#WrestleOslo

#WrestleOslo Day Two Preview: Freestyle 57kg, 65kg, 79kg and 92kg

Sunday, September 19, 2021 - 19:25 By Vinay Siwach

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (September 17) -- The last time a senior World Championships took place, Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) and J'den COX (USA) were primed to be at the Tokyo Olympics and even win their second medal at the big event. The former is a London Olympic champion while Cox won a bronze at the Rio Games. But both saw their dreams shattered in April earlier this year after losing at the USA Olympic Team Trials.

Six months later, both Burroughs and Cox have shifted their focus to winning the world titles. They'll take the mat on the second day of the senior World Championships in Oslo, Norway, as four more freestyle weight classes will be in action on October 3.

Burroughs, who has been a permanent fixture at 74kg for close to a decade now, will be wrestling at 79kg for the first time in his career after he won the World Team Trials in the best-of-three series against Alex DIERINGER (USA) last month. Kyle DAKE (USA) has confirmed that he will be wrestling at 74kg in Oslo after he won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics in August.

But at 79kg, Burroughs will face new challenges.

Most of the seasoned campaigners have decided to skip the Oslo event. The USA wrestler will have to deal with former U23 world champion Nika KENTCHADZE (GEO), U23 world runner-up Mohammad NOKHODILARIMI (IRI) and winner of Russian Wrestling Federation trials Radik VALIEV (RWF), who is a two-time U23 European champion.

Burroughs, 33 and with his fourth child on the way, has won four golds and three bronzes at the World Championships apart from winning the 2012 Olympic title all at 74kg. His two bronze medals at the 2018 and 2019 World Championships, followed by missing the Olympics, had raised doubts that the USA wrestler was in the twilight of his illustrious career. But Burroughs said that was not the case.

"I feel confident in my ability no matter what," Burroughs told the media after winning the trials. "What I was able to do this weekend was really not a surprise to me or anyone who watches me train. [It was] a solid performance. I know I was supposed to win and I feel good at this weight class as I am at a natural weight and not cut, wrestling is much more fun."

Some of the moves were vintage Burroughs as he blasted doubles at will throughout the two-day tournament, which was also a warning to his opponents that he is still a formidable opponent.

"The double has always been there. It's just harder to recreate when down a weight," he said. "I am a phenomenal wrestler, I am a great athlete. At this point, it's kind of a reassurance not only to me but to the world that I am still here, I am still a formidable opponent for anyone in the world."

But will the U23 stars will be a threat to Burroughs winning a fifth world title? It looks unlikely that anyone would be able to stop the USA wrestler from creating history.

J'Den COXJ'den COX (USA) will be eyeing his third world title at 92kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

In another non-Olympic weight class, Cox will try to defend his world title at 92kg. He had decided to move up to the 97kg category for the Tokyo Olympics but failed to participate in the trials after missing the weigh-in deadline. Kyle SNYDER (USA) won a silver medal in Tokyo and locked up the 97kg category. Cox will now be challenged in Oslo.

The 26-year-old Cox has never failed to medal at the World or Olympics he has entered and he will be eyeing a hat-trick of gold medals at 92kg. But two-time U23 world and senior Asian champion Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) and Magomed KURBANOV (RWF) are likely to be the biggest threat to his quest.

Since missing the Olympics trials in April, Cox has participated in the Poland Open Ranking Series, where he suffered a surprise loss to Illia ARCHAIA (UKR) 2-1 in the semifinals. He did not wrestle the bronze medal owing to the injury.

But last month it seemed the old Cox was back as he handled Kollin MOORE (USA)  in the best of three finals.

It will be interesting to see how the experienced wrestler moves against the senior Russian Wrestling Federation Nationals and European champion at 92kg Kurbanov. While he doesn't have the experience of wins of Cox's level, Kurbanov can be a threat as he has been in some form since the beginning of this year.

Add to that, Ghasempour, who is yet to lose internationally since his loss at the 2013 Cadet World Championships final. He has since won the U23 Worlds twice at 86kg along with the Asian title at the same weight. Earlier this year in Almaty, he made his debut at 92kg, capturing the gold medal at the Asian Championships.

