UWW development reaches beyond borders in landmark year

Thursday, December 22, 2022 - 08:29 By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 22) -- A programme that provides more opportunities for women to progress into leadership roles, courses designed to educate coaches and referees, opening the doors to world-class training facilities to wrestlers from across the globe by partnering with INSEP keeping in mind the Paris Olympics, a multitude of anti-doping initiatives and restarting the refugee camp projects.

As 2022 draws to a close, the United World Wrestling looks back at a series of initiatives undertaken all through the years with an aim to consolidate the present and leap into a better tomorrow. These programmes ranged from humanitarian to technical, governance to education.

One of the highlights of the year is the re-starting of the refugee camp project in Jordan. As a part of the International Olympic Committee’s Refugee Athletes’ promotion since the Rio 2016 Olympics, UWW President Nenad LALOVIC decided to promote wrestling in United Nations refugee camps across the world. The Refugee Camp in Jordan is in continuation of this programme.

Medals More Than Medals camp in Rome. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

The UWW closely collaborated with all the organisations involved in the development of sport, especially the Olympic Solidarity and the IOC. The UWW delivered technical courses in 19 countries and financially supported national competitions attached to the course. Technical support was also provided to host the continental as well as the senior world championships this year along with training camps for the U17 wrestlers.

Another successful programme of the UWW Development Department was holding the Regional Educational Development Tournament (REDT). The regional course and tournament centred on training and educating the coaches and referees were held in Mauritius – marking the first time the REDT was held in the Indian Ocean – followed by Vietnam and Cambodia. This program has contributed to upgrading the teaching skills of coaches and referees.

Participants during coaching course in Budapest. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

With the support of Olympic Solidarity, the first-ever high-performance regional coaching course was also held in Budapest, Hungary. The participation of 32 coaches from seven countries in this course was a major milestone, more so as it was held at one of the powerhouses of world wrestling. A Technical Course for Coaches Level 1 combined with the Introduction to Refereeing course will also be held in Palestine in December.

The UWW also donated mats and training equipment to Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Albania, Australia, Jordan and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Laying emphasis on education to prevent doping, the UWW held anti-doping education drives during the Senior World Championships as well as in collaboration with National Federations. The wrestlers were also educated about the consequences of doping, the testing protocols, the risks associated with nutritional supplements and therapeutic use exemptions.

Safeguarding the athletes and ensuring safe sport has been set as one of the key areas the UWW will invest in starting this Olympic cycle in order to have a healthy sporting environment for the athletes.

Keeping athletes at the heart, the UWW also continued to jointly collaborate with the Olympic Council of Asia and the Panam Sports which contributed to reinforcing the organisation’s professionalism and sharing the experience.

women Women Referee course held in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

This was also an important year in the steps taken in educating the coaches and referees.

Nearly 50 UWW Coach/Referee educators were certified through two courses that were held in Guatemala and Turkey. In addition to Olympic Solidarity courses, the educators held nine National Coach Courses and Introduction to Referee Courses, which were funded by National Federations or partially funded by the UWW.

The first-ever High-Performance Regional Course in Budapest, Hungary, was another landmark moment apart from the three new online courses that were introduced: Rules Modifications for 2022, Evaluation of Takedown and Control, Understanding and Developing the Whole Wrestler.

Other than these, additional coaching programmes were also created which allowed the UWW to have five different levels to the modules:

Level 1 – Introduction to Coaching and Safety
Level 2 – Introduction to Practice Planning
Level 3 – Periodization and Coaching Philosophy
Level 4 – Athlete and Programme Development
Level 5 – High-Performance Course

WISH Coahes who are selected for the WISH Program. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

For promoting the participation of women in the sport, the UWW supported six women coaches in the Women in Sport High-Performance (WISH) programme. Six current and/or future coaches were selected for the 21-month programme, which has been developed in coordination with a team of specialists at the UK-based University of Hertfordshire. The programme aims to help women coaches, who have the potential and ambition, to progress into high-performance coaching roles at national and international levels. This is the largest number of participants the UWW has supported in this programme.

Under the Referee Scholarship Programme, the UWW sponsored more referees than ever before. Fourteen referees were provided both the flight and accommodation for a promotion event while there were seven additional referees who were provided accommodations at the event. This is a record participation number for this programme.

#WrestleTirana

U23 Worlds: Tirana triumph for O'Toole, Brooks; Gimri wins Turkiye's first gold

Tuesday, October 24, 2023 - 21:31 By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (October 24) -- When Keegan O'TOOLE (USA) gets to a cradle, it's game over for his opponents.

Many in the United States have witnessed O'Toole win school and college titles on the back of his go-to move. International fans first saw it in 2021 as he stunned a strong 74kg field to win the U20 world title.

