#WrestleZagreb

Reasco becomes Ecuador's first world champ as Maroulis adds to gold tally

Wednesday, September 17, 2025 - 22:22 By Ken Marantz

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ZAGREB, Croatia (September 16) -- While Helen MAROULIS (USA) was adding to her mountainous pile of world medals with a fourth career gold, Genesis REASCO (ECU) made history by becoming Ecuador's first-ever world champion.

Reasco reached the pinnacle of the sport with a 4-2 victory in the 76kg final over Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ), denying the two-time world medalist her first gold in the last of four women's finals on Wednesday at the World Championships in Zagreb.

"I went in, gave my all, and it worked," Reasco said. "That’s how the gold medal was achieved, because honestly, I have a lot of respect for all my opponents. They gave everything out there on the mat, and they were really good matches -- both yesterday’s and today’s. Everything was very tough, very close."

Maroulis, who will turn 34 on Friday, showed why she has accumulated eight medals overall in 12 trips to the World Championships when she scored a dramatic takedown with :05 left to edge Il Sim SON (PRK) 3-2 in the 57kg final.

In other finals, Myonggyong WON (PRK) gave the DPR Korea its second women's title in two nights -- and just the third in its history -- with an emotional victory at 50kg , while Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) earned her second world gold and fifth medal overall with a dominant run to the 65kg title.

Reasco's historic victory came two years after Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) became the South American country's first-ever world medalist, and a day before Yepez gets a chance to join her as a gold medalist after making the 53kg final earlier in the day.

Reasco had long been seen as having the potential for a breakthrough, but never seemed to be able to make that final step up to the big time. She finished fifth at the 2022 World Championships and 2024 Paris Olympics, and was third at this year's Pan American Championships.

But after knocking off Paris bronze medalist Milaimy MARIN (CUB) in Tuesday's semifinals, the impossible suddenly became possible.

"At the Olympics, I was close to winning bronze, but it didn’t happen," she said. "But now the world medal came, and I’m very happy after all the sacrifices."

In the final, Reasco scored with a double-leg takedown in the first period, then scored another at the edge in the second. Medet Kyzy, a three-time Asian champion, tried desperately to launch a comeback, but she had to settle for 2 with a late throw attempt and came up short.

The 27-year-old Reasco got a relatively late start to the sport, saying she was not even aware of wrestling's existence until she was introduced to it at age 15.

"At that time, I practically didn’t know what wrestling was," she said. "I was going for another sport, but the coach of that sport took me to wrestling -- it was thanks to his influence. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have even known what wrestling was.

"The first day I saw it, I was shocked. Since I was little, I always liked sports -- I liked basketball, football. So I always had that love for sports. Any sport, any other sport, I liked."

But her dedication to training eventually led to the greatest of achievements, which she surmises will be widely celebrated back in her hometown of Esmeraldas and the province of Manabi where she trains.

"When I focus on competition, I even put my phone aside," she said.

In the 57kg final, Maroulis had her work cut out for her with the quick and powerful Son, this year's Asian silver medalist.

"She's an amazing opponent," Maroulis said. "I knew she was going to be tough. I watched all of her film. I'm like, my gosh, she's so good."

Maroulis had to fight out of a double-leg attempt in the first period, in which she received an activity point for the only score. In the second, Son received an activity point, then went ahead 2-1 by scoring a stepout at 1:32.

It looked like it might end that way until Maroulis, using a trip to great effect as she had done all tournament, sent Son reeling backward, then spun behind as Son tried to whip her over with :05 on the clock.

"I had to really, really dig deep for that and, I don't know, before the last exchange started, I just had to dig deep and find it," Maroulis said. "It was just some scramble flurry and just that it came out my way. I'm grateful."

The U.S. wrestler added the title to the ones she won in 2015, 2017 and 2021. She also has an Olympic gold from 2016, when she dealt the legendary Saori YOSHIDA (JPN) her lone international loss, and three Olympic medals overall.

Maroulis said that she had to deal with a blood vessel problem that curtailed her training starting in the spring, and did not return to full-fledged practice until about two weeks ago.

With her conditioning limited, she said she aimed to end her matches early, which resulted in her ending all three of her matches leading up to the final by fall.

"I was like, I'm just going to start working on training because I'm not conditioned enough to go six minutes," Maroulis said. "I'm literally not conditioned enough. But if I pin, no one has to know that."

