Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! February 05, 2018

By Eric Olanowski

Reviewing the first set of Freestyle and Greco rankings. Also taking a look at results from the Flatz Open and The Grand Prix of Zagreb.

1. Worldwide Freestyle and Greco-Roman Rankings Released February 1
United World Wrestling debuted the first set of world rankings for Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. The rankings were the first of their kind that were compiled using the new point system

The first women's rankings will be published on March 1 after the  the Klippan Lady Open which is the first women's ranking event of the season.

Freestyle Rankings
57kg: Zavur UGUEV (RUS) // 18 Points
61kg: Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS) // 18 Points
65kg: Ilias BEKBULATOV (RUS) // 18 Points
70kg: Magomed KURBANALIEV (RUS) // 17 Points
74kg: Khetik TSABOLOV (RUS) // 16 Points
79kg: Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) // 15 Points
86kg: David TAYLOR III (USA) // 20 Points
92kg: Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) // 15 Points
97kg: Kyle SNYDER (USA) // 17 Points
125kg: Muradin KUSHKHOV (RUS) // 18 Points

FULL RANKINGS

Greco-Roman Rankings 
55kg: Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) // 14 Points
60kg: K. ZHOLCHUBEKOV (KGZ) // 17 Points
63kg: K. SULAYMANOV (KGZ) // 15 Points
67kg: Almat KEBISPAYEV (KAZ) // 18 Points
72kg: Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) // 16 Points
77kg: Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) // 16 Points
82kg: Emrah KUS (TUR) // 17 Points
87kg: Saman AZIZI (IRI) // 15 Points
97kg: Orkhan NURIYEV (AZE) // 17 Points
130kg: Behnam ARPATAPEH (IRI) // 12 Points

FULL RANKING

2. Three Different Nations Win Multiple Golds In Zagreb
The Grand Prix of Zagreb took place last weekend in Zagreb, Croatia. Turkey, Romania, Belarus and Hungary walked away with a pair of champions. The remaining two gold medals were captured by France and Croatia.

Individuals who claimed gold included 2014 world finalist Yunus OEZEL (TUR), junior world champion Kazbek KILOV (BLR), Olympian Bozo STAREVIC (CRO) and multiple-time world medalist Viktor LOERINCZ (HUN).

*This was not a ranking series event.

RESULTS: Grand Prix of Zagreb 

3. Three-Time World Champ Gray Claims Flatz Open Gold
The United States finished the day at the Flatz Open by claiming five out of a possible ten gold medals. Austria and Czech Republic collected two golds each, with Hungary snagging the remaining gold medal.

Among the champions for the United States was three-time world champion, Adeline GRAY (USA). This is the fourth time Gray's competed after taking nearly a year off. She's also competed at the Dave Schultz Memorial International, Beat the Streets and the World Cup. 

Gray, along with the rest of Team USA are expected to make the trip to Klippan, Sweden next week to compete in the Klippan Lady Open. 

*This was not a ranking series event.

RESULTS: Flatz Open

4. Klippan Kicks Off Next Week 
We're a little over a week away from the start of the first women's ranking event of the season, The Klippan Lady Open. The tournament begins February 16 in Klippan, Sweden. 

The remaining three women's wrestling events are the Mongolia Open (MGL) and China Open (CHN) in June, and the Poland Open (POL) in September.     

5. Second Greco-Roman Ranking Series Event Heads To Cuba  
Cuba will be hosting the Cerro Pelado on February 15, but don't expect Mijain LOPEZ (CUB). The three-time Olympic champion is slated to compete at the Central and Caribbean Games (March 20-25) and the 2018 world championships in Budapest. Getting a little bit older has meant the giant Cuban will limit his competitions until Tokyo in 2020.

The final two Greco-Roman ranking series events will be the Hungarian GP (HUN) in June and the Vehbi Emre (TUR) in July.              

Weekly FIVE! in Social Media
Kyle SNYDER (USA), two-time world and Olympic champion announced via Instagram that Taha AKGUL (TUR), two-time world and Olympic champion will be headed to the Ohio RTC to train for the month of February. 

With the addition of 2016 world champion Logan STIEBER (USA), the OHIO RTC now has a combined five world titles and two Olympic golds training under one roof. 

#WrestleBratislava

Adar, the woman of firsts in Turkiye wrestling, retires

By Vinay Siwach

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 10) -- Turkiye's first-ever Olympic medalist, first-ever world and European champion in Women's Wrestling, Yasemin ADAR (TUR)retired Thursday after 16 years of international wrestling.

A winner of seven gold medals at the European Championships did not have a fairytale ending as she lost the 76kg final against Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) on Thursday at the European Championships in Bratislava.

Despite the loss, Adar undoubtedly retires the trailblazer in Women's Wrestling for Turkiye. In 2016, she won her first European title to create history before adding the world title in 2017. In 2021, she became the first Turkish wrestler in Women's Wrestling to win the bronze medal when she pinned Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) to claim the medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

"I had an incredible career in the 76kg category," Adar said after the European Championships final. "I had many successes and many firsts. I became a two-time world champion. I was at the Olympics with bronze medal. So I have an incredibly beautiful career and I am proud of myself. I can't believe it. It's very difficult to describe. I am very emotional today."

Adar, who had tears in her eyes while was taking off her shoes on the mat to mark her retirement, is aptly called the "woman of firsts" in Türkiye. With her teammates and family in the stands cheering for her, the final match became even more emotional for Adar.

"I finished my wrestling and believe me it was not easy at all," she said. "I even rehearsed it many times before coming here. I said this is where I will finish my career. In my speech, I always wanted to be considered as the legend of 76kilograms. This match was more nervous for me. I had planned it beforehand, I knew that this match was the last match. Even though I couldn't earn the gold medal, I ended it with silver. But believe me, there are really great successes in my career."

On how she came to the decision of retiring at the European Championships, Adar was clear that she wanted to pass on the baton to the younger generation.

"Even if you don't want it, wrestling starts to leave you," she said. "Although there are those who say I am very good, I try to compare it to a situation like this. I am 34-years-old with an 18-year-old athlete and unfortunately we cannot have the same performance."