Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! October 15, 2019

By Eric Olanowski

Reviewing Snyder's move, the list of returning U23 world champions who'll wrestle in Budapest, and the newly-released 2020 Ranking Series locations. Also looking at results from the ANOC World Beach Games, Dmitri Korkin and Continental Cup. 

1. World and Olympic Champion Snyder On the Move 
Late last week, the American training scene felt a monumental shift in training centers power after arguably the biggest transfer in recent memory took place.

Kyle SNYDER (USA), the two-time world and Olympic champion, took to social media to announce that he’d be transferring training centers. In that post, Snyder said, “The simple truth is I need to get better. In order for me to fulfill my obligations as a member of Team USA and as the defending Olympic champ, I must give full effort and take complete responsibility for this process.” 

Snyder's move comes just under a month after "Capitan American" fell to his "worst" World Championships finish in his storied career. Snyder failed to make the world finals for the first time in his career after slipping to fellow Olympic champion Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE), 5-2, in the semifinals. After that loss, Snyder bounced back to a win his fifth consecutive world or Olympic medal. He now has an Olympic gold medal, a pair of world titles, and a world silver and bronze on his resume. 

The Nittany Lion Training Center move will give Snyder the opportunity to train alongside 2018 world champion David TAYLOR (USA), among many other world medalists. He'll be coached by Olympic champions Cael SANDERSON (USA) and Jake VARNER (USA), who won their Olympic titles in 2004 and 2012, respectively. 

 Italy hosted the Sassari City Tournament in Sassari, Italy in 2019. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

2. 2020 Ranking Series Location Announced 
United World Wrestling has announced Rome and Warsaw as hosts of the 2020 Ranking Series. Both events will include all three wrestling styles: freestyle, women’s wrestling, and Greco-Roman and will influence seeding for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Rome will host its competition January 15-18, while Warsaw will welcome wrestlers June 4-7 – one month after the final Olympic qualification tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria.

“We are pleased to announce our host cities for the 2020 Ranking Series,” said United World Wrestling president Nenad Lalovic. “There was outstanding participation at the 2019 events, which helped create excitement around our wrestlers and the World Championships in Nur-Sultan. We thank the local organizing committees in Rome and Warsaw for hosting these events.”

Click HERE to read full release on the 2020 Ranking Series event schedule.

Reigning senior-level Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) headlines a list of ten returning U23 world champions. (Photo: Tony Rotundo) 

3. U23 World Championships to Feature 10 Returning Champs
The U23 World Championships are less than two weeks away and reigning senior-level Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) headlines a list of entries that boasts one-third of last year’s U23 world champions. 

As the (unofficial) early entries currently sit, there are 631 athletes from 64 different nations that'll wrestle in Budapest, Hungary from October 28 through November 3. But ten of those 631 wrestlers return to the U23 World Championships looking to defend their world titles from a year ago. 

Greco-Roman will have five returning worlds champions -- headlined by reigning senior-level world champion Nugzari Tsurtsumia, who just reached the top of the 55kg podium at the Nur-Sultan World Championships in late September. He'll be joined in Budapest by fellow Georgian Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO), who already has six age-group world titles to his name. 

The other three returning U23 Greco-Roman world champions are Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY), Katsuaki ENDO (JPN) and Semen NOVIKOV (UKR). 

El Sayed, who qualified Egypt for the Olympic Games at 67kg, will wrestle at 67kg -- which is the same weight as Japan's Katsuaki Endo, while Novikov will lace up at 87kg. 

Freestyle has a trio of returning U23 world champions. They are Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK), Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) and Shamil ZUBAIROV (AZE). They'll compete at 74kg, 86kg and 92kg, respectively. 

In women's wrestling, Japan's Saki IGARASHI (55kg) and China's Paliha PALIHA (76kg) will travel to Hungary to try to defend their titles from a year ago. 

