Weekly FIVE! January 28, 2019

Monday, January 28, 2019 - 16:51 By Eric Olanowski

Reviewing the Ivan Yariguin and the Dave Schultz Memorial. Also looking at Punia's win over Aliyev and the first Greco-Roman Ranking Series event of the season.

1. Russia Sweeps Freestyle Competition at Ivan Yariguin
The stars more than aligned for the Russian Federation as they erupted for an impressive ten out of ten freestyle gold medals at the first Ranking Series even of the year, the Ivan Yariguin, and won the team title 118 points ahead of second place Mongolia.

The region of Dagestan led the way to a mind-blowing seven gold medalists. Anzor KHIZRIEV (125kg) and Muslim SADULAEV (57kg) handed Chechnya their pair of gold medals while reigning world champion Zaurbek SIDAKOV gave Ossetia the remaining gold medal.

Outside of Russia's dominating performance, one of the biggest storylines came at 97kg when two-time world champion and Rio Olympic gold medalist Kyle SNYDER (USA) failed to medal. Snyder was upset by Rasul MAGOMEDOV (RUS), 6-5 in the opening round, and was knocked out of the tournament after Magomedov lost to Mongolia’s ULZIISAIKHAN Batzul in the quarterfinals.

Final Wraps
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four

Team Scores
GOLD - Russia (250 points)
SILVER - Mongolia (118 points)
BRONZE - Turkey (83 points)
FOURTH - United States (64 points)
FIFTH - China (53 points)

FINALS RESULTS
57kg - Muslim SADULAEV (RUS) df. Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RUS), 4-4
61kg - Magomedrasul IDRISOV (RUS) df. Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU), 7-0
65kg - Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS) df. Nachyn KUULAR (RUS), 2-1
70kg - Magomedrasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) df. Mandakhnaran GANZORIG (MGL), 10-0
74kg - Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS) df. Yakup GOR (TUR), 5-4
79kg - Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) df. Magomed RAMAZANOV (RUS), 6-2
86kg - Dauren KURUGLIEV (RUS) df. Fatih ERDIN (TUR), 12-1
92kg - Magomed KURBANOV (RUS) df. BAASANTSOGT Ulziisaikhan (MGL), 13-2 (Round 4)
97kg - Shamil MUSAEV (RUS) df. Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (BLR), 11-9
125kg - Anzor KHIZRIEV (RUS) df. Taha AKGUL (TUR), 7-3

Viktoriia VAULINA (55kg) smiles on her way to recieve her 55kg gold medal (Phot: Sachiko Hotaka)

2. Russian Women Claim Three Golds, Yariguin Team Title
The host nation Russia matched their freestyle countrymen's performance at the Ivan Yariguin and also claimed the women’s wrestling team title, finishing 38 points ahead of second place Mongolia.

Russian, along with Japan finished with a trio of women's wrestling champions, while Mongolia and the United States had a pair of gold medalists.

Arguably, the most notable storyline from women’s wrestling came from the United States’ Tamyra MENSAH-STOCK (USA), who scored a first-period fall over Japan’s Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) in the 72kg gold-medal bout and became the first American wrestler across any division to win three Yariguin titles.

Final Wraps
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four

FINALS RESULTS
50kg - Kika KAGATA (JPN) df. Anzhelika VETOSHKINA (RUS), 10-0
53kg - Sarah Ann HILDEBRANDT (USA) df. Natalia MALYSHEVA (RUS), 6-4
55kg - Viktoriia VAULINA (RUS) df. Nao TANIYAMA (JPN), 7-0
57kg - Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) df. Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS), 10-5
59kg - Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN) df. Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS), 4-3
63kg - Anzhela FOMENKO (RUS) df. Anna SHCHERBAKOVA (RUS), inj. def.
65kg - Mariia KUZNETSOVA (RUS) df. Misuzu ENOMOTO (JPN), 11-4
68kg - SORONZONBOLD Battsetseg (MGL) df. Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL), 4-0
72kg - Tamyra Mariama MENSAH (USA) df. Yuka KAGAMI (JPN), 4-0
76kg - Hiroe MINAGAWA SUZUKI (JPN) df. Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR), 3-1

