#WrestleSofia

Russia Advances Four Wrestlers to Men’s Freestyle Finals in #WrestleSofia

Tuesday, July 30, 2019 - 17:13 By Taylor Miller

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Photo of Soslan TIGIEV (RUS).

SOFIA, Bulgaria – The final five men’s freestyle gold-medal finals will feature seven athletes from either Russia or Iran tomorrow in Sofia, Bulgaria. Russia sent four athletes to the first-place match, while Iran advanced three.

There are two head-to-head matchups between the nations, coming at 60 kg and 92 kg.

At 60 kg, 2012 Cadet Asian silver medalist Erfan Mohammad ELAHI (IRI) will face two-time U15 European champion Arip ABDULAEV (RUS).

Both wrestlers won by technical superiority in the semifinals.

Competing in the 92 kg finals is 2019 Cadet Asian champion Soheyl YOUSEFI SANGANI (IRI) vs. Zagid KARIMOV (RUS), who made his international debut today.

Also wrestling for gold for Russia tomorrow is 2017 and 2018 U15 European gold medalist Mukhamed KHANIEV (RUS) at 51 kg and Soslan TIGIEV (RUS) at 71 kg.

Khaniev will take on Zhakhongir AKHMAJANOV (KAZ) for the top spot at 51 kg, and Tigiev will battle Krisztian BIRO (ROU), who was ninth at the 2019 Cadet European Championships.

Photo of Marc-Anthony MCGOWAN (USA)

The remaining Iranian in the gold match is 2019 Cadet Asian champion Ali Mehran ARAB FIROUZJAEI (IRI), who will face off against 2018 U15 freestyle and Greco-Roman Pan American champion Marc-Anthony MCGOWAN (USA) for the title at 45 kg.

The finals will take place on Wednesday at 6 p.m. local time (11 a.m. ET) live on unitedworldwrestling.org.

Finals matchups
45 kg: Marc-Anthony MCGOWAN (USA) vs. Ali Mehran ARAB FIROUZJAEI (IRI)
51 kg: Zhakhongir AKHMAJANOV (KAZ) vs. Mukhamed KHANIEV (RUS)
60 kg: Erfan Mohammad ELAHI (IRI) vs. Arip ABDULAEV (RUS)
71 kg: Krisztian BIRO (ROU) vs. Soslan TIGIEV (RUS)
92 kg: Zagid KARIMOV (RUS) vs. Soheyl YOUSEFI SANGANI (IRI)

Development

Big step in women’s wrestling leadership with new members in UWW Bureau

Wednesday, November 6, 2024 - 12:12 By United World Wrestling Press

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TIRANA, Albania (November 6) -- At the UWW 2024 Congress that took place in Tirana, Albania on the October 27, a historic milestone was achieved in women wrestling leadership.

There were seven female candidates for the UWW Bureau, the supreme body of wrestling, marking the highest-ever participation by women in the process.

Kuniko Tanioka (JPN), Annette Kure (NOR), Lise Legrand (FRA), Cholpon Sultanbekova (KGZ), Buyana Peljee (MGL), Nadine Pietschmann (SUI) and UWW Vice-President, Natalia Yariguina (RUS) took part in the race for the Bureau role.

This was the first time that Women Lead Sports alumni being elected to NF president positions and the highest registered female candidates for the Bureau in the history. Rodica Yaksi (TUR) was promoted to Vice-President and Ye Zhang (CHN) has two years left in her term.

A report on the progress made for women coaches and referees at the Paris Olympic Games through the various initiatives and programmes established by UWW Technical Assistance and Development Commission was shared with the national federations that attended the 2024 congress.

“From Tokyo to Paris, we made great strides to promote gender equality within our wrestling community. It is our duty to pave the way for our future generations for equal opportunities, no matter the gender, the religious beliefs, ethnicity, etc.,” UWW President Nenad Lalovic said. “We value and praise those who promote wrestling at all levels. We witnessed that by providing the right programmes and opportunities it strengthens our sport and our community worldwide.”