A number of wrestlers with success at age-group level are also entered for the Worlds but no one can claim to have the pedigree like Cox.

Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) is a former junior world champion while Irakli MTSITURI (GEO) has a senior world medal but has not continued his success recently. Pruthviraj PATIL (IND) won a bronze medal at the recently concluded Junior World Championships in Ufa, Russia.

Suleyman Atli Thomas GilmanSuleyman ATLI (TUR) has a win over Thomas GILMAN (USA) at the World Championships. (Photo: UWW / Max Rose-Fyne)

Two Olympic weight classes will also be in action on Sunday as 57kg and 65kg wrestlers will be on the mats. But only one Tokyo Olympic medalist from the eight is wrestling in Oslo. Thomas GILMAN (USA) will look to win his first world title, two months after winning the bronze at 57kg in Tokyo.

Gilman, who won a silver medal at the 2017 Worlds, reminded wrestling fans of his abilities with a strong performance in Tokyo. In the first bout, he faced world champion Zaur UGUEV (RWF) and almost snatched a win but the Uguev, who became the champion in Tokyo, scored a takedown in the final 12 seconds to win. Gilman came back to win the bronze medal.

Fellow Olympian and world silver medalist Suleyman ATLI (TUR) will also be eyeing his first world title. Atli suffered a surprising loss to Reza ATRI (IRI) in the opening round in Tokyo. Atli was one of the favorites to reach the final at the Games. But now Gilman and Atli are likely to be the top contenders for gold in Oslo.

Another Tokyo Olympian and former world medalist, Bekhbayar ERDENEBAT (MGL), is also entered and will try to spoil the party. Oslo could well be the place where the Mongolian finally enters his first-ever World Championships final.

Former junior world champion Toshiya ABE (JPN) and Russian Wrestling Federation Nationals bronze medalist Abubakr MUTALIEV (RWF) are two others to keep an eye on. Both will be wrestling at their first senior World Championships and the Japanese will like to continue his country's good result at the lowest weight class while Mutaliev will be under pressure to keep the title in Russia as Uguev has done since 2018.

Vazgen TEVANYANVazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) will be one of the favorites to win the 65kg title. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 65kg, a host of young stars will be wrestling to be world champion and the category may see a surprise winner. Leading the pack is 2020 Individual World Cup winner Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) and senior European champion Zagir SHAKIEV (RWF). The former was at the Tokyo Olympics but failed to win a medal.

His hot run at the World Cup made the world take notice and he will be eyeing his first World Championships title in Oslo. But Shakiev will be the top contender as well. After running 2019 world champion Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RWF) close in the Russian Nationals, Shakiev won the Euros and has finally got a chance to come out of Rashidov's shadow.

At the trials on Tuesday, Shakiev gave no chance to former world bronze medalist Akhmed CHAKAEV (RWF) in the final bout. He won 10-3 after developing a lead early in the bout and Chakaev could only play catch up after that.

While he may be making his senior World Championships debut, Yianni DIAKOMIHALIS (USA) will be another exciting prospect to watch out for. Many have been waiting eagerly for the senior world debut of the two-time cadet world champion, which will finally happen in Oslo.

At the WTT, Diakomihalis defeated Joseph McKENNA (USA) 2-1 in the best-of-three finals to book the spot for Oslo. He will now be looking to make the category his own for the next three years.

USA failed to qualify any wrestler at 65kg, extending their struggles at this weight class. But with the emergence of Diakomihalis, a change of fortunes is expected by the USA wrestling fans. His quirky style and continuous wrestling makes him a threat for his opponents and the Cornell University student knows that.

"I had decided before that I had blown it a lot, and if I didn't mess it up all those times, I wouldn't be as good as I am now. It's about time I got it right," Diakomihalis said after winning the WTT.

Tokyo Olympian Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) will also be in fray to upset a few and win his first-ever World Championships medal. 

Another junior world champion from Japan Kaiki YAMAGUCHI (JPN) is entered at 65kg. He won the world title at 61kg in 2019 with Abe. Now the pair will look to return with medals from Oslo as well.

Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI) will be Iran's big hope to return with a medal from Oslo as they struggle to find a successful wrestler at this weight. Yazdani, however, will look to change that.

