmitrii DUSCOV (MDA)
Michal DUBOWSKI (POL)
Brian TECHEREAN (ROU)
Khabib DAVUDGADZHIEV (RUS)
Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR)
Ivan MYROSHNYCHENKO (UKR)

Alina SHAUCHUK (BLR)Senior European champion Alina SHAUCHUK (BLR) will be at 68kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Asmar JANKURTARAN (AZE)
Sviatlana KATENKA (BLR)
Mariam GRIGALASHVILI (GEO)
Laura FATH (HUN)
Marija SPIRKOVSKA (MKD)
Ana ROTARU (ROU)
Aleksandra KOPYLOVA (RUS)
Andela VASILJEVIC (SRB)
Svenja JUNGO (SUI)
Zerda DEMIR (TUR)
Aida KERYMOVA (UKR)

53kg
Nargiz SAMADOVA (AZE)
Kseniya KOSTSENICH (BLR)
Carla JAUME SOLER (ESP)
Vestina DANISEVICIUTE (LTU)
Patrycja STRZELCZYK (POL)
Nicoleta BAJAN (ROU)
Ekaterina KARPUSHKINA (RUS)
Reka HEGEDUS (SVK)
Sevval CAYIR (TUR)
Anastasiia POLSKA (UKR)

55kg
Gultakin SHIRINOVA (AZE)
Aliaksandra BULAVA (BLR)
Nesrin SYULEYMANOVA (BUL)
Maria CAZALLA TORRES (ESP)
Gerda TEREK (HUN)
Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA)
Alexandra VOICULESCU (ROU)
Kira SOLOBCHUK (RUS)
Tuba DEMIR (TUR)
Albina RILLIA (UKR)

57kg
Aryna DZEMCHANKA (BLR)
Olga POPOVA (BUL)
Romaissa EL KHARROUBI (FRA)
Amory ANDRICH (GER)
Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN)
Csilla VAN OS (NED)
Felicitas DOMAJEVA (NOR)
Julia NOWICKA (POL)
Georgiana LIRCA (ROU)
Elena KUROVA (RUS)
Jana PETROVIC (SRB)
Tindra DALMYR (SWE)
Emine CAKMAK (TUR)
Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR)

59kg
Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE)
Marta HETMANAVA (BLR)
Viktoria BOYNOVA (BUL)
Madalina PRISACARI (MDA)
Olha PADOSHYK (POL)
Ana PUIU (ROU)
Ekaterina RADYSHEVA (RUS)
Jovana RADIVOJEVIC (SRB)
Karin SAMUELSSON (SWE)
Sevim AKBAS (TUR)
Yuliia PAKHNIUK (UKR)

62kg
Ruzanna MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Uladzislava KUDZIN (BLR)
Desislava IVANOVA (BUL)
Lana NOGIC (CRO)
Iris THIEBAUX (FRA)
Naemi LEISTNER (GER)
Gabriela RUDOI (MDA)
Alicja WOJEWODZKA NOWOSAD (POL)
Viorica ADAM (ROU)
Amina TANDELOVA (RUS)
Viktoria FOELDESIOVA (SVK)
Gulsum BINGOL (TUR)
Albina KLIEFAS (UKR)

65kg
Kseniya TSIARENIA (BLR)
Leonie STEIGERT (GER)
Nikoleta BARMPA (GRE)
Bianca CONTRAFATTO (ITA)
Alexandra MOISEI (MDA)
Maria PANTIRU (ROU)
Ekaterina KOSHKINA (RUS)
Emilija JAKOVLJEVIC (SRB)
Linnea SVENSSON (SWE)
Beyza AKKUS (TUR)
Oleksandra RYBAK (UKR)

68kg
Alina SHAUCHUK (BLR)
Gerda BARTH (GER)
Karolina POK (HUN)
Laura GODINO (ITA)
Luciana BEDA (MDA)
Karolina DOMASZUK (POL)
Alina SHEVCHENKO (RUS)
Ayse ERKAN (TUR)
Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR)

72kg
Zahra KARIMZADA (AZE)
Viktoryia RADZKOVA (BLR)
Daniela BRASNAROVA (BUL)
Veronika VILK (CRO)
Laura KOEHLER (GER)
Greta TVERSKYTE (LTU)
Emilia CRECIUN (MDA)
Karolina JAWORSKA (POL)
Kristina BRATCHIKOVA (RUS)
Masa PEROVIC (SRB)
Haticenur SARI (TUR)
Iryna ZABLOTSKA (UKR)

76kg
Aliaksandra SIAMIONAVA (BLR)
Vanesa GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Patrycja CUBER (POL)
Mariia SILINA (RUS)
Bukrenaz SERT (TUR)
Nadiia SOKOLOVSKA (UKR)