Wrestling Names Qualifiers for 2018 YOG, 50 Nations Set to Participate

Wednesday, September 5, 2018 - 21:50 By Tim Foley

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (September 5) – United World Wrestling, the international governing body for the sport of wrestling, has announced the wrestling entries for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. Wrestlers in freestyle, Greco-Roman and women’s wrestling will compete October 12-14 at the Parque Polideportivo Roca.

Wrestlers from 50 nations and all five continents will be represented in Buenos Aires, including several Cadet-level continental and world champions. The Youth Olympic Games have been a springboard for some of wrestling’s current senior-level superstars, including European Games medalist Grace BULLEN (NOR) and world champions Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN) and Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN).

“We are proud of our young wrestlers for showing heart and determination in qualifying for the Youth Olympic Games,” said United World Wrestling president and IOC Executive Board member, Nenad Lalovic. ”We expect to see a high level of competition, but also look forward to seeing these athletes learn more about the Olympic values while in Buenos Aires.”

In an effort to become more gender equitable, wrestling increased the number of female participants in Buenos Aires to 50, which is up from 32 participants in Singapore 2010 and Nanjing 2014. The adjustment was part of a larger effort by the International Olympic Committee to meet its goal to make the 2018 Youth Olympic Games the first-ever gender-equal Games.

“Wrestling is proud to support the IOC’s commitment to gender equality in the Games and we are certain that our athletes, coaches and fans will enjoy the competition,” said Lalovic.

For a full wrestling schedule, or to buy tickets to the event, please visit www.buenosaires2018.com or www.unitedworldwrestling.org/event/youth-olympic-games-0

A PDF version of the final entry list is available HERE

MEN'S FREESTYLE

Halil GOKDENIZ (TUR)

48kg
Daiziel DETUDAMO (NRU)
Fernando BOOYSEN (RSA)
Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB)
Diego Armando ZULUAGA CUEVAS (COL)
Halil GOKDENIZ (TUR)
Giorgi GEGELASHVILI (GEO)

55kg
Gavin Stefan Sablan WHITT (GUM)
Oussama LARIBI (ARG)
Hayato FUJITA (JPN)
Robert Kelly HOWARD (USA)
Vladyslav OSTAPENKO (UKR)
Hernan David ALMENDRA (ARG)

65kg
Westerly Pehi Tahi AINSLEY (NZL)
Fathi Tarek A. ISMAIL (EGY)
Mohammad Baghi KARIMISEIFABAD (IRI)
Carson Taylor MANVILLE (USA)
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Inayat ULLAH (PAK)

80kg
Ryan Devon MARSHALL (NZL)
Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG)
Mukhammadrasul RAKHIMOV (UZB)
Carson Barry LEE (CAN)
Akhmedkhan TEMBOTOV (RUS)
Valentine YAIREGPIE (FSM)

110kg
Thomas John Mcglinchey BARNS (AUS)
Ahmed Mahmoud Elsayed M. KHALIL (EGY)
Amir Hossein Abbas ZARE (IRI)
Luis Rodrigo OROZCO CORTEZ (MEX)
Sergei KOZYREV (RUS)
Dragan VELINOV (MKD)

GRECO-ROMAN

Mohammad Ghorbanali NOSRATI (IRI)

45kg
Densel Jaffet DE JESUS VALERIO (HON)
Abdalla Mohamed Shaaban M. SHAABAN (EGY)
Amirreza Mohammadreza DEHBOZORGI (IRI)
Jeremy Renzo PERALTA GONZALEZ (ECU)
Edmond Armen NAZARYAN (BUL)
Arslanbek ZAKIRBAYEV (TKM)

51kg
Alexander ADINIWIN (MHL)
Mehdi JOUINI (TUN)
Wataru SASAKI (JPN)
Axel Andre SALAS ESQUIVEL (MEX)
Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO)
Eduardo LOVERA (ARG)

60kg
Arapo Ngatuerua George KELLNER (NZL)
Ahmed Abdelhakim MERIKHI (ALG)
Elmirbek SADYROV (KGZ)
Miguel Angel UGALDE AGUILAR (MEX)
Sahak HOVHANNISYAN (ARM)
Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)