#WrestleZagreb

Reasco becomes Ecuador's first world champ as Maroulis adds to gold tally

Wednesday, September 17, 2025 - 22:22 By Ken Marantz

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ZAGREB, Croatia (September 16) -- While Helen MAROULIS (USA) was adding to her mountainous pile of world medals with a fourth career gold, Genesis REASCO (ECU) made history by becoming Ecuador's first-ever world champion.

Reasco reached the pinnacle of the sport with a 4-2 victory in the 76kg final over Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ), denying the two-time world medalist her first gold in the last of four women's finals on Wednesday at the World Championships in Zagreb.

"I went in, gave my all, and it worked," Reasco said. "That’s how the gold medal was achieved, because honestly, I have a lot of respect for all my opponents. They gave everything out there on the mat, and they were really good matches -- both yesterday’s and today’s. Everything was very tough, very close."

Maroulis, who will turn 34 on Friday, showed why she has accumulated eight medals overall in 12 trips to the World Championships when she scored a dramatic takedown with :05 left to edge Il Sim SON (PRK) 3-2 in the 57kg final.

In other finals, Myonggyong WON (PRK) gave the DPR Korea its second women's title in two nights -- and just the third in its history -- with an emotional victory at 50kg , while Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) earned her second world gold and fifth medal overall with a dominant run to the 65kg title.

Reasco's historic victory came two years after Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) became the South American country's first-ever world medalist, and a day before Yepez gets a chance to join her as a gold medalist after making the 53kg final earlier in the day.

Reasco had long been seen as having the potential for a breakthrough, but never seemed to be able to make that final step up to the big time. She finished fifth at the 2022 World Championships and 2024 Paris Olympics, and was third at this year's Pan American Championships.

But after knocking off Paris bronze medalist Milaimy MARIN (CUB) in Tuesday's semifinals, the impossible suddenly became possible.

"At the Olympics, I was close to winning bronze, but it didn’t happen," she said. "But now the world medal came, and I’m very happy after all the sacrifices."

In the final, Reasco scored with a double-leg takedown in the first period, then scored another at the edge in the second. Medet Kyzy, a three-time Asian champion, tried desperately to launch a comeback, but she had to settle for 2 with a late throw attempt and came up short.

The 27-year-old Reasco got a relatively late start to the sport, saying she was not even aware of wrestling's existence until she was introduced to it at age 15.

"At that time, I practically didn’t know what wrestling was," she said. "I was going for another sport, but the coach of that sport took me to wrestling -- it was thanks to his influence. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have even known what wrestling was.

"The first day I saw it, I was shocked. Since I was little, I always liked sports -- I liked basketball, football. So I always had that love for sports. Any sport, any other sport, I liked."

But her dedication to training eventually led to the greatest of achievements, which she surmises will be widely celebrated back in her hometown of Esmeraldas and the province of Manabi where she trains.

"When I focus on competition, I even put my phone aside," she said.

In the 57kg final, Maroulis had her work cut out for her with the quick and powerful Son, this year's Asian silver medalist.

"She's an amazing opponent," Maroulis said. "I knew she was going to be tough. I watched all of her film. I'm like, my gosh, she's so good."

Maroulis had to fight out of a double-leg attempt in the first period, in which she received an activity point for the only score. In the second, Son received an activity point, then went ahead 2-1 by scoring a stepout at 1:32.

It looked like it might end that way until Maroulis, using a trip to great effect as she had done all tournament, sent Son reeling backward, then spun behind as Son tried to whip her over with :05 on the clock.

"I had to really, really dig deep for that and, I don't know, before the last exchange started, I just had to dig deep and find it," Maroulis said. "It was just some scramble flurry and just that it came out my way. I'm grateful."

The U.S. wrestler added the title to the ones she won in 2015, 2017 and 2021. She also has an Olympic gold from 2016, when she dealt the legendary Saori YOSHIDA (JPN) her lone international loss, and three Olympic medals overall.

Maroulis said that she had to deal with a blood vessel problem that curtailed her training starting in the spring, and did not return to full-fledged practice until about two weeks ago.

With her conditioning limited, she said she aimed to end her matches early, which resulted in her ending all three of her matches leading up to the final by fall.

