#PolandOpen

World Champ Stadnik Bulldozes Poland Open Field

By Eric Olanowski

WARSAW, Poland (September 7) - The fourth and final women’s wrestling Ranking Series event of the year, the Poland Open kicked off in Warsaw, Poland, and No. 2 ranked Mariya STADNIK (AZE) once again bulldozed the competition for the third tournament in a row. 

Stadnik, the seven-time world and Olympic medalist, capped off her Poland Open finals run with four technical superiority victories while outscoring the competition 41-1. 

The Azeri has competed three times this season, making the finals of the Klippan Lady Open, the European Championships and now the Poland Open. 

In her three competitions, Stadnik has had twelve matches. In those twelve matches, she’s 11-1, with her only loss coming to defending world champion, Yui SUSAKI (JPN) in the Klippan Lady Open finals.  Even more impressive, Stadnik has finished all 11 victories by technical superiority, while outscoring her opponents 115-3. 

Stadnik will meet Ilona SEMKIV (UKR) in the 50kg finals. Semkiv, the two-time age-level world runner-up scored an impressive 12-2 win over No. 1 Emilia VUC (ROU), sealing her spot in tomorrow’s finals. The Poland Open finals will be Semkiv’s first finals appearance since the 2017 European Championships where she coincidently wrestled Stadnik, who was the victor 10-0. 

In freestyle, Olympic champion Vladimer KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO) will meet Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS) for the 65kg title. This is a rematch of the 61kg gold-medal bout at the 2017 European Championships. That match, which was a Match of the Year candidate, was won 10-9 by Khinchegashvili. 

It was said that the highest placer at this tournament between Chakaev and  Ilias BEKBULATOV (RUS) would represent Russia at the 2018 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. It is not clear why, but Bekbulatov entered the tournament but did not compete, dropping out of the match against Dimitar Lyubomirov IVANOV (BUL). 

With that said, one can only imagine that Akhmed Chakaev will represent Russia at 65kg at the World Championships. In 2016, Chakaev finished with a bronze medal while representing Russia at the World Championships.

In Greco-Roman, the most surprising upset came at 97kg where Tracy HANCOCK (USA) stuck four-time world and Olympic champion, Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) in the semifinals. 

Hancock who is wrestling in his first individual international competition since taking tenth place at the U23 World Championships will face Bulgaria’s Nikolay BAYRYAKOV (BUL) for the 97kg gold medal.

The finals will begin tomorrow at 17:00 (local time). The freestyle finals will be on Mat A, the women's wrestling finals will be on Mat B and the Greco-Roman finals will be on Mat C. 

RESULTS
Women's Wrestling 
50kg

GOLD -  Ilona SEMKIV (UKR) vs. Mariya STADNIK (AZE) 

Semifinal -  Mariya STADNIK (AZE) df. Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (RUS), 11-1 
Semifinal - Ilona SEMKIV (UKR) df. Emilia Alina VUC (ROU), 12-2 


55kg
GOLD -  Roksana Marta ZASINA (POL) vs. Tetyana KIT (UKR) 

Semifinal - Tetyana KIT (UKR) df. Olga SHNAIDER (UKR), 10-0 
Semifinal -  Roksana Marta ZASINA (POL) df. Sofia Magdalena MATTSSON (SWE), 4-3 

59kg
GOLD - Marwa AMRI (TUN) vs. Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS) 

Semifinal -  Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS) df. Olena KREMZER (UKR) , 12-1 
Semifinal - Marwa AMRI (TUN) df. Lingling BAO (CHN), 7-2 

65kg
GOLD -  Petra Maarit OLLI (FIN) vs. Danielle Suzanne LAPPAGE (CAN) 

Semifinal - Danielle Suzanne LAPPAGE (CAN) df. Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE), 4-1 
Semifinal - Petra Maarit OLLI (FIN) df. Moa Lena Maria NYGREN (SWE), 2-0 

72kg
GOLD -  Kunming WANG (CHN) vs. Agnieszka Jadwiga WIESZCZEK-KORDUS (POL) 

Semifinal -  Agnieszka Jadwiga WIESZCZEK-KORDUS (POL) df. Catalina AXENTE (ROU), 3-0 
Semifinal -  Kunming WANG (CHN) df. Alexandra Nicoleta ANGHEL (ROU), 9-5

Freestyle 
57kg 

GOLD -  Stevan Andria MICIC (SRB) vs. Givi DAVIDOVI (ITA) 

Semifinal - Givi DAVIDOVI (ITA) df. Frank Vincent PERRELLI IV (USA)  , 9-6
Semifinal -  Stevan Andria MICIC (SRB) df. Nurislam (Artas) SANAYEV (SANAA) (KAZ)  , 9-5 

65kg 
GOLD - Vladimer KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO) vs. Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS) 

Semifinal -  Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS) df. Jordan Michael OLIVER (USA)  , 9-8 
Semifinal -  Vladimer KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO) df. Dimitar Lyubomirov IVANOV (BUL)  , 11-0 

