#PolandOpen

Poland Prise Pair of Women's Golds at #PolandOpen

Saturday, September 8, 2018 - 20:09 By Eric Olanowski

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WARSAW, Poland (September 8) –  Roksana ZASINA (POL) and Agnieszka WIESZCZEK-KORDUS (POL) helped the host nation, Poland, capture two of the possible five women’s wrestling gold medals that were up for grabs on the second day of the final Ranking Series event of the year. 

Roksana Zasina, the No. 8 ranked wrestler in the world, gave Poland their first gold medal of the day after scoring a 6-2 win over U23 world bronze medalist Tetyana KIT (UKR) in the 55kg gold-medal match. 

Zasina won her second straight Poland Open title, but more importantly, she stopped Kit from capturing her first Ranking Series gold medal. Kit has competed in three of the four Ranking Series events and has finished with two silvers and a bronze medal. 

At 72kg, Wieszczek-Kordus handed Poland their second women’s wrestling gold medal after sticking WANG Kunming (CHN) in the gold-medal match. It took Wieszczek-Kordus four tries, but she finally grabbed the gold medal that she’s been chasing since 2012. 


Danielle LAPPAGE (CAN) knocked off the No.1 ranked wrestler in the world to win the Poland Open title at 65kg. (Photo by Max Rose-Fyne) 

Danielle LAPPAGE (CAN), Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS), and Mariya STADNIK (AZE) won the final women’s wrestling gold medals. 

In the 65kg finals, Danielle Lappage stunned the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the world, Petra OLLI (FIN), 3-2. Lappage handed Olli her first loss since January’s Ivan Yarygin. Since January, Ollie has won gold medals at the Klippan Lady Open, the International Ukrainian Tournament, and the European Championships. 

Stadnik gabbed her second gold medal of the season, defeating Ilona SEMKIV (UKR) in the 50kg gold-medal bout. Stadnik, the Klippan Lady Open runner-up, and European Championship gold medalist scored her fifth technical superiority victory of the tournament, improving her 2018 record to 12-1. Her only loss in 2018 was against reigning world champion, Yui SUSAKI (JPN).

Svetlana Lipatova claimed the final gold medal with an injury default win over 2017 world runner-up, Marwa AMRI (TUN). 

RESULTS
Women's Wrestling
50kg
GOLD -  Mariya STADNIK (AZE) df. Ilona SEMKIV (UKR), 13-2 

BRONZE - Whitney CONDER (USA) df. Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (RUS), 6-4 
BRONZE - Jessica Anne Marie MACDONALD (CAN) df. Emilia Alina VUC (ROU), via injury default

55kg
GOLD -  Roksana ZASINA (POL) df. Tetyana KIT (UKR), 6-2 

BRONZE - Zalina SIDAKOVA (BLR) df. Olga SHNAIDER (UKR), 4-0  
BRONZE - Sofia MATTSSON (SWE) df. Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA), 10-0 

59kg
GOLD - Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS) df. Marwa AMRI (TUN), 0-0 

BRONZE - Olena KREMZER (UKR) df. Hanna VAHER (BLR), 4-0 
BRONZE - Lingling BAO (CHN) df. Laura Sofia AAK (NOR), via fall

65kg 
GOLD -  Danielle LAPPAGE (CAN) df. Petra Maarit OLLI (FIN), 3-2 

BRONZE - Forrest Ann MOLINARI (USA) df. Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE), via fall 
BRONZE - Moa NYGREN (SWE)df. Chuying TANG (CHN), 6-2

72kg
GOLD -  Agnieszka Jadwiga WIESZCZEK-KORDUS (POL) df. Kunming WANG (CHN), via fall 

BRONZE - Catalina AXENTE (ROU) df. Patrycja SPERKA (POL), 3-1
BRONZE - Alexandra Nicoleta ANGHEL (ROU) df. Nikoletta Renata SZMOLKA (HUN), 10-0

Freestyle
57kg 
GOLD -  Stevan Andria MICIC (SRB) df. Givi DAVIDOVI (ITA), 10-0 

BRONZE - Georgios PILIDIS (GRE) df. Frank Vincent PERRELLI IV (USA), 12-6 
BRONZE - Nurislam (Artas) SANAYEV (SANAA) (KAZ) df. Adrian Jakub WAGNER (POL), via fall. 

65kg 
GOLD - Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS) df. Vladimer KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO), via injury default

BRONZE - Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL) df. Jordan OLIVER (USA), , via forfeit
BRONZE - Dimitar Lyubomirov IVANOV (BUL) df. Hasibagena HASIBAGENA (CHN), 6-2 

74kg
GOLD -  Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) df. Wei WU (CHN), 12-2 

BRONZE - Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ) df. Nurlan BEKZHANOV (KAZ), 7-1
BRONZE - Andrzej Piotr SOKALSKI (POL) df. Jonatan ALVAREZ DIAZ (ESP), via forfeit. 

