Obituary

Referee Thomas Martin Hyllegaard Passes Unexpectedly at Age 37

Tuesday, August 25, 2020 - 12:47 By United World Wrestling Press

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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.

#UWWAwards

Muszukajev, Rosillo, Tosun tabbed Breakout Performers for 2023

Friday, December 15, 2023 - 15:19 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 15) — Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN), Bose TOSUN (TUR) and Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB) stunned the world with their performances in 2023 and have been named United World Wrestling’s Breakout Performances of the Year in Freestyle, Women’s Wrestling and Greco-Roman respectively.

Muszukajev was a two-time world bronze medalist before 2023 but orchestrated a stunning career turnaround with his performance in Belgrade. The 65kg weight saw Musukajev triumphantly seize the world title, overcoming defending champion Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) and reigning Olympic gold medalist Takuto OTOGURO (JPN). In a defining moment in Belgrade, Muszukajev became Hungary’s second-ever world champion, bringing an end to a 44-year freestyle world title drought dating back to 1979.

Perhaps the most shocking run to the world title in Belgrade was that of Bose TOSUN (TUR) who captured the 68kg gold in the field that had Irina RINGACI (MDA), Ami ISHII (JPN), Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL), Koumba LARROQUE (FRA), Feng ZHOU (CHN), Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ), among others. 

Tosun dominated her competition with five resounding victories, including three falls, solidifying her status alongside Yasemin ADAR (TUR) as Turkiye’s only women’s wrestling world champions.

Another top performance in Belgrade was by Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB) who defeated two world champions, Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) and Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM), in semifinal and final, transforming his 2019 ninth-place finish at the World Championships into a glorious 97kg gold medal.

A U20 world champion in 2019, Rosillo finished 13th at the Tokyo Olympics but has now made himself the top contender for the 97kg title in the Paris Olympics.