Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! June 4, 2018

By Eric Olanowski

Reviewing the U23 European Championships and upcoming ranking series events. Also looking at USA's U23 World Team along with Russia's Cadet World Team. 

1. 2018 U23 European Championships Begins June 4
Europe's best wrestlers between the ages of 19 and 23 years old will prepare for the 2018 U23 World Championships by competing at the 2018 U23 European Championships which kick off June 4 in Istanbul, Turkey. 

Greco-Roman wrestling takes place Monday-Wednesday, followed by women's wrestling from Wednesday-Friday, and Freestyle closes out the tournament Friday-Sunday. 

SCHEDULE

2. Mongolia Open, Women's Ranking Event Starts This Weekend 
The second women's wrestling ranking series event of the year, the Mongolia Open (MGL)begins June 9-10 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. 

Freestyle action will also take place on Saturday and Sunday, but ranking series points will only be award to those competing in the women's wrestling portion of the tournament. 

​​​​​​SCHEDULE 
Saturday (Local time on June 9) 
10:30 AM Qualification round and repechage for FS - 57kg, 65kg,74kg,86kg,97kg and WW - 50kg, 55kg,59kg,65kg,72kg 

16:30 PM - Opening ceremony 
17:00 PM – Finals 

Sunday (Local time on June 10) 
10:30 AM - Qualification round and repechage FS - 61kg, 70kg, 79kg, 92kg,125kg and  WW - 53kg, 57kg, 62kg, 68kg, 76kg
15:30 PM – Finals 

China's Ningning RONG (CHN) enters the China Open as the second-ranked wrestler in the world (Photo by Max Rose-Fyne)

3. June's Upcoming Rankings Series Events 
Two ranking series events, the China Open and the Hungarian Grand Prix close out the month of June.

The China Open (CHN), which is the third women’s wrestling ranking event of the season begins June 22 in Taiyuan, China.

The third Greco-Roman ranking series event, the Hungarian GP (HUN) starts June 23 in Györ, Hungary. 

Points for all ranking series events will be awarded based on finish plus the number of competitors present in each weight category. Nations may only enter three athletes in any single weight class.

POINTS
GOLD - 8 Points 
SILVER - 6 Points 
BRONZE - 4 Points 
Fifth - 2 Points 

2017 Junior World bronze medalist, Kollin MOORE (USA). (Photo by Marion Stein)

4. The United States Holds U23 World Team Trials 
The United States U23 World Team Trails wrapped up this past weekend, and three former world medalist claimed their sport for November's 2018 U23 World Championships in Bucharest, Romania. 

The three Americans who will wrestle for the second world medal are Vitali Arujau (2016 cadet silver medalist), Mitch McKee (2017 Junior World silver medalist) and Kollin Moore (2017 Junior World bronze medalist). 

USA's U23 World Team 
57kg - Jack MUELLER (USA)
61kg - Vitali ARUJAU (USA)
65kg - Mitch MCKEE (USA)  
70kg - Hayden HIDLAY (USA) 
74kg - Alex SMYTHE (USA) 
79kg - David MCFADDEN (USA)
86kg - Myles MARTIN (USA)
92kg - Michael MACCHIAVELLO (USA) 
97kg -  Kollin MOORE (USA) 
125kg - Youssif HEMIDA (USA)  

5. Russia Cadet World Team Set 
In preparation for the 2018 Cadet World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, Russia held their Cadet Russian Nationals June 2-3 in Moscow, Russia. 

WATCH ALL FINALS MATCHES 

RUSSIAN CADET NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
45kg - SAGDY  
48kg - ANDROSOV 
51kg - BAITAZOV 
55kg - KIZINOV 
60kg - MAMEDOV 
65kg - SHERIEV 
71kg - MAGAMEDOV 
80kg - ELKANOV 
92kg - JIGKAEV 
110kg - KOZYREV 

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media 

1. Big Move Monday! The Most Famous Double-Leg in Slowmotion, by @alliseeisgold@usawrestling

2. Little, but strong! ? Маленький, но сильный! ? ? @zhenis_iskabay #wrestling#baby#kid#ребенок#малыш#борьба

3. Давид Чакветадзе:
"В жизни бывают очень тяжелые моменты. Когда ты устаешь и больше не хочешь продолжать работать. Когда тело тебе говорит: "Все хватит, заканчивай, ты устал". Тебе хочется сдаться, остановится, забить на все это и отдохнуть. Но вот что я вам скажу. Никогда не сдавайтесь! Никогда не опускайте руки! Чтобы не случилось, как бы тяжело не было, как бы сильно вы не устали. Боль временна. Рано или поздно она пройдет и все встанет на свои места. И вы получите то, что заслужили!"
@david_chakvetadze 
#wrestling#motivation#ДавидЧакветадзе#мотивация

4. What kind of exercise?  Как называется упражнение? Video by @davorstefanek 
#wrestling#training#workout#coolvideo#тренировка#борцы

5. It’s Friday. You should be flexing! ?

#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."