86kg 
GOLD -  Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) df. Samuel BROOKS (USA), 2-2 

BRONZE - Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA) df. Lars SCHAEFLE (GER), 10-0 
BRONZE - Piotr IANULOV (MDA) df. Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ), 8-3 

97kg
GOLD - Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO) df.  Mamed IBRAGIMOV (KAZ), 10-0 

BRONZE - Chaoqiang YANG (CHN) df. Pavlo OLIINYK (HUN), via injury default 

Greco-Roman
63kg 
GOLD - Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) df. Nikolay Ivanov VICHEV (BUL), 4-0 

BRONZE - Hassan Hassan Ahmed MOHAMED (EGY) df. Virgil Alexander BICA (SWE), 8-0 

72kg 
GOLD -  Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR) df. Denis HORVATH (SVK), 9-0  

BRONZE - Daniel Mattias SOINI (SWE) df. Shogo TAKAHASHI (JPN), 7-1 
BRONZE - Mikko Petteri PELTOKANGAS (FIN) df. Joilson DE BRITO RAMOS JUNIOR (BRA), 5-1 

82kg
GOLD - Emrah KUS (TUR) df. Oleksii OSNIACH (UKR), 6-4 

BRONZE - Daniel Tihomirov ALEKSANDROV (BUL) df. Edgar BABAYAN (POL), 6-2
BRONZE - Jarno Krister AALANDER (FIN) df. Petr NOVAK (CZE), 4-3

97kg 
GOLD - Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA) df. Nikolay Nikolaev BAYRYAKOV (BUL), 7-0 

BRONZE - Suleyman ERBAY (TUR) df. Mathias BAK (DEN), 13-6 
BRONZE - Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA) df. Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM), via injury default 

#WrestleAthens

Olympic legend Icho returns to Athens to lead Japan’s next generation

Sunday, August 3, 2025 - 09:59 By Vinay Siwach

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ATHENS, Greece (August 2) -- In Athens, home of the Olympics, Kaori ICHO (JPN) is already one of the pantheon of greats.

Having once made history as an athlete here -- winning the first of four Olympic gold medals at the 2004 Olympics -- Icho now sets out to carve a new legacy, this time as coach to the next generation of Japanese talent.

In Athens, she is making her international debut as coach of the Japanese women's team at the World U17 Championships as she returns to the Ano Liossia Olympic Sports Hall, the same venue she won the Olympic gold.

"I have returned to this arena for the first time in 21 years," Icho told United World Wrestling. "I won an [Olympic] gold medal in this arena for the first time."

Icho, who ended her wrestling career in 2019, started coaching after the Tokyo Olympics. She has coached Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) domestically as both Morikawa and Icho are recruited with ALSOK.

Japan managed to win only one gold medal in Women's Wrestling at the World Championships and finished third in the team race. While Japan is not used to finishing at that position in Women's Wrestling, the third-place highlighted that even Japan's second-tier team poses a significant challenge to the world.

The presence of Icho definitely helped the wrestlers, who were not only helped by her experience but the presence of the four-time Olympic champion motivated them.

Japan's world champion in Athens, Hanano OYA (JPN), said that watching Icho win her record fourth gold medal in Rio 2016 inspired her to take up wrestling.

"The reason I started wrestling was because of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics," Oya said. "It was when Kaori achieved her fourth consecutive victory, and I saw it on TV. I started wrestling myself, so I was very happy when she accompanied me and acted as my second coach, and I felt that I had to live up to her expectations."

Kaori ICHO (JPN)Kaori ICHO (JPN) coaches one of the members of the Japanese team. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

For Icho, not being on the mat and coaching from the corner was a different experience.

"I feel really strange being able to come back here as a coach," she said. "This tournament is the World Championships for those under 17 years old. I also became an Olympic gold medalist at this venue when I was 20 and I hope that the young athletes will work hard towards their Olympic dreams."

Back in 2004, the first Olympics when Women's Wrestling became part of it, Icho remembered the nervous and the excitement. The enjoyment, however, came only after she had won the gold.

"It was my first Olympics," she said. "I was very nervous and excited. I was here for about two weeks, from the opening ceremony to the closing ceremony. After winning, I went swimming in the Aegean Sea. It was a very enjoyable Olympics."

Kaori ICHO (JPN)Kaori ICHO (JPN) during a warm-up session of the Japanese team in Athens. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

When she landed at the airport in Athens on Monday, memories from the past came rushing back.

"I don't particularly feel it at the airport, but I wondered if it was this hot," she said. "I wondered what the venue will be like. I was reminiscing about 21 years ago."

Once at the venue, Icho was requested for photos from wrestlers and coaches which she obliged. With her first tournament as coach behind her, Icho is determined to work even harder as she prepares the senior Japan team for the World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, this September.

"Coaches and players asked me to take pictures with them," she said. "I felt stronger coming here. I want to work harder as a coach."