"I was like, I'm just going to start working on training because I'm not conditioned enough to go six minutes," Maroulis said. "I'm literally not conditioned enough. But if I pin, no one has to know that."

Maroulis said she is currently undecided about continuing her career. But should she go on, it could put her on a collision course with one of the sport's rising stars, Akari FUJINAMI (JPN), the Paris Olympic champion at 53kg who announced that she was moving up to 57kg in the runup to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

"I would love to wrestle her," she said. "I've been wrestling for so many years, I want to wrestle the best of the best, and she's phenomenal. I've heard and seen great things about her.

Maroulis said the two have never had a chance to work out together. "We message back and forth, actually we were trying to go to a camp together, it just didn't work out in time for the Olympics. I found she was going to 57[kg], I said, 'Oh my gosh.' It's a great opportunity for both of us."

At 50kg, Won dominated her gold-medal showdown with Asian silver medalist Yu ZHANG (CHN) from the start, storming to an eight-point lead in the first period and holding on for an 8-2 victory.

"This medal and the championship belt I’ve won are just the first step in repaying my parents for all their sacrifices," Won said. "From now on, I’ll work even harder to become an Olympic champion."

Her victory came a day after Kyong Ryong OH (PRK) won the 55kg gold to become the second women's world champion in their country's history. They joined Yong-Mi PAK (PRK), who won the 53kg gold in Nur-Sultan in 2019.

Won became so overcome with emotion, she tearfully hugged the referee after the match, then went over and did the same with the side judges. Then she hugged her coaches, and during the medal ceremony, shed tears as the national anthem was played.

"The moment I took first place, all the tough days of training flashed before my eyes and I couldn’t hold back my tears," she said. "And when I thought about sharing the news with my mom and dad, the tears came again."

Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN)Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) celebrates after winning the 65kg final at the World Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At 65kg, Morikawa cruised to an 8-0 victory over Alina KASABIEVA (UWW) to regain the title she won in 2022, capping a year in which she also won the Ranking Series Tirana event and a second career gold at the Asian Championships.

Morikawa scored all of her points by shooting for a single, then fighting off a whizzer by Kasabieva to gain control for a pair of takedowns in each period.

"It's my first time to face her, but comparatively she was easier to wrestle than my semifinal opponent," Morikawa said, referring to her semifinal victory over former world champion Irina RINGACI (MDA), albeit a 10-0 decision.

"I couldn't get in on my tackles, and that part is something that I have to change. I'll be going to a heavier weight class and I want to be able to knock off the top wrestlers."

For Morikawa, competing at 65kg now is part of a process aimed at being competitive in the race to make the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, almost surely at 68kg, after missing out on Paris.

"It was great that I won the championship, but the next step will be starting soon. I can be happy today, but from tomorrow I'll have to start working hard in practice."

In between her two world titles, Morikawa took a world bronze at 72kg in 2023, then returned to 65kg in 2024, only to have to settle for a bronze again.

"It was a long time [between titles], and there was the time that I missed out on the Olympics, but I will use this victory as inspiration for what is coming next. It will be the start of a much more difficult fight than up to now, so I have to renew my determination."

While two world golds is no small accomplishment, Morikawa joked that it still leaves her well behind her coach, who was in her corner on Wednesday and accompanied her on the victory lap on the mat.

"I still only have two titles, so I'm about 10 behind the coach who was in my corner," Morikawa said of Kaori ICHO (JPN), the four-time Olympic and 10-time world champion.

Smirnova stuns Yoshimoto for 50kg bronze

Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (UWW) pulled off the surprise of the bronze-medal matches, stunning former world champion Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN) at 50kg with a stepout in the final seconds for a 3-3 win on criteria.

Yoshimoto, a two-time Asian champion, received an activity point, then gave up a takedown when Smirnova countered and got behind to a 2-1 lead. In the second period, Yoshimoto finally got through, scoring a takedown with :54 left. But she failed to hold off Smirnova's final push, leaving her devastated and in tears.

Prior to coming to Zagreb, Yoshimoto's only losses in any competition since 2019 were to compatriot and Tokyo Olympic champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN), whom she lost to four times. That limited her to a single previous appearance at the World Championships in 2021, when she won the gold.

