Obituary

Tzeno Tzenov, Longtime Bureau Member and President of European Council, Dies at 80

By United World Wrestling Press

SOFIA, Bulgaria (June 1) - Tzeno TZENOV, a bureau member during some of wrestling's biggest moments, has died. He was 80.

Born in Markovo Village in 1939, Tzenov graduated from the “Kliment Ohridski” of Sofia University with a Master of Arts in History and Archeology.

The son of a former bureau member, Tzenov had an eye for the mats and ways to help the sport grow, starting during the 1980's during his tenure as Secretary of the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation and later, vice president. Tzenov also briefly served as the President of the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation from 1987-1989.

Away from wrestling, Tzenov was elected as Secretary-General of the Bulgarian Union for Physical Culture and Sport from 1989 to 1993. From there he transitioned into an important role as a Member of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee where he had remained since 1992. 

Tzenov was also the executive director of “Bulgarian Sport” Charity Foundation since 2004 and was the President of the Control’s Council at the Bulgarian Olympic Committee since November 2005.

Mr. Tzenov's impact on wrestling is well-known, becoming a member of the European Council of FILA/UWW in 1978 where he was later elected president in 1995. Tzenov was first elected to the FILA/UWW Bureau in 2002 and subsequently re-elected in 2008 and 2014. In 2016, Tzenov was named as a bureau vice-president.

“As a long-time serving executive in sports, and as a historian, Mr. Tzenov had a great knowledge of wrestling’s culture and heritage, in particular in the European context," said United World Wrestling president Nenad Lalovic. "Combined with his experience gained in the sport’s highest instances in Bulgaria and in the International Federation, he had a pivotal role in leading wrestling towards modernity while safeguarding the core values of our sport”. 

"He will be dearly missed by everyone in the wrestling community and our deepest condolences to his wife, friends and colleagues."

Further decisions about Mr. Tzenov's funeral will be made in the coming days.

#WrestleAcapulco

Pan-Am Olympic Qualifier 2024 Entries

By United World Wrestling Press

ACAPULCO, Mexico (January 30) -- The continental Olympic qualifier -- Pan-American -- will be held in Acapulco, Mexico from February 28 to March 1.

The three-day competition will see wrestlers hoping to win a Paris Olympic ticket for their respective countries in the 18 weight classes — six in each of the three styles.

The countries who won the quota at the 2023 Belgrade World Championships are not eligible to take part in the weight class they won the quota. The qualifier in Acapulco will be held after the Pan-Am Championships, to be held in the same venue from February 21 to 24.

Only those countries that take part in the Pan-Am Championships will be eligible for Pan-Am Olympic Qualifiers. The number of wrestlers in the qualifiers from each country will also depend on their participation in the Championships.

The event will be live on UWW+ on uww.org and UWW's mobile app. The full schedule of the event can be found here -- Pan-Am Olympic Qualifiers.

Freestyle

57kg
Davi SILVA GIOVANNETTI (BRA)
Darthe CAPELLAN (CAN)
Oscar TIGREROS (COL)
Peter HAMMER (CRC)
Osmany DIVERSENT (CUB)
Guesseppe REA VILLARROEL (ECU)
Edwin SEGURA (GUA)
Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX)
Enrique HERRERA (PER)
Darian CRUZ (PUR)
Zane RICHARDS (USA)
Pedro MEJIAS RODRIGUEZ (VEN)

65kg
Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG)
Shannon HANNA (BAH)
Matheus DA LUZ BARRETO (BRA)
Lachlan MCNEIL (CAN)
Matias MUNOZ (CHI)
Elkin ESPANA SANTA (COL)
Alejandro VALDES (CUB)
Albaro RUDECINDO CAMACHO (DOM)
Joshua KRAMER (ECU)
Austin GOMEZ (MEX)
Sixto AUCCAPINA PEDRAGAS (PER)
John DIAKOMIHALIS (USA)

74kg
Cesar BORDEAUX (BRA)
Stone LEWIS (CAN)
Hernan GUZMAN (COL)
Jeandry GARZON (CUB)
Julio RODRIGUEZ (DOM)
Enrique PEREZ (GUA)
Luis BARRIOS (HON)
Raul PALACIOS (MEX)
Angel CORTES (PAN)
Sonny SANTIAGO (PUR)
Dylan PALACIO (URU)
Anthony MONTERO (VEN)

86kg
Jorge LLANO (ARG)
Pedro GONCALVES (BRA)
Alexander MOORE (CAN)
Eduardo GAJARDO (CHI)
Carlos IZQUIERDO (COL)
Yurieski TORREBLANCA (CUB)
Anthony VALENCIA (MEX)
Pool AMBROCIO (PER)
Ethan RAMOS (PUR)
Pedro CEBALLOS (VEN)

97kg
Ricardo BAEZ (ARG)
Ailton BRITO (BRA)
Nishan Preet RANDHAWA (CAN)
Matias URIBE (CHI)
Maxwell LACEY (CRC)
Arturo SILOT (CUB)
Luis PEREZ (DOM)
Cristian SANCHEZ (MEX)
Marcos SANTOS (PUR)
Cristian SARCO (VEN)

