#WrestleBudapest

Russia Relying on Three Olympic Champs for Tokyo Berths  

Thursday, March 11, 2021 - 21:12 By Eric Olanowski

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (March 11) --- The Russian Federation will rely heavily on Olympic champions Roman VLASOV (RUS), Davit CHAKVETADZE (RUS) and Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) to earn berths to the Tokyo Olympic Games through next week’s European Olympic Qualifier (March 18-21).  

They’ll need a top-two finish to punch their nation’s ticket to this summer’s Games.

Greco-Roman stars Vlasov and Chakvetadze will compete at 77kg and 87kg, respectively, while Vorobieva will wrestle in arguably the deepest women’s wrestling weight, 76kg.  

Vlasov, already a two-time Olympic champion, is on a mission to become wrestling's fourth Greco-Roman three-time Olympic gold medalist. He’d join a shortlist of three-timers, including fellow Novosibirsk native Aleksandr KARELIN (RUS), along with Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) and Carl WESTERGREN (SWE).

The European Olympic Qualifiers will be Vlasov’s second attempt at earning an Olympic bid. He came up shy of a top-eight finish at the ’19 World Championships. Vlasov dropped his second-round bout to Askhat DILMUKHAMEDOV (KAZ), 3-0, and finished in eighth place.

Since that uncharacteristic loss at the World Championships, "Air Vlasov" returned to his winning ways. He nabbed gold at the Individual World Cup with five wins -- including a one-point victory against fellow world champion and longtime rival, Viktor NEMES (SRB).

Chakvetadze, the Rio Olympic gold medalist, is replacing Russia’s world and European representative Aleksandr KOMAROV (RUS) at 87kg. Komarov needed a top-six finish at the ’19 World Championships to qualify Russia for the Olympics but dropped his second-round match to Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) and finished in 11th place. 

Chakvetadze received the nod over Komarov for a second straight completion. His last outing came at the '20 Individual World Cup in late December, where he finished in second place. During his run to the Belgrade finals, the Olympic champion looked in top-shape en route to wins over continental champion Semen NOVIKOV (UKR) and Hossein Ahmad NOURI (IRI) before running into the buzzsaw Kiryl MASKEVICH (BLR).

London gold medalist and Rio silver-medal winner Vorobeva is the reigning world and European champion at the non-Olympic weight of 72kg. She’s moving up to 76kg with hopes of becoming the first non-Japanese woman ever to win a pair of Olympic gold medals. 

Vorobieva is replacing Rio Olympic bronze medalist Ekaterina BUKINA (RUS) at 76kg. Bukina lost to Epp MAE (EST) in the first round at the ’19 World Championships and left Nur-Sultan with a disappointing 17th-place finish.

The Olympic Qualifier will be Vorobeva's first tournament up at the Olympic weight in 14 months. In her last outing at 76kg, she went 3-1 and claimed a Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series bronze medal. Vorobeva tallied her biggest win of the competition in the quarterfinals against '19 world bronze medalist Epp MAEE (EST), 11-2.

Wrestling begins on Thursday, March 18, and can be followed live on www.unitedworldwrestling.org. 

#SportsDepartment

UWW organizes fourth edition Event Organizing Workshop

Wednesday, October 23, 2024 - 13:32 By United World Wrestling Press

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TIRANA, Albania (October 23) — Over the last decade, United World Wrestling (UWW) has focused on improving the quality of its events. To keep this improvement on track, UWW organized its fourth edition of the Event Organizing Workshop from October 17 to 22 in Tirana, within the framework of the U23 World Championship.

Nine countries, including China, Italy, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Namibia, participated in the workshop, which was held before the U23 World Championships.

Led by UWW Sports and Development Officer Yuri MAIER (ARG) and Senior Competition Manager Ramil AHMADOV (AZE), the workshop provided valuable insight into the complexities of organizing international wrestling events.

Participants arrived in Albania on October 17 and engaged in four theoretical sessions on October 18 and 19. On October 20 and 21, they had the opportunity to apply their knowledge practically by observing key event functions such as the technical meeting, draw, and weigh-in.

In addition to covering many relevant topics, the workshop featured contributions from UWW staff members specializing in Accreditation, Photography, Technology & Results, and Marketing and Communications. These sessions, which were held with the support of local organizing committees, helped participants understand the role of various departments in delivering a successful event.

KAKadir CALISKAN (GER), UWW's Photo Manager, presents at the Event Organizing Workshop. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Participants gave overwhelmingly positive feedback, praising the workshop’s structure and content. One attendee highlighted, "The level of engagement and interaction during the sessions was fantastic. The facilitators were knowledgeable, and the practical exercises were crucial in helping us understand how to apply the concepts in real-world scenarios."

Another participant added, "The networking opportunities were invaluable. Meeting professionals from different countries allowed us to exchange ideas and best practices, which will certainly help in future event organization."

Maier emphasized the importance of continuous learning, stating, "Workshops like this allow us to strengthen our network of event organizers across the world. By sharing experiences and knowledge, we ensure that every event is better than the last."

Ahmadov echoed this sentiment, adding, "The practical experience of seeing the U23 World Championship preparation up close is invaluable. It’s one thing to discuss logistics in theory but seeing them unfold in real time makes all the difference."

Overall, the Event Organization Workshop provided an excellent learning platform for participants, empowering them to organize events more efficiently and effectively in the future. It contributed to the growth and be capable of delivering better wrestling events worldwide.

United World Wrestling will continue to support and organize such Workshop in the years to come and already welcome all the interested Federations for the next editions.