Two years since winning his first and only international competition, O'Toole and his cradle were on display and were good enough to win another world title. The American won the 74kg gold medal at the U23 World Championships on Tuesday, leading to a strong performance from the United States as the first set of medals were awarded on the second day of the tournament.

The U.S. won three of the five gold medals on offer on Tuesday while Turkiye crowned its first-ever Freestyle U23 world champion with Muhammed GIMRI (TUR) winning gold at 92kg. The fifth gold of the night was captured by Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN), winning the title at 61kg.

This is also the first time the U.S. has more than one Freestyle world champ at the U23 level. It drew a blank last year despite three finalists.

Keegan O'TOOLE (USA) won the 74kg gold after beating Imam GANISHOV (AIN). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

O'Toole had shown a glimpse of his funkiness on Monday as he made his way to the final using a cradle to pin Hikaru TAKATA (JPN) in the quarterfinals and then got Sonny SANTIAGO (PUR) in the semifinal.

Given his preferred move and crafty wrestling, it was understandable that Imam GANISHOV (AIN) came prepared for the 74kg final and to not get caught in the move. But what he was not prepared for was O'Toole's defense as the American denied Ganishov any points apart from a stepout in the first period. That was the only point O'Toole gave in a 6-1 victory that saw him score three takedowns.

"It feels really good," O'Toole said. "I trained super hard for this. I wasn't sure where I would be as the location got changed. The level is harder at the U23 Worlds but I prepare for challenges and for the worst but I hope for the best."

Keegan O'TOOLE (USA), blue, cradles Sonny SANTIAGO (PUR) in the semifinals on Monday. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Both wrestlers were cautious at the start but O'Toole scored by elevating Ganishov's leg when the latter was attempting a lift. He then caught Ganishov by surprise with a single-leg and though Ganishov defended for some time, O'Toole scored a takedown and led 4-0.

Ganishov did try some duckunders and go-behinds but O'Toole was up for the task, defending with ease. A split defense from Ganishov delayed O'Toole's takedown but when he got it, he led 6-1 with just over a minute remaining in the final. O'Toole was happy to play the clock from there on.

The gold medal also qualifies O'Toole for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for the Paris Games and he is not shying away from giving it a shot despite his NCAA season.

"That [to qualify for OTT] pressure is gone," he said. "I am going to take some time off. I got to heal up my body a little bit and jump into the college season. NCAA season is good preparation for the Olympic trials but in my head, I am always going for "how am I going to win a gold medal? How am I going to make the Olympic team? I am really confident and excited going forward. I have got eight [six] months for the Olympic trials and each day I am going to do something to prove myself."

Aaron BROOKS (USA) defeated defending champion Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN) to win the 86kg gold. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

If cradle was O'Toole's move in Tirana, Aaron BROOKS (USA) was chasing ankle picks all day as he stormed to the 86kg world title beating returning champion Tastsuya SHIRAI (JPN) 11-0 in the final.

Shirai had become the first world champion for Japan in over 80kg weight classes and became the first to return to the final at U23 Worlds in Freestyle. A record second straight, however, wasn't to be.

Brooks was on the offense right in the first minute, using collar ties against Shirai. He got the first takedown just as the clock hit the one-minute mark, catching Shirai in a leg attack. After some attempted leg attacks, Brooks ankle-picked Shirai who fell on his back, giving four points to Brooks. A similar pick and one turn on the lace earned him a 10-0 win in two minutes and 39 seconds.

"I am blessed and fortunate," Brooks said. "I trained hard, keeping my mind and spirit in alignment with God. A lot of stuff goes on in the world that can affect us."

Like O'Toole, Brooks will be going for the Olympic Team Trial with the aim of upsetting world champion David TAYLOR (USA).

"Of course [I will challenge for the team spot]," he said. "Just wrestle and get better every day, focus on that. Not just in wrestling but better in every aspect of life and it transcends into wrestling. Just me being me in the present. If that comes, it comes."

Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) battled an injured knee and Adil MISIRCI (TUR) to win the 125kg title. (Photo: UWW / Ulug Bugra Han Degirmenci)

The U.S. surged further as Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) won the 125kg gold medal after not only battling Adil MISIRCI (TUR) but also an injured knee that "may heel in a long time."

Hendrickson, who could barely walk to the medal ceremony stage, showed extreme courage to beat Misirci 13-3 in the final despite being in clear pain.

He began the final aggressively, almost pinning Misirci, jumping to a 5-0 lead. A scramble saw both wrestlers twist their knees which further made things worse for Hendrickson, before the referee called neutral. The American then decided to keep his injured right leg out of the attack but did not drop his offense.

