#BudaWrestle2018

Wednesday's First Session Brings Fireworks at 57kg, Susaki Cruises

Wednesday, October 24, 2018 - 12:19 By Andrew Hipps

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (October 24) -- It didn't take long for the fireworks to start in Wednesday's first session at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

In one of the first women's wrestling qualification matches of the session, Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE) stunned reigning world and Olympic champion Helen MAROULIS (USA) at 57kg, earning a second-period fall.

Kolesnik held a narrow 2-2 lead on criteria early in the second period when Maroulis shot a single leg, which was stopped. Maroulis immediately followed up another attack, which Kolesnik stuffed and ran the American over for the fall. 

Maroulis, who did not surrender a point at last year's World Championships in Paris, was eliminated from the tournament when Kolesnik lost by technical fall (10-0) to Ningning RONG (CHN) in her next match. Maroulis has seen limited action this year due to a head injury.

Maroulis' loss was not the only surprising result at 57kg. Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR), a returning world silver medalist at 55kg, fell to Pooja DHANDA (IND) 7-6 prior to the quarterfinal round. Adekuoroye led 6-5 with 10 seconds remaining before getting taken down in the closing seconds to lose the match. 

In the 57kg quarterfinals, Grace BULLEN (NOR) held on to edge In Sun JONG (PRK) 3-3 on criteria. She now faces Ningning RONG (CHN), who won by fall over Dhanda in the quarterfinals. The other semifinal match at 57kg pits two-time world bronze medalist Emese BARKA (HUN) against Bilyana Zhivkova DUDOVA (BUL). 

Reigning world champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) was dominant in her first two matches at 50kg. She opened with the same wrestler she faced in the finals of last year's World Championships, Emilia VUC (ROU). Susaki scored a four-point takedown a minute into the match and a short time later drove Vuc over for the fall. Susaki continued her dominance in the quarterfinals as she won by technical fall (11-0) over Ritu RITU (IND). She scored three takedowns in the first period to lead 6-0 at the break and then closed the match with a four-point takedown in the final period. It sets up a semifinal meeting with three-time junior world bronze medalist Oksana LIVACH (UKR).

Mariya STADNIK (AZE), a past world champion and multiple-time Olympic medalist, secured a spot in the semifinals at 50kg with a 10-0 technical fall over Yanan SUN (CHN). Stadnik now faces world bronze medalist Sonhyang KIM (PRK).

In the 62kg quarterfinals, Yuliia TKACH OSTAPCHUK (UKR) gave up the first takedown to Johanna MATTSSON (SWE) before coming back to pick up a fall and earn a spot in the semifinals. It was a battle of returning world medalists as Tkach won silver in Paris and Mattsson claimed a bronze. Her quarterfinals opponent will be Yukako KAWAI (JPN). Kawai trailed Sakshi MALIK (IND) after the opening period in the quarterfinals, but came out strong in the second period and rolled to a 16-2 technical fall. 

Four-time world medalist Taybe YUSEIN (BUL) handled Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA) 7-1 in the quarterfinals at 62kg. Yusein now meets Mallory VELTE (USA) in the semifinals. 

Returning world champion Haruna OKUNO (JPN) punched her ticket to the 53kg semifinals with a 9-1 victory over Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE). Her semifinals opponent will be Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL). 

Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) joined teammate Velte as a semifinalist. She claimed a 15-9 victory over Anzhela DOROGAN (AZE). Hildebrandt will now meet Diana WEICKER (CAN), who came back to defeat Nina HEMMER (GER) 10-7. 

The semifinal matches are scheduled to begin at 4:45 p.m. local time. 

Semifinal Matchups

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Yui SUSAKI (JPN) vs. Oksana LIVACH (UKR) 
Sonhyang KIM (PRK) vs. Mariya STADNIK (AZE)

53kg
Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) vs. Diana Mary Helen WEICKER (CAN)
Haruna OKUNO (JPN) vs. Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL) 

57kg
Bilyana Zhivkova DUDOVA (BUL) vs. Emese BARKA (HUN) 
Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR) vs. Ningning RONG (CHN)

62kg
Yuliia TKACH OSTAPCHUK (UKR) vs. Yukako KAWAI (JPN) 
Mallory VELTE (USA) vs. Taybe YUSEIN (BUL)
 

#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+.