#WrestleOslo

Tynybekova Recaps Her Inspiring Journey to Kyrgyz Sports History

Thursday, November 18, 2021 - 12:12 By Eric Olanowski

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OSLO, Norway (November 18) --- Aisululu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) successfully defended her 62kg world title at the '21 World Championships in Oslo, four short weeks after becoming the first Kyrgyz woman to win an Olympic medal.

 

Shortly after relying on her defense to stifle 2019 world U23 silver medalist Kayla MIRACLE (USA), 7-0, in the 62kg final, the now-two-time world champion sat down with United World Wrestling to recap her incredible journey to becoming one of the sports most recognizable figures.

In Oslo, Tynybekova did not have to contend with nemesis Yukako KAWAI (JPN), who beat her in the final at the Tokyo Olympics, and, like all of Japan's medalists, did not make the trip to Oslo.
 

But that's not to say that Tynybekova had it much easier. In the first round, she fell behind 4-0 against two-time world cadet champion Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) before rallying to a 6-4 win. She also had a close call in the quarterfinals.

"Today's final match was easier than any other match during this championships," Tynybekova said. "On Day One, all the three matches were really tough, I can say I could barely win them in the last seconds. "I wrestled the American girl at the international tournament in Italy and I know the way she wrestles. We figured out her technique together with the coach and I just followed everything he told me."

In the end, winning is all that counts for the woman who became the first wrestling world champion in her country's history, male or female. She was also one of two wrestlers who became Kyrgyzstan's first-ever female Olympic medalists in any sport at the Tokyo Games.

"As soon as I stepped out of the mat, my coach praised me," Tynybekova said. "It's most important for me to make my coach glad. I think all the people from Kyrgyzstan are glad as well. Talking about being a two-time world champion, I can say that I proved it to myself that I could make it. Of course, it makes me happy. Especially after losing at the Olympics, I could prepare well and win. It means a lot to me."

Development

Croatia continues to Train and Develop their Coaches and Referees

Tuesday, June 3, 2025 - 11:05 By United World Wrestling Press

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POREC, Croatia (June 3) – The Croatian Wrestling Federation continues to add educational activities for their coaches and referees. The previous year, they hosted a Level 2 course on the Introduction to Practice Planning. This year they organized a Level 3 coaching course on Periodization and Coaching Philosophy.  They also organized a Level 1 – Introduction to Referee course for their younger national referees. This year’s courses were conducted on 21-24 May in the beautiful city of Porec and was done in conjunction with Olympic Solidarity and United World Wrestling. 

The coaching course was led by UWW Educator Mr. Nenad Žugaj (CRO).  During the course, the 26 participants developed a better understanding of how periodization works when designing training sessions.  They were able to integrate those concepts and design their own plans.  The participants also focused on developing a coaching philosophy that they can use with their teams.

“The participants were active, I think they relaxed more and more every day and thus became more creative in their answers. I am pleased with the energy that prevailed and the positivity of the participants through jokes but also more serious topics.” said Mr. Žugaj  Eric, one of the coach participants said, “’I really liked the course and I would like to see such educations held more often. I especially liked how we, the coaches and referees, had joint lectures and assignments and were able to give opinions and views from different perspectives. I am looking forward to the next Level 4 course.”

CROParticipants look on doing the education courses held in Croaita during the final week of May. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

The referee course was led by UWW Educator Ms. Edit Dozsa (ITA). The course had 13 participants who focused on the fundamentals of being a good referee.  They focused on the evaluation of holds, how to properly start and end matches, proper referee mechanics, and keeping the athletes safe during bouts.  The referee participants were able to practice their skills through simulated matches and practical assessments. 

Both the coaches and referees had some working sessions together. They were able to analyze the roles of the coaches and of the referees. This helps give them a better understanding of the jobs that they do. They also discussed the importance of athlete safeguarding in wrestling.

“The cooperation with the educators Edit and Nenad was very good and successful. I visited the lectures on a couple of occasions and found them to be educational and interesting. The feedback from our coaches and judges was positive.” said Tin Bregović.

The Croatian Wrestling Federation also hosted a competition at the end of the courses. This competition allowed the coaches and referees to practice some of the skills that they had just learned during the course.