Coaching Course

Poland Hosts Level 1 Referee and Coaches Course

By United World Wrestling Press

CETNIEWO, Poland (July 28) -- The long journey to open up wrestling activities is underway in Poland, with the recent delivery of a national coaches and referee course last week in Cetniewo.

The course, attended by 18 coaches and referees, was organized for the national freestyle and women wrestling coaches, and club the coaches in Cetniewo. The course was initiated and fully funded by the Poland Wrestling Federation and delivered in accordance with international standards.

"We are excited to see these courses being delivered in a responsible manner," said UWW Development Director Deqa Niamkey. "This is a good sign that we will soon be able to deliver more educational programming in appropriate locations."

The course was well received by the national referees and a similar course will be delivered later this year for regional level referees and coaches. The federation says it hopes the future programming will help promote education among referees and coaches; update knowledge of referees and coaches and to bring new perspectives into wrestling coaches at national level.

The coaches course focused on the proper management of athletes and included coaching skills like communication, planning, organization, training calendars, sport psychology, and a review of the UWW Code of Ethics.

Those who completed the course received certification from the Poland Wrestling Federation.

#WrestleBratislava

Adar, the woman of firsts in Turkiye wrestling, retires

By Vinay Siwach

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 10) -- Turkiye's first-ever Olympic medalist, first-ever world and European champion in Women's Wrestling, Yasemin ADAR (TUR)retired Thursday after 16 years of international wrestling.

A winner of seven gold medals at the European Championships did not have a fairytale ending as she lost the 76kg final against Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) on Thursday at the European Championships in Bratislava.

Despite the loss, Adar undoubtedly retires the trailblazer in Women's Wrestling for Turkiye. In 2016, she won her first European title to create history before adding the world title in 2017. In 2021, she became the first Turkish wrestler in Women's Wrestling to win the bronze medal when she pinned Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) to claim the medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

"I had an incredible career in the 76kg category," Adar said after the European Championships final. "I had many successes and many firsts. I became a two-time world champion. I was at the Olympics with bronze medal. So I have an incredibly beautiful career and I am proud of myself. I can't believe it. It's very difficult to describe. I am very emotional today."

Adar, who had tears in her eyes while was taking off her shoes on the mat to mark her retirement, is aptly called the "woman of firsts" in Türkiye. With her teammates and family in the stands cheering for her, the final match became even more emotional for Adar.

"I finished my wrestling and believe me it was not easy at all," she said. "I even rehearsed it many times before coming here. I said this is where I will finish my career. In my speech, I always wanted to be considered as the legend of 76kilograms. This match was more nervous for me. I had planned it beforehand, I knew that this match was the last match. Even though I couldn't earn the gold medal, I ended it with silver. But believe me, there are really great successes in my career."

On how she came to the decision of retiring at the European Championships, Adar was clear that she wanted to pass on the baton to the younger generation.

"Even if you don't want it, wrestling starts to leave you," she said. "Although there are those who say I am very good, I try to compare it to a situation like this. I am 34-years-old with an 18-year-old athlete and unfortunately we cannot have the same performance."