#WrestleNoviSad

Ukraine Advances Trio to Friday Night Finals

Thursday, March 7, 2019 - 17:53 By Eric Olanowski

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NOVI SAD, Serbia (March 7) – Ukraine won three of their four semifinal matches and will meet a German opponent twice on Friday night for a U23 European gold medal. The two Ukraine and Germany matchups will take place at 53kg and 62kg. 

At 53kg, semifinal winners Khrystyna BEREZA (UKR) and Annika WENDLE (GER) both scored come-from-behind wins and punched their tickets to Friday’s gold-medal bout. 

In Bereza’s semifinal match, she was behind 4-1 with under 10 seconds left when she dug in double underhooks and threw Zeynep YETGIL (TUR) to her back, picking up four points and the 5-4 lead. A failed Turkey challenge ultimately gave Bereza the 6-4 victory. 

Wendle trailed Azerbaijan’s Tatyana VARANSOVA 6-0 after the opening period but scored 16 unanswered points before planting the Azeri on her back to pick up the fall. 

At 62kg, returning U23 European gold medalist and U23 world runner-up Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR) will take on Luzie MANZKE (GER) in the second Ukraine and Germany matchup. 

Prokopevniuk was up 6-0 before she threw Daria BOBRULKO (RUS) to her back for the fall, while Manzke used an inactivity point and a step out to shutout Ameline DOUARRE (FRA), 2-0. 

The third Ukrainian Day 5 finalist is Alina AKOBIIA. She’ll meet Valeryia YARMOLA (BLR) in the 57kg finals. 

Akobiia punched her ticket to the finals with 10-0 win over a clearly injured Elif YANIK (TUR), who was last year’s U23 European bronze medalist. 

Her Belarusian finals opponent led 9-0 after the opening period before capitalizing on a second-period defensive stop, which gave her the 11-0 victory over Ramona GALAMBOS (HUN). 

Mariia KUZNETSOVA (RUS) will wrestle for the 65kg U23 European title on Friday night. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka) 

The lone weight not featuring a Ukrainian finalist is 65kg. Russia’s Mariia KUZNETSOVA will wrestle Romania’s Kriszta INCZE in the gold-medal bout. 

Kuznetsova capped off her run to the gold-medal match with a 10-0 routing of Anastasiia LAVRENCHUK (UKR), while Incze scored a hard-fought 8-3 win over France’s Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA) to punch her way to Friday night’s finals.

The Day 5 finals begin at 18:00 (local time) and can be watched live on www.unitedworldwrestling.org.

RESULTS
53kg 
GOLD - Annika WENDLE (GER) vs. Khrystyna BEREZA (UKR)
SEMIFINALS - Annika WENDLE (GER) df. Tatyana VARANSOVA (AZE), via fall
SEMIFINALS - Khrystyna BEREZA (UKR) df. Zeynep YETGIL (TUR), 6-4

57kg 
GOLD - Valeryia YARMOLA (BLR) vs. Alina AKOBIIA (UKR)
SEMIFINALS - Valeryia YARMOLA (BLR)  df. Ramona GALAMBOS (HUN), 10-0 
SEMIFINALS - Alina AKOBIIA (UKR) df. Elif YANIK (TUR), 10-0 

62kg
GOLD - Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR) vs. Luzie MANZKE (GER)
SEMIFINALS - Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR) df. Daria BOBRULKO (RUS), via fall 
SEMIFINALS - Luzie MANZKE (GER) df. Ameline DOUARRE (FRA), 2-0 

65kg
GOLD - Mariia KUZNETSOVA (RUS) vs. Kriszta Tunde INCZE (ROU)
SEMIFINALS - Mariia KUZNETSOVA (RUS) df. Anastasiia LAVRENCHUK (UKR), 10-0 
SEMIFINALS - Kriszta INCZE (ROU) df. Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA), 8-3 

#UnitedWorldWrestling

Paris Olympics: Wrestling breaks new barriers, expands reach across continents

Thursday, August 22, 2024 - 14:05 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (August 22): More than half a million new fans in the digital community. An astounding 100 million engagements. And a remarkable 134 percent increase in social media impressions compared to Tokyo 2020.

At the Paris Olympics, it was a gold medal for wrestling.

UWW

On the mat, legends were born, records were set, and some moments would be remembered for ages. Off it, the sport broke new barriers, expanded its reach and engaged with a diverse audience as the United World Wrestling digital channels witnessed unprecedented growth during the Games.

The UWW’s online platforms recorded an impressive 11.2 percent increase in followers, adding over 508,000 new fans to its digital community. Compared to the growth in followers during the Tokyo Olympics, this figure represents a staggering 125 percent increase.

A large part of this surge was seen on Instagram, where the UWW gained 217,000 new followers. Facebook was a close second, adding 183,000 new followers while TikTok, the platform known for its short, engaging content, added 61,400 new followers. The growth across all platforms highlights the effectiveness of the UWW’s content strategy.

The inspiring clip of Greco-Roman star Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI), who won Iran’s first gold medal in the Paris Olympics drove the maximum engagement on Instagram. Saravi, who won a bronze medal in Tokyo, beat Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) 4-1 in the 97kg final.

Another Iranian, Rahman AMOUZAD, one of the most feared wrestlers in the 65 kg freestyle, went viral with a video in which he proclaimed himself the ‘king’. This post had the second-highest engagement while a slick clip of Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) was the third-most viewed, captivating the viewers and leading engagements as well as interactions.

These videos – and many others shared across UWW’s social media channels – resonated strongly with audiences, garnering record-breaking views. Overall, there were 330 million impressions, a remarkable rise of 134 percent compared to the Tokyo Olympics.

Moreover, the content also achieved 100 million engagements, and a 71 percent increase in reach compared to the previous Olympic Games. This surge in interaction underscores the high level of interest and excitement generated by UWW’s coverage of the Olympic wrestling events.

The video content drove UWW’s social media success. Across all platforms, UWW’s video content garnered over 156 million views, an extraordinary 205 percent increase compared to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

YouTube, in particular, saw significant traction with over 21 million views. This success was fueled by a mix of short and long-form videos apart from live streaming, with shorts emerging as the most popular content format.

With more than one million views, the YouTube video of AMAN (IND) getting his revenge over Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) with a win in the preliminary round. Aman, who won a bronze medal, had lost to Abakarov at the 2023 World Championships.

Chamizo’s video, Don't play with fire #WrestleParis, which went viral on Instagram was also a huge hit on YouTube with hundreds of thousands of viewers, making it the second-most watched video on the platform.

The Day Three highlights show which revisited one of the biggest upsets of the competition – Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) defeating Yui SUSAKI (JPN) in the women’s 50 kg first round – got the third-highest views on YouTube.

The UWW’s vibrant social media strategy was complemented by a robust email marketing campaign, which ran daily throughout the Olympic Games. The ongoing CRM campaigns helped boost engagement across Web, App and UWW+.