Maroulis said she is currently undecided about continuing her career. But should she go on, it could put her on a collision course with one of the sport's rising stars, Akari FUJINAMI (JPN), the Paris Olympic champion at 53kg who announced that she was moving up to 57kg in the runup to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

"I would love to wrestle her," she said. "I've been wrestling for so many years, I want to wrestle the best of the best, and she's phenomenal. I've heard and seen great things about her.

Maroulis said the two have never had a chance to work out together. "We message back and forth, actually we were trying to go to a camp together, it just didn't work out in time for the Olympics. I found she was going to 57[kg], I said, 'Oh my gosh.' It's a great opportunity for both of us."

At 50kg, Won dominated her gold-medal showdown with Asian silver medalist Yu ZHANG (CHN) from the start, storming to an eight-point lead in the first period and holding on for an 8-2 victory.

"This medal and the championship belt I’ve won are just the first step in repaying my parents for all their sacrifices," Won said. "From now on, I’ll work even harder to become an Olympic champion."

Her victory came a day after Kyong Ryong OH (PRK) won the 55kg gold to become the second women's world champion in their country's history. They joined Yong-Mi PAK (PRK), who won the 53kg gold in Nur-Sultan in 2019.

Won became so overcome with emotion, she tearfully hugged the referee after the match, then went over and did the same with the side judges. Then she hugged her coaches, and during the medal ceremony, shed tears as the national anthem was played.

"The moment I took first place, all the tough days of training flashed before my eyes and I couldn’t hold back my tears," she said. "And when I thought about sharing the news with my mom and dad, the tears came again."

Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN)Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) celebrates after winning the 65kg final at the World Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At 65kg, Morikawa cruised to an 8-0 victory over Alina KASABIEVA (UWW) to regain the title she won in 2022, capping a year in which she also won the Ranking Series Tirana event and a second career gold at the Asian Championships.

Morikawa scored all of her points by shooting for a single, then fighting off a whizzer by Kasabieva to gain control for a pair of takedowns in each period.

"It's my first time to face her, but comparatively she was easier to wrestle than my semifinal opponent," Morikawa said, referring to her semifinal victory over former world champion Irina RINGACI (MDA), albeit a 10-0 decision.

"I couldn't get in on my tackles, and that part is something that I have to change. I'll be going to a heavier weight class and I want to be able to knock off the top wrestlers."

For Morikawa, competing at 65kg now is part of a process aimed at being competitive in the race to make the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, almost surely at 68kg, after missing out on Paris.

"It was great that I won the championship, but the next step will be starting soon. I can be happy today, but from tomorrow I'll have to start working hard in practice."

In between her two world titles, Morikawa took a world bronze at 72kg in 2023, then returned to 65kg in 2024, only to have to settle for a bronze again.

"It was a long time [between titles], and there was the time that I missed out on the Olympics, but I will use this victory as inspiration for what is coming next. It will be the start of a much more difficult fight than up to now, so I have to renew my determination."

While two world golds is no small accomplishment, Morikawa joked that it still leaves her well behind her coach, who was in her corner on Wednesday and accompanied her on the victory lap on the mat.

"I still only have two titles, so I'm about 10 behind the coach who was in my corner," Morikawa said of Kaori ICHO (JPN), the four-time Olympic and 10-time world champion.

Smirnova stuns Yoshimoto for 50kg bronze

Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (UWW) pulled off the surprise of the bronze-medal matches, stunning former world champion Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN) at 50kg with a stepout in the final seconds for a 3-3 win on criteria.

Yoshimoto, a two-time Asian champion, received an activity point, then gave up a takedown when Smirnova countered and got behind to a 2-1 lead. In the second period, Yoshimoto finally got through, scoring a takedown with :54 left. But she failed to hold off Smirnova's final push, leaving her devastated and in tears.

Prior to coming to Zagreb, Yoshimoto's only losses in any competition since 2019 were to compatriot and Tokyo Olympic champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN), whom she lost to four times. That limited her to a single previous appearance at the World Championships in 2021, when she won the gold.

The other 50kg bronze went to Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR), who also needed a late score in posting a 3-2 victory over Munkhnar BYAMBASUREN (MGL) and adding to the world bronze she won back in 2017.

