Host Cities

Wrestling Launches New Online Tools for National Federations and Event Organizers 

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (January 29) -- The United World Wrestling Sport Department, in collaboration with Megaphone Live, has created a comprehensive guide for those looking to organize wrestling events.  

Over the past several years, as the professionalization of the international wrestling has increased and viewership boomed, stakeholders and organizers have requested consistent and clear guidelines for the Field of Play. The updated handbook is packaged to easily identify the location of everything from scoreboards, to furniture, and positions for television. The documents also provide you the exact measurements for items such as the award podium, tables for the technical delegate, and the boxes used by coaching staffs. 

“We are very proud to offer this new tool to all our National Wrestling Federations but also to every Wrestling Organizer. With such precise documents, the preparation of the event will be managed smoothly, and the respect of our requirements will be easier to follow,” said UWW Sport Director Jean-Daniel REY. 

Readers interested in the details of the plans can access them, for free, here. (You will need a ‘Sketchup’ viewer to access the 3D model.) 

“We have invested heavily in Wrestling’s sport presentation over the past six years and a fundamental part are details around the field of play and venue layouts,” said United World Wrestling president Nenad LALOVIC. “These documents are integral for us to deliver competitions seamlessly and we wanted to make this available to all our member federations. As UWW improves, the whole wrestling community should benefit.” 

#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."