#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)

#UnitedWorldWrestling

Lopez's coach Trujillo Diaz Joins UWW Development Efforts

Monday, December 1, 2025 - 06:52 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (November 28) -- Raul TRUJILLO DIAZ, longtime coach of Olympic champion Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) and recipient of 2025 International Olympic Committee Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award, has signed a development contract with United World Wrestling.

Following Lopez's appointment last year as the UWW Global Wrestling Promotion Ambassador, now Trujillo Diaz will also work with UWW with a focus on youth development, coach education, and high-performance training systems.

During his visit to the UWW in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Trujillo met with UWW President Nenad LALOVIC for an in-depth discussion on the future of the sport. Their conversation addressed coaching standards, talent retention, and sustainable pathways to support athletes from the youth level through elite competition.

UWW

"We all know the importance of having a good coach," Lalovic said. "We need to keep wrestling talents, especially great coaches, within the sport to ensure knowledge sharing and the long-term development of wrestling."

Trujillo’s new responsibilities will complement the work of Lopez who became the first athlete to win five Olympic gold medals in the same sport at Paris 2024. They will contribute to UWW’s global development initiatives as the organization continues its efforts to grow wrestling worldwide and support the next generation of athletes.