Byambasuren scored a takedown while on the activity clock to take a 2-0 lead into the second period, and it looked like that might hold up when Demirhan gained a 2-point exposure off an inner thigh block with :15 left. Byambasuren came close to getting behind in the final seconds, but fell short and an unsuccessful challenge handed Demirhan her final point.

The victory took some of the sting out a serious knee injury that Demirhan suffered in the final exchange. She limped off the mat and was taken from the main floor in a wheelchair, then was carried by two fellow medalists to the podium during the medal ceremony wearing a walking cast.

Japan was dealt another set back a short time later in the 57kg bronze-medal bouts, when three-time European champion Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (UWW) scored a takedown and exposure in the second period to upend Himeka TOKUHARA (JPN) 4-1.

As with Demirhan, Khoroshavtseva's victory ended a long medal drought -- her previous bronze had come in 2019.

Paris Olympic bronze medalist Kexin HONG (CHN) picked up her first world medal, surging to a 10-0 victory over Iryna KURACHKINA (UWW) in the other 57kg match.

Moldova's national hero Ringaci earned a fourth career world medal by beating Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) 6-3 for a 65kg bronze, scoring a takedown in the first period and two in the second.

Two-time Asian silver medalist Enkhjin TUVSHINJARGAL (MGL) had the lead on criteria when she scored an exposure at the edge while holding off an attack by Macey KILTY (USA) to clinch a 4-2 win for the other 65kg bronze.

At 76kg, another Olympic bronze medalist added a world bronze when Marin stormed to a 10-0 victory over PRIYA (IND), setting the mood when she scored the first of her five takedowns by lifting the Indian in the air and dumping her to the mat.

Kylie WELKER (USA) added to the bronze she won last year at 72kg by holding on for a 6-2 victory over Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) for the other 76kg bronze. Welker scored a takedown and gut wrench in the first period, then after Alpyeyeva came back with two stepouts,

clinched the win with a takedown with :14 left. 

Day 5 Results

Women's Wrestling

50kg (21 entries)
GOLD: Myonggyong WON (PRK) df. Yu ZHANG (CHN), 8-2

BRONZE: Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (UWW) df. Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN), 3-3
BRONZE: Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) df. Munkhnar BYAMBASUREN (MGL), 3-2

53kg (23 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) df. ANTIM (IND), 5-3
SEMIFINAL: Haruna MURAYAMA (JPN) df. Hyongyong CHOE (PRK), 2-1

57kg (22 entries)
GOLD: Helen MAROULIS (USA) df. Il Sim SON (PRK), 3-2

BRONZE: Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (UWW) df. Himeka TOKUHARA (JPN), 4-1
BRONZE: Kexin HONG (CHN) df. Iryna KURACHKINA (UWW) by TF, 10-0, 2:22

62kg (22 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) df. Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL) by TF, 14-1, 4:15
SEMIFINAL: Ok Ju KIM (PRK) df. Amina TANDELOVA (UWW) by TF, 14-3, 6:00

65kg (17 entries)
GOLD: Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) df. Alina KASABIEVA (UWW), 8-0

BRONZE: Irina RINGACI (MDA) df. Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR), 6-3
BRONZE: Enkhjin TUVSHINJARGAL (MGL) df. Macey KILTY (USA), 4-2

68kg (24 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Ami ISHII (JPN) df. Buse TOSUN (TUR) by TF, 11-0, 2:34
SEMIFINAL: Yuliana YANEVA (BUL) df. Jia LONG (CHN), 6-1

72kg (17 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Alla BELINSKA (UKR) df. Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ) by Fall, 5:00 (11-6)
SEMIFINAL: Nesrin BAS (TUR) df. Zelu LI (CHN), 9-6

76kg (19 entries)
GOLD: Genesis REASCO (ECU) df. Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ), 4-2

BRONZE: Kylie WELKER (USA) df. Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR), 6-2
BRONZE: Milaimy MARIN (CUB) df. PRIYA (IND) by TF, 10-0, 4:07

#WrestleTirana

Muhamet Malo 2025 Ranking Series Day 5 Recap

Sunday, March 2, 2025 - 09:59 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (March 2) -- The final day of Muhamet Malo 2025 Ranking Series will see Greco-Roman action in six weight classes. 55kg, 60kg, 72kg, 82kg, 97kg and 130kg wrestlers will be on the mat.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 4 RESULTS

16:15: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) and Hamza BAKIR (TUR) enter the final at 130kg. Mirzazadeh scores a gut wrench from par terre against Wenhao JIANG (CHN) to lead 3-0 at the break. Jiang gets the forced par terre advantage in the second period but no points from the position for him. Mirzazadeh wins 3-1.