Returning U23 World Champions: 
Freestyle 
74kg - Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) 
86kg - Kamran Ghorban GHASEMPOUR (IRI) 
92kg - Shamil ZUBAIROV (AZE) 

Greco-Roman 
55kg - Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) 
67kg - Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) 
67kg - Katsuaki ENDO (JPN) 
87kg - Semen NOVIKOV (UKR) 
130kg - Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO) 

Women’s Wrestling 
55kg - Saki IGARASHI (JPN)
76kg - Paliha PALIHA (CHN) 

4. Inam Takes out Olympic Bronze Medalist Marsagishvili in ANOC World Beach Games Finals
Muhammad INAM (PAK) avenged his loss from the Rio De Janeiro stop of the Beach Wrestling World Series by scoring a stunning 5-2 win over London Olympic bronze medalist Dato MARSAGISHVILI (GEO). Inam's win came in the 90kg gold-medal match at the ANOC World Beach Games. 

Coming into the ANOC World Beach Games, Marsagishvili was unquestionably the favorite to win a World Beach Games gold medal. This season, the Georgian wrestler was undefeated with Beach Wrestling World Series titles in Chaves and Rio de Janeiro, along with a gold medal at September’s UWW Beach Wrestling World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia. 

Inam, the Beach Wrestling World Series runner-up in Rio De Janeiro, won his first beach wrestling gold medal with the three-point advantage over Marsagishvili in the 90kg finals. 

Click HERE for results from the first day of wrestling at the ANOC World Beach Games. 

Alexander BOGOMOEV (RUS) won the 61kg title at the Dmitri Korkin (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

5. Dmitri Korkin and Continental Cup Wrap up in Russia
The 12th Annual Dmitri Korkin and Continental Cup wrapped up last weekend in Russia and the host nation won eight of ten titles at both tournaments.

The Dmitri Korkin, which took place in eastern Siberia in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), saw eight of ten Russian wrestlers win a gold medal.

The pair of non-Russian champs were Peter IANULOV (MDA) and Daniel LIGETI (HUN). Ianulov, the 15th-place finisher in Nur-Sultan, defeated three-time European runner-up Alexander GOSTIEV (AZE) to win his 86kg title. Ligeti, who was also a 15th-place finisher in Nur-Sultan, beat Russian Nationals bronze-medal finisher Pavel KRIVTSOV (RUS) to win the 125kg gold medal. 

The second tournament where Russia claimed eight of ten gold medals was the Continental Cup in Khasavyurt, which is located to the west of the Republic of Dagestan’s capital, Makhachkala. 

The two non-Russian wrestlers to win a Continental Cup title were Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) and Georgy RUBAEV (MDA). Dauletbekov, a 2017 U23 world runner-up, won the 86kg title with a win over Arsenali MUSALALIEV (RUS), while Rubaev, this year’s world fifth-place finisher (92kg), stopped Gadzhimagomed NAZMUDINOV (RUS) in the 92kg finals. 

Dmitri Korkin RESULTS
57kg 
GOLD - Zhargal DAMDINOV (RUS)
SILVER - Arıyan TYUTRIN (RUS)
BRONZE - Aldar BALZINIMAEV (RUS)
BRONZE - Parviz IBRAGIMOV (AZE) 

61kg
GOLD - Alexander BOGOMOEV (RUS)
SILVER - Kazuya KOYANAGI (JPN)
BRONZE – Eduard GRIGORIEV (RUS)
BRONZE – Peter PAVLOV (RUS)

65kg 
GOLD - Victor RASSADIN (RUS) 
SILVER - Nʹurgun SCRAIABIN (BLR) 
BRONZE - Genghis ERDOGAN (TUR) 
BRONZE - Bulat BATOEV (RUS)

70kg
GOLD - Evgeny ZHERBAEV (RUS)
SILVER - Arbak SAT (RUS)
BRONZE - Revolii SAMSONOV (RUS)
BRONZE - Timur NINKOLAEV (RUS)

74kg
GOLD - Nadirbeg HIZRIEV (RUS)
SILVER - Nikita KNOTS (RUS)
BRONZE - Caballero GARZON (CUB) 
BRONZE - Hadzhimurad HAJIYEV (AZE)