Team Scores
GOLD - Russia (191 points)
SILVER - Mongolia (153 points)
BRONZE - Japan (145 points)
FOURTH - United States (79 points)
FIFTH - Uzbekistan (57 points)

3. Punia Knocks Off Three-Time World Champion Aliyev
India’s 2018 world runner-up Bajrang PUNIA (IND) knocked off three-time world champion Haji ALIYEV (AZE), 8-6 in the India Pro League as returning PWL champions NCR Punjab Royals prevailed over M.P Yodah.

The Indian wrestler was the aggressor in the opening period and grabbed an activity point and a takedown and commanded the 3-0 lead before Aliyev returned the favor and grabbed a takedown of his own. Punia led 3-2 with less than a minute until the break. Punia increased his lead to three points with a head-inside single and took the 5-2 lead into the final three minutes.

In the second period, it was Aliyev who scored first, transitioning from a double to a single leg and converted the attack into two points, yet Punia still led 5-4. The pair traded takedowns, but the Indian wrestler controlled the 7-6 advantage with 50 seconds left. Punia received a point after the Azeri clearly pulled his singlet, and closed out the match with an 8-6 victory.

Click here to watch Punia defeat Aliyev in the Indian Pro League.

Aaron BROOKS (USA), 2017 cadet world champion, won the 79kg gold medal at the Dave Schultz, which was his first senior-level competition. (Photo: Max Rose-Fyne)

4. Dave Schultz Concludes in Colorado Springs
The Dave Schultz Memorial wrapped up in Colorado Springs, Co, USA, and the United States won nine of the ten gold medals. Moldova’s Anatolii BURUIAN was the lone non-American gold medalist.

Of the eight American champions, two U23 world medalists and an age-level world champion were among the victors.

Aaron BROOKS (USA), the 2017 cadet world champion and 2018 junior world finalist, captured the 79kg gold medal with a dominating 13-0 victory over Nathan JACKSON (USA) to win his first senior-level tournament.

Richard LEWIS (USA), the 2017 U23 world champion at 70kg scored a 10-0 technical superiority win over Dan VALLIMONT (USA) in the 74kg finalists, while Ty WALZ (USA), the 2017 U23 world bronze medalist, scored the 11-0 shutout win over Blaize CABELL (USA) to win the 97kg title.

Another interesting note, Frank MOLINARO (USA), the 2016 Olympian, returned to individual competition for the third time since falling to Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) in the bronze-medal bout at the Rio Olympic Games. Molinaro beat Brandon SORENSEN (USA), 3-1 and claimed the 70kg gold medal.

Final results
57kg - Anatolii BURUIAN (MDA) df. Steven TAKAHASHI (CAN), 14-4
61kg - Cody BREWER (USA) df. Samat NADYRBEK UULU (KGZ), 10-0
65 kg - Bernard FUTRELL (USA) df. Evan HENDERSON (USA), 10-0
70 kg - Frank MOLINARO (USA) df. Brandon SORENSEN (USA), 3-1
74 kg - Richie LEWIS (USA) df. Dan VALLIMONT (USA), 10-0
79 kg - Aaron BROOKS (USA) df. Nathan JACKSON (USA), 13-0
86 kg - Pat DOWNEY (USA) df. Kenneth COURTS (USA), 12-2
92 kg - Timothy DUDLEY (USA) df. Scottie BOYKIN (USA), 8-6
97 kg - Ty WALZ (USA) df. Blaize CABELL (USA), 11-0
125 kg - Michael KOSOY (USA) df. Jere HEINO (FIN), 10-0

5. First Greco-Roman Ranking Series Event, Grand Prix Zagreb Open Begins February 9
The first Greco-Roman Ranking Series event of the year, the Grand Prix Zagreb Open begins February 9-10 in Zagreb, Croatia and over 150 of the worlds best Greco-Roman wrestlers are registered to compete for the all-important Ranking Series points.