Bakir had Tokyo silver medalist Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) in the semifinal. Kajaia gets the par terre in first period but doesn't turn Bakir, who got the par terre position in the second period but can't turn. Bakir holds the 1-1 criteria lead for the win.

16:00: Kiril MILOV (BUL) with a front headlock exposure for two and he led Alex SZOKE (HUN) 3-1. Szoke got the third passivity and as he tried to gut wrench Milov, he got stuck on the mat and Milov pinned him to enter the 97kg final.

He will take on Giorgi MELIA (GEO) in final after the Georgian defeated Markus RAGGINGER (AUT) 5-2. Melia blocked a turn from Ragginger and got two points. Ragginger got both the passivity calls and led 2-0 before the defended throw from Melia. Ragginger challenged for a defensive foul but lost it as Melia got another point and lead 3-2 with 1:30 remaining on the clock. Ragginger needs two points for a win. Melia with a stepout with 54 seconds remaining to lead 5-2. Ragginger fails to breakthrough and drops the semifinal.

15:50: Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) defends from par terre when Ramon BETSCHART (SUI) got the third passivity and keep his 2-1 lead to enter the 82kg final. He will face Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) in the final after he got a gift from Svetoslav NIKOLOV (BUL) who committed two offensive leg fouls and was cautioned out of the semifinal.

15:35: Mehmet SAHIN (TUR) enters the 72kg final with a 9-0 technical superiority win over Yryskeldi KHAMZAEV (KGZ). He will face Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) who beat Otar ABULADZE (GEO) 6-3 which may give him a look in the Georgian team for the European Championships.

15:20: Quick finishes to the 60kg semifinals! Amiran SHAVADZE (GEO) with two headpinch front throws to beat Haodong TAN (CHN) 8-0 and enter the final.

Yu SHIOTANI (JPN) brings out two reverse suplexes from par terre to beat Akyl SULAIMANOV (KGZ) 9-0. Lost challenge from Kyrgyzstan makes it 10-0

15:10: Emre MUTLU (TUR) with a huge four-point throw and then a turn from par terre as he leads Yerassyl MAMYRBEKOV (KAZ) 7-0 at the break in the 55kg semifinals. But Mamyrbekov storms back with two suplexes for two points each to make it 7-5. A challenge from Kazakhstan asking for a foul from Mutlu but there isn't any. A lost challenge makes it 8-5 for Mutlu with a minute remaining. Mutlu defends his lead and wins 8-5.

In the other semifinal, Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) was attacking from the start and earned two turns from par terre to lead 6-0 at the break Yersin ABYIR (TUR). Lolua also pulls out a good defense to keep it 6-1 when he was put on par terre in the second period. Abyir scores three points but a 6-4 win for Lolua.

The semifinals begin at 15:00 hours local time

14:40: Two turns from par terre for Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) to lead 5-1 and he may have thought that it was enough for a win. However, Shahin BADAGHI (QAT), of Iranian origin, scores a takedown to make it 5-4. Bolkvadze scores a stepout however Badaghi challenges and wins as Bolkvadze pulled his singlet. Badaghi down 5-4 with 1:21 left in the 82kg quarterfinal. Badaghi challenges for a headbutt but this time loses the challenge which makes Bolkvadze's score 6-4 whihc is also the winning score.

14:30: Yu SHIOTANI (JPN) with a five-pointer as he moves into the semifinals at 60kg! Shiotani blanks Ziyue XI (CHN) 11-0. 

14:20: Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) with a grand-amplitude over Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU) for five points. Sleiva blocked with his hands which gives to more to Lomadze who leads 7-0 at the break. Sleiva can manage only two points in the second period as Lomadze wins 7-2

14:10: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) pulls out his best defense from par terre and stops Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU) from turning him in the second period. A turn would have surely given Knystautas a 3-3 criteria lead. But Mirzazadeh wins 3-1

14:00: China has brought some hammers here! Haodong TAN (CHN) pins Paris Olympian Enes BASAR (TUR) at 60kg. Tan got the third passivity [no points are awarded for third passivity in Greco] and got a defensive foul from Basar. He then turned him and held Basar on the mat for a fall.