He scored two takedowns and a gut to build a 12-1 lead when Misirci stopped him in a turn and scored two points to remain in the match as the score became 12-3. Hendrickson, however, continued the scramble and scored a reversal to win 13-3 with 1:34 still left on the clock.

The 125kg wrestler will also join the star-studded superheavyweight line-up at the Olympic Team Trials next year.

Muhammed GIMRI (TUR) became Turkiye's first-ever U23 world champ in Freestyle. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Gimri's historic gold

One of Muhammed GIMRI (TUR) and Ion DEMIAN (MDA) was certain to create history in the 92kg final. Neither Turkiye nor Moldova had won a U23 world title in Freestyle and by the end of the 92kg final, it was Gimri who wrote his name in history books, becoming Turkiye's first-ever U23 world champion in Freestyle. He defeated Demian 4-3 in a tense final.

Demian led 1-0 at the break after Gimri failed to score any point in the 30-second activity period. But the match sprung to life in the second period as Gimri scored a takedown on the edge to take a 2-1 lead. That was short-lived as Demian blocked Gimri's spin and landed on top of him to get two points.

The Moldovan was 20 seconds away from history but Gimri spoiled his party. He shot for Demian's legs and got hold of the left to score a takedown. He tried a lace to kill the remaining time even as Demian smashed his hand on the mat in disappointment.

At 61kg, Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN) denied Assylzhan YESSENGELDI (KAZ) and Kazakhstan a gold medal, winning the final 4-0, with two activity period points and two stepouts.

Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) won the bronze medal at 61kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Bronze results

In the bronze medal bouts, returning silver medalist at 61kg Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) added a bronze medal by beating Akash DAHIYA (UWW) 7-0. Zhumashbek Uulu suffered a 9-7 semifinal loss to Yessengeldi. The other bronze medal at 61kg went to Mezhlum MEZHLUMYAN (ARM) who steamrolled Ivan HRAMYKA (AIN), 11-0.

Hikaru TAKATA (JPN) and Sonny SANTIAGO (PUR), both of whom lost to O'Toole at 74kg, clashed for the bronze medal with Takata beating Santiago 11-0 to capture the gold medal. The other bronze-medal bout was a humdinger with NAVEEN (UWW) scoring a stepout with five seconds left to beat Vasile DIACON (MDA), 7-7, and return home with bronze.

At 86kg, Arslan BAGAEV (AIN) and Joshua MORODION (GER) defeated Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA), 6-1, and Benjamin GREIL (AUT), 9-2, respectively to claim third spots on the podium.

The U.S. also got a bronze medal as Jacob CARDENAS (USA) scored a takedown late in the bout against Pruthviraj PATIL (UWW) and eked out a 4-3 win. Abduljalil SHABANOV (AZE) and Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO) were involved in a 25-point bout with the former coming out on top 14-11.

2021 U23 silver medalist Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE) managed to pull off a strong win as he defeated World Championships fifth-placer Abdulla KURBANOV (AIN), 5-4, for the bronze medal at 125kg. Khosonov trains at the same center as world champion Zaurbek SIDAKOV (AIN).

The other bronze medal at 125kg was won by Vakhit GALAYEV (AZE) was managed to beat Anirudh KUMAR (UWW), 10-0, with ease.

RESULTS

61kg
GOLD: Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN) df. Assylzhan YESSENGELDI (KAZ), 4-0

BRONZE: Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) df. Akash DAHIYA (UWW), 7-0
BRONZE: Mezhlum MEZHLUMYAN (ARM) df. Ivan HRAMYKA (AIN), 11-0

74kg
GOLD: Keegan OTOOLE (USA) df. Imam GANISHOV (AIN), 6-1

BRONZE: NAVEEN (UWW) df. Vasile DIACON (MDA), 7-7
BRONZE: Hikaru TAKATA (JPN) df. Sonny SANTIAGO (PUR), 11-0

86kg
GOLD: Aaron BROOKS (USA) df. Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN), 10-0

BRONZE: Joshua MORODION (GER) df. Benjamin GREIL (AUT), 9-2
BRONZE: Arslan BAGAEV (AIN) df. Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA), 6-1

92kg
GOLD: Muhammed GIMRI (TUR) df. Ion DEMIAN (MDA), 4-3

BRONZE: Abduljalil SHABANOV (AZE) df. Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO), 14-11
BRONZE: Jacob CARDENAS (USA) df. Pruthviraj PATIL (UWW), 4-3

125kg
GOLD: Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) df. Adil MISIRCI (TUR), 13-3

BRONZE: Vakhit GALAYEV (AZE) df. Anirudh KUMAR (UWW), 10-0
BRONZE: Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE) df. Abdulla KURBANOV (AIN), 5-4

UWW development reaches beyond borders in landmark year

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U23 Worlds: Tirana triumph for O'Toole, Brooks; Gimri wins Turkiye's first gold