74kg
GOLD -  Wei WU (CHN) vs. Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) 

Semifinal -  Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) df. Nurlan BEKZHANOV (KAZ)  , 5-0 
Semifinal -  Wei WU (CHN) df. Andrzej Piotr SOKALSKI (POL), 7-1 

86kg 
GOLD -  Zbigniew Mateusz BARANOWSKI (POL) vs. Samuel Joseph BROOKS (USA) 

Semifinal - Samuel Joseph BROOKS (USA) df. Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA)  , 6-2 
Semifinal -  Zbigniew Mateusz BARANOWSKI (POL) df. Piotr IANULOV (MDA), 2-2 

97kg
GOLD -  Mamed IBRAGIMOV (KAZ) vs. Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO) 

Semifinal - Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO) df. Pavlo OLIINYK (HUN), via injury. 
Semifinal - Mamed IBRAGIMOV (KAZ) df. Chaoqiang YANG (CHN), 5-2 

Greco-Roman 
63kg 

GOLD - Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) vs. Nikolay Ivanov VICHEV (BUL

Semifinal - Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) df. Virgil Alexander BICA (SWE), 4-3
Semifinal -  Nikolay Ivanov VICHEV (BUL) df. Hassan Hassan Ahmed MOHAMED (EGY), 8-0 

72kg 
GOLD 
-  Denis HORVATH (SVK) vs. Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR) 

Semifinal - Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR) df. Shogo TAKAHASHI (JPN), 2-1   
Semifinal - Denis HORVATH (SVK) df. Joilson DE BRITO RAMOS JUNIOR (BRA), 8-0  

82kg
GOLD - Oleksii OSNIACH (UKR) vs. Emrah KUS (TUR) 

Semifinal - Emrah KUS (TUR) df. Daniel Tihomirov ALEKSANDROV (BUL), 7-4  
Semifinal - Oleksii OSNIACH (UKR) df. Petr NOVAK (CZE), 6-6 

97kg 
GOLD - Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA) vs. Nikolay Nikolaev BAYRYAKOV (BUL) 

Semifinal -  Nikolay Nikolaev BAYRYAKOV (BUL) df. Mathias BAK (DEN), 4-1 
Semifinal -  Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA) df. Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM), via fall 

#development

Women's coaches and referees course held in Colombia

By United World Wrestling Press

RIONEGRO, Colombia (April 23) -- An unprecedented international course, exclusively for Spanish-speaking female coaches and referees, was held in Rionegro, Colombia from April 16 to 18.

Organized by United World Wrestling (UWW) with support from Olympic Solidarity, the event took place at the Recinto Quirama, gathering 33 participants from 15 Latin American countries.

The course was inaugurated by UWW Development Director Deqa NIAMKEY, UWW Sport and Development Officer Yuri Maier and member of the UWW Americas Executive Committee Fanny ECHEVERRY.

The educational sessions were led by Rafael GALVA LEBRON, an Olympic referee and member of the UWW Referee Commission, known for his passionate and dynamic teaching style and Raul TRUJILLO DIAZ, one of the most respected Greco-Roman wrestling coaches globally, recognized for guiding the legendary Olympic champion Mijain LOPEZ (CUB).

Throughout three days filled with camaraderie, learning, and solidarity, the participants engaged in integrated theoretical and practical sessions conducted in a shared venue.

This approach facilitated dynamic exchanges, ongoing dialogue between coaches and referees, and created a supportive and collaborative learning environment. The course activities included live simulations, technical analyses, motivational talks, and workshops on leadership and personal development.

Notably, the event featured motivational speeches by Jackeline RENTERIA, Colombia's two-time Olympic medalist and a leading figure in Women's Wrestling on the continent, and Jessica ECHEVERRY, President of the Risaraldense Wrestling League.

Both speakers emphasized shared experiences and the importance of women supporting each other beyond individual differences.

COLParticipants listen to United World Wrestling's Development Department's opening remarks. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

"This course was a significant opportunity to continue learning and to give back to the sport that has given me so much," Nes RODRIGUEZ (PUR) said. "Now, as a sports director, my goal is to inspire children and youth by showing them that sports can provide a life full of opportunities beyond any hardships."

Other expressed how motivated they were after attending the courses.

"It reminded me of the importance of never giving up, not only as a coach but also as a woman," Keliyojana VAZQUEZ (MEX) said. "I'm returning home with new tools to improve my work and appreciate myself more in every aspect."

"I leave with the commitment to build networks of support and communication among us," Paula GRAJALES (COL) said. "We are friends and colleagues who must unite to grow together and continue transforming our communities and the sport."

The pioneering course, aligned with the Gender Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (GEDI) agenda of the International Olympic Committee, represented a historic milestone for women's wrestling in Latin America

The notable personal growth experienced by the participants confirmed that when women come together and put aside competition, they significantly amplify their transformative power, strengthening the future of women's sports in the region.