125kg
Catriel MURIEL (ARG)
Gabriel DE SOUSA (BRA)
Amarveer DHESI (CAN)
Jhoan OCORO (COL)
Ibrain TORRES (CUB)
Elison ADAMES (DOM)
Gino AVILA (HON)
Aaron JOHNSON (JAM)
Diego MACIAS (MEX)
Jonovan SMITH (PUR)
Jose DIAZ (VEN)

Ana GODINEZ (CAN)Ana GODINEZ (CAN) will look to win a quota at 62kg for Canada. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
Maia CABRERA (ARG)
Kamila BARBOSA (BRA)
Geneviève MORRISON HALEY (CAN)
Javiera ORTEGA (CHI)
Alisson CARDOZO (COL)
Yusneylis GUZMAN (CUB)
Jacqueline MOLLOCANA (ECU)
Karla HERNANDEZ (ESA)
Mariana DIAZ (MEX)
Yorlenis MORAN (PAN)
Mariana ROJAS (VEN)

53kg
Sabrina GAMA (BRA)
Karla GODINEZ (CAN)
Antonia VALDES (CHI)
Eva GONZALEZ (COL)
Laura HERIN (CUB)
Maria GONZALEZ (DOM)
Zeltzin HERNANDEZ (MEX)
Yusneiry AGRAZAL (PAN)
Nathaly HERRERA (PER)
Dominique PARRISH (USA)
Betzabeth ARGUELLO (VEN)

57kg
Camila AMARILLA (ARG)
Giullia PENALBER (BRA)
Hannah TAYLOR (CAN)
Andrea GONZALEZ (COL)
Angela ALVAREZ (CUB)
Yocleidy RAMIREZ (DOM)
Luisa VALVERDE (ECU)
Jacqueline HERNANDEZ (ESA)
Bertha ROJAS (MEX)
Karoline ORTIZ (PUR)
Betzabeth SARCO (VEN)

62kg
Lais NUNES (BRA)
Ana GODINEZ (CAN)
Virginia JIMENEZ (CHI)
Katherine RENTERIA (COL)
Maria SANTANA (CUB)
Eldarah BROWN (JAM)
Melanie JIMENEZ (MEX)
Carina GIANGERUSO (PUR)
Kayla MIRACLE (USA)
Astrid MONTERO (VEN)

68kg
Thamires MARTINS (BRA)
Linda MORAIS (CAN)
Nicoll PARRADO (COL)
Brenda STERLING (CUB)
Leonela AYOVI (ECU)
Ambar GARNICA (MEX)
Forrest MOLINARI (USA)
Soleymi CARABALLO (VEN)

76kg
Linda MACHUCA (ARG)
Meiriele CHARAMBA (BRA)
Justina DI STASIO (CAN)
Emelyn BAUTISTA (DOM)
Genesis REASCO (ECU)
Saidy CHAVEZ (HON)
Atzimba LANDAVERDE (MEX)
Maria ACOSTA (VEN)

Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARG)London Olympic silver medalist Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARG) is making a comeback to UWW competition after five years. He will wrestle for Argentina at 77kg. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

Greco-Roman

60kg
Erivan CONSTANTINO (BRA)
Keeyan TROTMAN (CAN)
Cristobal TORRES (CHI)
Dicther TORO (COL)
Kevin DE ARMAS (CUB)
Yerony LIRIA (DOM)
Jeremy PERALTA (ECU)
Alexis RODRIGUEZ (MEX)
Ildar HAFIZOV (USA)
Raiber RODRIGUEZ (VEN)

67kg
Mauricio LOVERA (ARG)
Calebe CORREA (BRA)
Gavin ELDRIDGE (CAN)
Nestor ALMANZA (CHI)
Julian HORTA (COL)
Starlin LAGUERRE (DOM)
Andres MONTANO (ECU)
Jose VARELA (GUA)
Edsson OLMOS (MEX)
Nilton SOTO (PER)
Luis CENTENO (PUR)
Alejandro SANCHO (USA)

77kg
Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARG)
Joilson RAMOS (BRA)
John YEATS (CAN)
Eduardo BERNAL (CHI)
Jair CUERO (COL)
Yosvanys PENA (CUB)
David CHOC (GUA)
Emmanuel BENITEZ (MEX)
Alvis ALMENDRA (PAN)
Jonathan VIRUET (PUR)
Kamal BEY (USA)
Wuileixis RIVAS (VEN)

87kg
Ronisson BRANDAO (BRA)
Ioannis NARLIDIS (CAN)
Jose MORENO (CHI)
Carlos MUNOZ (COL)
Daniel GREGORICH (CUB)
Ariel ALFONSO (HON)
Daniel VICENTE (MEX)
Spencer WOODS (USA)
Luis AVENDANO (VEN)

97kg
Ricardo GOMEZ (ARG)
Kauan FERREIRA (BRA)
Carlos ADAMES (DOM)
Kevin MEJIA (HON)
Noel TORRES (MEX)
Max MADRID (PAN)
Alan VERA (USA)
Luillys PEREZ (VEN)

130kg
Eduard SOGHOMONYAN (BRA)
Jorawar DHINSA (CAN)
Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI)
Paul MORALES (MEX)
Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA)
Moises PEREZ (VEN)