13:45: Ziyue XI (CHN) takes out Victor CIOBANU (MDA) at 60kg! What a performance from Xi. He defended his par terre position before scoring a correct throw from par terre in the second period to lead 3-1. Ciobanu gave up a stepout with 40 seconds remaining to fall behind 4-1. Ciobanu challenged so a foul but there was none. Xi gets a 5-1 lead. Ciobanu could not find a way to break Xi who wins 5-1 at 60kg.

13:35: Hamza BAKIR (TUR) scores an 8-0 win over Yuta NARA (JPN) at 130kg. Bakir has been impressive so far as he prepares himself for the big challenge at the European Championships. 

13:25: Tokyo Olympic silver medalist at Greco-Roman 130kg Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) turns Elias KUOSMANEN (FIN) from par terre to lead 3-0 at the break before defending his position from forced par terre in the second and win 3-1 at 130kg.

13:10: The world is missing out on Yu SHIOTANI (JPN). A series of reverse lifts from par terre and Shiotani has Ergi UKU (ALB) in all sorts of trouble. An 11-0 win for Shiotani.

13:07: Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU) brings out a reverse lift slam on Ji LENG (CHN) to score four points and snatch the win 4-2 against Leng who is a little dumbfounded with that move. Top move from Sleiva

13:05: Ali ARSALAN (SRB) can't find a way to break Iuri LOMADZE's (GEO) defense and drops his 72kg bout 5-1. Lomadze with a defensive block when Arsalan was trying to score on him.

12:50: Kyrgyzstan wrestlers are out here demoralising big star. Yryskeldi KHAMZAEV (KGZ) takes out Selcuk CAN (TUR) at 72kg. After leading 5-0, Khamzaev defended well from par terre and gave up only two points. Can made it 5-5 with a push out but Khamzaev keeps the criteria win.

12:40: Former European champion Kiril MILOV (BUL), who wrestled at Paris Olympics at 130kg, drops down to his natural 97kg, and he dominates Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED) 6-1. He scored two turns from par terre in the first period while Sterkenburg failed to do so in the second.

12:05: Hamza BAKIR (TUR) gets two par terre positions in the match and he scored three turns to beat 8-0 Laga BAYI (CHN) at 130kg. He expected to be the heir apparent to Riza KAYAALP (TUR) for Turkiye

11:50: Olympic bronze medalist Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) using his aggressive style against Heiki NABI (EST) for a 4-0 win at 130kg. While he did the par terre in the first period, he asked for standing in the second.

11:45: Yu SHIOTANI (JPN) gives a reality check to U20 world champion Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) of the senior level. Shiotani was in forced par terre in the first period but he didn't let Ahmadi Vafa score. The referees were about to give Ahmadi Vafa the second par terre which may have made Ahmadi Vafa relax as he gave up a takedown. A reversal in the same sequence was scored one point for Ahmadi Vafa. But Shiotani with a big lift and throw for two points. Shiotani challenges and gets two more points for a foul from Ahmadi Vafa to lead 6-2. From par terre, Shiotani would score three more points and lead 9-4 with 35 seconds on the clock.

Ahmadi Vafa threatened to cause an upset as he scored a takedown and a turn to make it 9-6 before Shiotani blocked the next turn for two points. He then score another exposure and held Ahmadi Vafa on the mat for a fall.

11:35: Ali ARSALAN (SRB), world bronze medalist at 72kg, impresses with a 4-4 win over Levente LEVAI (HUN). Levai led 3-0 at the break but Arsalan with a headpinch for four. Levai blocked his second attempt. A stepout in the end gave Levai another point but Arsalan won 4-4 on criteria.

11:31: Selcuk CAN (TUR), wrestling at 72kg, with an impressive 7-3 win against Mikko PELTOKANGAS (FIN). Can with a top defense from par terre to keep Peltokangas at bay

11:25: Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) needed two successful challenges to remaining in the opening match at 97kg against Alex SZOKE (HUN) who committed two offensive leg fouls. Szoke still had a 7-1 lead at the break. Savolainen managed two points in the second period but failed get a move on. Szoke with a 7-3 win.

11:00: Greco-Roman all day as the final day of the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series is here. Long day ahead but some classic match ups in various weight class. By the way, rain is back in Tirana.