Obituary

Referee Thomas Martin Hyllegaard Passes Unexpectedly at Age 37

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (August 25) -- We are sad to announce the sudden death of United World Wrestling category I referee, Thomas Martin Hyllegaard, who was taken from us Saturday, August 22.

Thomas lived his early years in the Danish city of Frederikshavn, where he started wrestling at the age of 10. His life has since revolved around wrestling. As a young man, he was wrestling in the Danish Capitol city of Copenhagen while attending the Danish Police academy.

In 2008, Thomas attended the quadrennial European Games for Police officers, where he placed 7th. He took up refereeing the same year which he excelled at, quickly reaching the top tiers of international refereeing. Thomas stood firm at his goal – he wished to referee at the Olympic Games.

He worked tirelessly for the advancement of the Danish referees. Thomas led a successful campaign recruiting young referees as well as conveying and translating the latest rules from United World Wrestling.

Thomas is survived by his wife and two young sons, ages 8 and 6.

#development

Maier completes the IOC MEMOS, Executive Master in Sport Management Organisation

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (September 26) -- Yuri MAIER (ARG), a United World Wrestling Sports and Development Officer, completed the IOC MEMOS, Executive Master in Sport Management Organisation.

Yuri is among the few from IFs who have completed the programme. His research paper focuses on enhancing the administration of UWW National Federations of the Americas to implement it worldwide in the next quadrennial towards LA 2028.

The mission of the MEMOS (Executive Masters in Sports Organisation Management) programme is to help professionals working in national or international sports bodies develop the knowledge required to better manage their organisations. This programme is offered in several languages through the National Olympic committees.

“We are pleased with Yuri’s accomplishment as we focus on strengthening our national federations administration in the next years. We highly encourage our members to enroll in this programme and collaborate closely with their National Olympic Committees,” said Mr. Nenad Lalovic, UWW President, IOC Executive Committee Member and Member of the Olympic Solidarity Commission.