#WrestleCoralville

Ukraine bringing loaded WW team to World Cup

Friday, November 18, 2022 - 17:32 By Gary Abbott

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CORALVILLE, Iowa (November 18) --- The lineup for Ukraine’s Women’s Wrestling World Cup team has been released.

The Women’s Wrestling World Cup will be held at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa, Dec. 10-11. It is the first time that freestyle and women’s wrestling will be held together side-by-side at the World Cup.

The World Cup is the annual international dual meet championships, conducted by United World Wrestling. The top five teams in men’s freestyle and the top five teams in women’s wrestling from the 2022 Senior World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia in September have confirmed their participation. There is also an All World Team in each discipline, featuring the top available athlete from the World Championships in each weight class that were not from a nation which qualified for the World Cup.

The Ukraine Women’s World Cup team is talented, as nine of the 10 entries have won at least one world medal, either on the Senior level or age-group level, or both.

The team is led by 2014 world champion Yulia TKACH OSTAPCHUK, who has also won three other world medals, a 2017 world silver medal and world bronze medals in 2015 and 2018. She has also won world titles at the University and U20 age levels.

Other senior world medalists on the roster include two-time world medalist Oleksandra KHOMENETS (55kg), a 2022 world silver medalist and a 2021 world bronze medalist. Also competing are Oksana LIVACH (50kg), a 2018 world bronze medalist, Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (57kg), a 2022 world bronze medalist and Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (62kg), a 2022 world bronze medalist. All four of these stars have also won age-group world medals, with Livach a 2013 U17 World champion.

Age-group World medalists on the team include Tetiana SOVA RIZHKO (65kg), Alla BELINSKA (68kg), Anastasiya ALPYEVA (72kg) and Anastasiia OSNIACH SHUSTOVA (76kg). Alpyeyeva was a 2021 U23 world champion and Onsiak Shustova was a 2013 U17 world champion.

Ukraine, which placed fifth at the 2022 World Championships in women’s freestyle, will be joined in the World Cup by World champion Japan, second place United States, third place China and fourth place Mongolia, in addition to the All-World Team.         

Ukraine’s women’s team will spend an extended time in the United States, training with Team USA and others prior to and after the World Cup. The Ukrainian women will also compete in the Beat the Streets Los Angeles International Wrestling event in San Marino, Calif. on December 18, where it will take on a U.S. women’s all-star team.

The rosters of the World Cup teams for the other nations will be announced over the next week by USA Wrestling.

Ticket packages for the 2022 Men’s and Women’s Freestyle World Cup are currently on sale. The seating capacity for Xtream Arena for the World Cup will be approximately 5,300. Ticket packages include a Gold package for $275, Silver package for $200 and All-Session tickets for $90.

A special Presentation of Teams and Team USA Meet & Greet will also be held on Friday, December 9 at 6:45 pm. It is free and open to the public.

Men’s and Women’s Wrestling World Cup tickets -> https://worldcupiowacity.com/tickets/

Ukraine Women’s Freestyle World Cup team
50 kg – Oksana LIVACH
53 kg – Lilija MALANCHUK
55 kg – Oleksandra KHOMENETS
57 kg – Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA
59 kg – Yuliia TKACH OSTAPCHUK
62 kg – Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK
65 kg – Tetiana SOVA RIZHKO
68 kg – Alla BELINSKA
72 kg – Anastasiya ALPYEVA
76 kg – Anastasiia OSNIACH SHUSTOVA   

#UnitedWorldWrestling

Lalovic attends WADA Conference, completes development visits in Asia

Tuesday, December 9, 2025 - 12:45 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 8) -- United World Wrestling President Nenad LALOVIC, who serves on the WADA Executive Committee as an IOC representative, attended the 2025 WADA World Conference held from December 1 to 5 in Busan, Korea.

The conference brought together the global anti-doping community for high-level discussions on the World Anti-Doping Program, with a key focus on approving the 2027 World Anti-Doping Code and International Standards. The revision process, launched in September 2023, has allowed stakeholders to contribute to strengthening and modernizing the global anti-doping system.

Nenad LALOVIC

Development visits

President Lalovic also completed wrestling-related visits to China, Korea, and Kyrgyzstan, reinforcing UWW’s commitment to supporting National Federations and expanding the sport across the region.

In each country, Lalovic emphasized UWW’s ongoing efforts to deepen cooperation with National Federations, increase engagement, and grow wrestling at the elite and grassroots levels. He encouraged federations to integrate wrestling programs into schools, offering more opportunities for young athletes to enter the sport.

Nenad LALOVIC

A key area of discussion was UWW’s development strategy leading into the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic cycle, including updates on Olympic qualification, the Pro Series, and opportunities available to National Federations.

In China, meetings were held with Vice Minister of General Administration of Sport of China Lixin TONG and Vice President of National Olympic Committee of China Jinqiang ZHOU.

UWW also recently announced the addition of Raul TRUJILLO DIAZ, longtime coach of Olympic champion Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) and recipient of the 2025 IOC Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award, to support global development of Greco-Roman. Lalovic highlighted that such initiatives strengthen the sport and promote valuable exchanges of expertise among federations and coaches.

MoU

MoU signed in Kyrgyzstan

During the visit to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan inaugurated a new wrestling arena and academy, marking a significant step forward in its cooperation with UWW.

A Memorandum of Understanding was also signed between UWW and Izabekov Wrestling Academy to expand development programs and training opportunities in the country.

Accompanied by UWW Asia President Mohammad Al-AWAMLEH and Secretary General Carlos ROY, Lalovic met with representatives of the Kyrgyzstan federation to discuss regional initiatives and long-term development plans.

On December 6, Lalovic was received by Sadyr JAPAROV, President of the Kyrgyz Republic, to whom he presented the UWW medal in recognition of his support for wrestling.