The early registration Grand Prix Zagreb Open is closed and the preliminary entry list is set to be released later this week.

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media

1. Day 3 warm-up of #yariguin2019 #uww #wrestling #krasnoyarsk
2. MAGOMEDOV (RUS) defeats SNYDER (USA) #yariguin2019 . #krasnoyarsk #uww #wrestling
3. FOCKEN (GER) gets the 4 pointer #yariguin2019 . #uww #wrestling #krasnoyarsk
4.GOR (TUR) is on fire ??? #yariguin2019 #uww #wrestling #krasnoyarsk
5. Clean technique puts two Russian wrestlers into the final of the 79KG weight class #Yariguin2019 #uww #wrestling #krasnoyarsk

#WrestleAthens

Olympic legend Icho returns to Athens to lead Japan’s next generation

Sunday, August 3, 2025 - 09:59 By Vinay Siwach

ATHENS, Greece (August 2) -- In Athens, home of the Olympics, Kaori ICHO (JPN) is already one of the pantheon of greats.

Having once made history as an athlete here -- winning the first of four Olympic gold medals at the 2004 Olympics -- Icho now sets out to carve a new legacy, this time as coach to the next generation of Japanese talent.

In Athens, she is making her international debut as coach of the Japanese women's team at the World U17 Championships as she returns to the Ano Liossia Olympic Sports Hall, the same venue she won the Olympic gold.

"I have returned to this arena for the first time in 21 years," Icho told United World Wrestling. "I won an [Olympic] gold medal in this arena for the first time."

Icho, who ended her wrestling career in 2019, started coaching after the Tokyo Olympics. She has coached Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) domestically as both Morikawa and Icho are recruited with ALSOK.

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Japan managed to win only one gold medal in Women's Wrestling at the World Championships and finished third in the team race. While Japan is not used to finishing at that position in Women's Wrestling, the third-place highlighted that even Japan's second-tier team poses a significant challenge to the world.

The presence of Icho definitely helped the wrestlers, who were not only helped by her experience but the presence of the four-time Olympic champion motivated them.

Japan's world champion in Athens, Hanano OYA (JPN), said that watching Icho win her record fourth gold medal in Rio 2016 inspired her to take up wrestling.

"The reason I started wrestling was because of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics," Oya said. "It was when Kaori achieved her fourth consecutive victory, and I saw it on TV. I started wrestling myself, so I was very happy when she accompanied me and acted as my second coach, and I felt that I had to live up to her expectations."

Kaori ICHO (JPN) coaches one of the members of the Japanese team. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

For Icho, not being on the mat and coaching from the corner was a different experience.

"I feel really strange being able to come back here as a coach," she said. "This tournament is the World Championships for those under 17 years old. I also became an Olympic gold medalist at this venue when I was 20 and I hope that the young athletes will work hard towards their Olympic dreams."

Back in 2004, the first Olympics when Women's Wrestling became part of it, Icho remembered the nervous and the excitement. The enjoyment, however, came only after she had won the gold.

"It was my first Olympics," she said. "I was very nervous and excited. I was here for about two weeks, from the opening ceremony to the closing ceremony. After winning, I went swimming in the Aegean Sea. It was a very enjoyable Olympics."

Kaori ICHO (JPN) during a warm-up session of the Japanese team in Athens. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

When she landed at the airport in Athens on Monday, memories from the past came rushing back.

"I don't particularly feel it at the airport, but I wondered if it was this hot," she said. "I wondered what the venue will be like. I was reminiscing about 21 years ago."

Once at the venue, Icho was requested for photos from wrestlers and coaches which she obliged. With her first tournament as coach behind her, Icho is determined to work even harder as she prepares the senior Japan team for the World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, this September.

"Coaches and players asked me to take pictures with them," she said. "I felt stronger coming here. I want to work harder as a coach."

Weekly FIVE! January 28, 2019

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Olympic legend Icho returns to Athens to lead Japan’s next generation