79kg
GOLD - Tazhidin AKAYEV (RUS)
SILVER - Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
BRONZE - Akhmad TASHUKHADZHIEV (RUS) 
BRONZE - Logan MASSA (USA)

86kg
GOLD - Peter IANULOV (MDA)
SILVER - Alexander GOSTIEV (AZE)
BRONZE - Krzysztof SADOVIK (POL)

92kg
GOLD - Guram CHERTKOEV (RUS) 
SILVER - Anzor URISHEV (RUS)
BRONZE - Marzapet GALSTYAN (ARM) 
BRONZE - Ivan YANKOSKY (BRL)

97kg
GOLD - Igor OVSANNIKOV (RUS)
SILVER - Maksoud VEJSALOV (UZB) 
BRONZE - George DIMITROV (BUL)

125kg
GOLD - Daniel LIGETI (HUN) 
SILVER - Pavel KRIVTSOV (RUS) 
BRONZE - Baldan TSYZHIPOV (RUS)
BRONZE - Zelimkhan KHIZRIEV (RUS)

Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) was one of two non-Russian wrestlers to win a gold medal at the Continental Cup. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Continental Cup RESULTS
57kg
GOLD - Abubakar MUTALIEV (RUS)
SILVER - Hasanhuseyn BADRUDINOV (RUS)
BRONZE - Thomas GILMAN (USA) 
BRONZE - Azamat TUSHKAEV (RUS) 

61kg 
GOLD - Ibrahim ABDURAKHMANOV (RUS)
SILVER - Rustam KARAKHANOV (RUS)
BRONZE - Artem GEBEKOV (RUS)
BRONZE - Kilyab HANIPAEV (RUS)

65kg
GOLD - Ramadan FERZALIEV (RUS)
SILVER - Evan HENDERSON (USA) 
BRONZE - Alibek OSMONOV (KGZ) 
BRONZE - Vazgen TEYANYAN (ARM)

70kg
GOLD - Aznaur TAVAEV (RUS)
SILVER - Frank MOLINARO (USA) 
BRONZE - Gitinomagomed HAJIYEV (AZE) 
BRONZE - Umar MUTALIEV (RUS)

74kg
GOLD - Magomed KHIZRIEV (RUS)
SILVER - Magoma DIBIRGADZHIEV (RUS)
BRONZE - Gadzhimurad ALIKHMAEV (RUS)
BRONZE - Amanula RASULOV (RUS)

79kg 
GOLD - Atsamaz SANAKOEV (RUS)
SILVER - Isaiah MARTINEZ (USA)
BRONZE - Adam KHASIEV (RUS)
BRONZE - Magomed MUTALIBOV (RUS)

86kg
GOLD - Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) 
SILVER - Arsenali MUSALALIEV (RUS)
BRONZE - Zhavrail SHAPIEV (UZB) 
BRONZE - Khabib HAJIYEV (RUS)

92kg
GOLD - Georgy RUBAEV (MDA) 
SILVER - Gadzhimagomed NAZMUDINOV (RUS)
BRONZE - Muslim MAGOMEDOV (RUS)
BRONZE - Ramadan SHABANOV (RUS)

97kg
GOLD - Rasul MAGOMEDOV (RUS)
SILVER - Hayden ZILMER (USA) 
BRONZE - Magomed TAGIROV (RUS)
BRONZE - Tai WALTZ (USA)

125kg
GOLD - Batraz GAZZAYEV (RUS)
SILVER - Magomedgadzhi NURASULOV (RUS)
BRONZE - Alan KHUGAEV (RUS)
BRONZE - Shamil SHARIPOV (RUS)

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media 

1. Big Move Monday -- Sharshenbekov T. (KGZ) -- Senior Worlds 2019
2. Sunday smiles! ?
3. Here are few moments that stand out for us from World Championships. 
4. Check out some of the best action from day 6 medal matches here at the 2019 Veterans World Championship.
5. A beautiful sequence from Turkey's Murat Ozkan. | #beachwrestling #wrestling

#WrestleTirana

Breaking down freestyle battles at World Championships for Non-Olympic weights

By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (October 15) -- Six months ago, no one had the Sadulaev-Taylor-Ghasempour three-way battle for world title on their bingo card. But it is about to go down in Tirana.