The other 50kg bronze went to Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR), who also needed a late score in posting a 3-2 victory over Munkhnar BYAMBASUREN (MGL) and adding to the world bronze she won back in 2017.

Byambasuren scored a takedown while on the activity clock to take a 2-0 lead into the second period, and it looked like that might hold up when Demirhan gained a 2-point exposure off an inner thigh block with :15 left. Byambasuren came close to getting behind in the final seconds, but fell short and an unsuccessful challenge handed Demirhan her final point.

The victory took some of the sting out a serious knee injury that Demirhan suffered in the final exchange. She limped off the mat and was taken from the main floor in a wheelchair, then was carried by two fellow medalists to the podium during the medal ceremony wearing a walking cast.

Japan was dealt another set back a short time later in the 57kg bronze-medal bouts, when three-time European champion Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (UWW) scored a takedown and exposure in the second period to upend Himeka TOKUHARA (JPN) 4-1.

As with Demirhan, Khoroshavtseva's victory ended a long medal drought -- her previous bronze had come in 2019.

Paris Olympic bronze medalist Kexin HONG (CHN) picked up her first world medal, surging to a 10-0 victory over Iryna KURACHKINA (UWW) in the other 57kg match.

Moldova's national hero Ringaci earned a fourth career world medal by beating Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) 6-3 for a 65kg bronze, scoring a takedown in the first period and two in the second.

Two-time Asian silver medalist Enkhjin TUVSHINJARGAL (MGL) had the lead on criteria when she scored an exposure at the edge while holding off an attack by Macey KILTY (USA) to clinch a 4-2 win for the other 65kg bronze.

At 76kg, another Olympic bronze medalist added a world bronze when Marin stormed to a 10-0 victory over PRIYA (IND), setting the mood when she scored the first of her five takedowns by lifting the Indian in the air and dumping her to the mat.

Kylie WELKER (USA) added to the bronze she won last year at 72kg by holding on for a 6-2 victory over Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) for the other 76kg bronze. Welker scored a takedown and gut wrench in the first period, then after Alpyeyeva came back with two stepouts,

clinched the win with a takedown with :14 left. 

Day 5 Results

Women's Wrestling

50kg (21 entries)
GOLD: Myonggyong WON (PRK) df. Yu ZHANG (CHN), 8-2

BRONZE: Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (UWW) df. Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN), 3-3
BRONZE: Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) df. Munkhnar BYAMBASUREN (MGL), 3-2

53kg (23 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) df. ANTIM (IND), 5-3
SEMIFINAL: Haruna MURAYAMA (JPN) df. Hyongyong CHOE (PRK), 2-1

57kg (22 entries)
GOLD: Helen MAROULIS (USA) df. Il Sim SON (PRK), 3-2

BRONZE: Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (UWW) df. Himeka TOKUHARA (JPN), 4-1
BRONZE: Kexin HONG (CHN) df. Iryna KURACHKINA (UWW) by TF, 10-0, 2:22

62kg (22 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) df. Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL) by TF, 14-1, 4:15
SEMIFINAL: Ok Ju KIM (PRK) df. Amina TANDELOVA (UWW) by TF, 14-3, 6:00

65kg (17 entries)
GOLD: Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) df. Alina KASABIEVA (UWW), 8-0

BRONZE: Irina RINGACI (MDA) df. Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR), 6-3
BRONZE: Enkhjin TUVSHINJARGAL (MGL) df. Macey KILTY (USA), 4-2

68kg (24 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Ami ISHII (JPN) df. Buse TOSUN (TUR) by TF, 11-0, 2:34
SEMIFINAL: Yuliana YANEVA (BUL) df. Jia LONG (CHN), 6-1

72kg (17 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Alla BELINSKA (UKR) df. Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ) by Fall, 5:00 (11-6)
SEMIFINAL: Nesrin BAS (TUR) df. Zelu LI (CHN), 9-6

76kg (19 entries)
GOLD: Genesis REASCO (ECU) df. Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ), 4-2

BRONZE: Kylie WELKER (USA) df. Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR), 6-2
BRONZE: Milaimy MARIN (CUB) df. PRIYA (IND) by TF, 10-0, 4:07