The World Championships in non-Olympic weight classes is returning after eight years. Despite the fact that none of the Paris Olympic participants were allowed in the tournament, it still has a host of stars hoping to become world champions.

Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN), a two-time Olympic and five-time world champion, did not participate in the Paris Olympics and is going down a weight class to 92kg in a bid to earn his sixth world title. Three-time world champion David TAYLOR (USA) jumped from 86kg to 92kg in a bid to compete at the World Championships. He now gets a shot at Sadulaev. Two-time world champion at 92kg Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI), who has been moving up and down in weight classes, has somehow been made the challenger.

Ghasempour participated in the 97kg weight class in the Zagreb Open but lost to Kyle SNYDER (USA). He was in line for Iran's 86kg spot for Paris but later opted out of a trial against Hassan YAZDANI (IRI).

Sadulaev lost a bout for the second time in his career and first in six years when he lost to Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) at the 2023 World Championships. Taylor lost to Aaron BROOKS (USA) in the U.S. Olympic trials and Ghasempour barely scraped through in the trials for the world team in Iran.

Yet, the three will be the favorite for the gold medal and it will only be a surprise if any of them miss out on the podium in Tirana.

Jordan BURROUGHS (USA)Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) is eyeing his seventh world title. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Six-time world champion Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) is also chasing history. If he wins, he will win his seventh world title, making him the most successful American wrestler at the World Championships. He missed out on competing at the 2023 World Championships but stormed back in 2024, winning the trial in the United States.

But his path to gold won't be an easy one. Two-time U23 world champion Magomed MAGOMAEV (AIN), former world silver medalist Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO), three-time world medalist Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) and Asian champion Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) are also in the fray.

Nokhodi and Burroughs have wrestled in two back-to-back World Championships finals with the latter winning both. But Burroughs suffered his first loss to an Iranian in 2022 when Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) defeated him at the World Cup and Nokhodi will draw confidence from there.

All the big names will be looking to hand Burroughs his first World Championships loss since 2019.

Vitali ARUJAU (USA)Vitali ARUJAU (USA) is the defending world champion at 61kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Another Olympic champion eyeing a world title will be Zavur UGUEV (AIN) as he last won the second of two titles in 2019. Uguev won gold at the Tokyo Olympics at 57kg but finished fifth at the 2023 World Championships. He will be at 61kg in Tirana hoping to deny defending world champion Vitali ARUJAU (USA) a second world title.

Arujau won his first world gold medal in 2023 by beating Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (AIN) in a tense final. He won the team trials in the U.S. to confirm his name for the World Championships in Tirana.

An interesting name entered is Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB). The former European champion will turn out for Serbia at 61kg but it is unlikely that he will be challenging for gold.

Masanosuke ONO (JPN), however, can be a big threat for the gold medal given his style and pace of wrestling. He rocked the competition at the U20 World Championships last month and won gold at 61kg. It will be interesting to see how he fares at his first senior World Championships.

Asian Championships silver medalist UDIT (IND) and Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) have some good wins under their belts over the past two years and they would like to make a mark in Tirana.

Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN)Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN) and Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) wrestled in the U23 World Championships final last year. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

U23 world and European champion Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN) will be making his senior international debut at 70kg in Tirana and will be the favorite to win the gold medal. However, the field has other top contenders like Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI), Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) and James GREEN (USA) among others.

Yazdani lost the final at 70kg last year to Zain RETHERFORD (USA) but will look to make amends this year. He won the Asian Championships over Aoyagi in a high-scoring final. Yazdani's 13-9 win over Aoyagi was not convincing and the Japanese will look to change the result if the two meet in Tirana. Aoyagi was in the final against Sheriev but dropped the final 9-3. He finished eighth at the World Championships in 2023.

Former U20 world champion for Iran, Peiman BIABANI (CAN) will be turning out for Canada. He finished second at the Pan-Am Championships and the World Championships will be a big test for him. 2023 bronze medalist Ramazan RAMAZANOV (BUL) will look to change the color of his medal this year.