71kg
Lynch Xavier Tanglao SANTOS (GUM)
Lamjed MAAFI (TUN)
Shu YAMADA (JPN)
Brandon CALLE PEREZ (COL)
Stepan STARODUBTSEV (RUS)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)

92kg
Ariston Faamalosi BARTLEY (ASA)
Shady Elkhalil Ibrahim A. WEHIB (EGY)
Mohammad Ghorbanali NOSRATI (IRI)
Igor Fernando ALVES DE QUEIROZ (BRA)
Mukhammad EVLOEV (RUS)
Osman AYAYDIN (TUR)

WOMEN'S WRESTLING

Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)

43kg
Ella Mae DERRY (NZL)
Sara Gouda Farouk MAHMOUD (EGY)
Enkhzul BATBAATAR (MGL)
Simran SIMRAN (IND)
Emily King SHILSON (USA)
Heloisa Elena MARTINEZ (BRA)
Shahana NAZAROVA (AZE)
Maria LEORDA (MDA)
Justine Fanny VIGOUROUX (FRA)
Christianah Tolulope OGUNSANYA (NGR)

49kg
Paulina Jean DUENAS (GUM)
Zineb ECH CHABKI (MAR)
Shokhida AKHMEDOVA (UZB)
Nilufar RAIMOVA (KAZ)
Tiare Lynn Masako Dizon IKEI (USA)
Maria Jose MOSQUERA ROJAS (VEN)
Emma Jonna Denise MALMGREN (SWE)
Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN)
Natallia VARAKINA (BLR)
Sopealai SIM (CAM)

57kg
Kaetlyn Rae Okada QUINTANILLA (GUM)
Hala Wael Imbabi AHMED (EGY)
Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)
Mansi MANSI (IND)
Mayra Alejandra PARRA ALVAREZ (VEN)
Andrea Monserrat LOPEZ MARTINEZ (MEX)
Anna Hella SZEL (HUN)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER)
Lydia TOIDA (CMR)

65kg
Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)
Sunmisola Idowu BALOGUN (NGR)
Xinru ZHOU (CHN)
Oyun Erdene TAMIR (MGL)
Yetzis Camila RAMIREZ MARQUEZ (CUB)
Sandra Elena ESCAMILLA MENCHACA (MEX)
Oksana CHUDYK (UKR)
Viktoria VESSO (EST)
Amina Roxana CAPEZAN (ROU)
Natacha Véronique NABAINA (CMR)

73kg
Ioana Penina Nicole Uputaua LUDGATE (ASA)
Khadija JLASSI (TUN)
Yuka KAGAMI (JPN)
Svetlana OKNAZAROVA (UZB)
Milaimys de la Caridad MARIN POTRILLE (CUB)
Anika Elizabeth WHITE (CAN)
Kseniya DZIBUK (BLR)
Vahide Nur GOK (TUR)
Julia Hanna Ellinor FRIDLUND (SWE)
Linda Marilina MACHUCA (ARG)

#UnitedWorldWrestling

UWW successfully hosts first-ever World Conference

Thursday, September 25, 2025 - 14:16 By United World Wrestling Press

ZAGREB, Croatia (September 24) -- United World Wrestling successfully hosted its first-ever World Conference in Zagreb, Croatia from September 17 to 19.

UWW President Nenad LALOVIC welcomed all the guest to the conference, held during the World Championships in Zagreb, and led the floor with discussions on Artificial Intelligence in wrestling, Amateur MMA, developing wrestling and the impact of social media to keep wrestling at the top.

United World Wrestling President Nenad LALOVIC at the World Conference. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

"On behalf of United World Wrestling, I wish you a warm welcome in Zagreb first, but to this conference too," Lalovic said. "We had this idea maybe almost a decade ago. We were seeking for a platform, how these good relations among wrestlers and the national federations can improve our sport."

Injury prevention, weight management, career transitions for wrestlers, as well as the future of the sport were some of the key discussions during the three-day event at the Westin Hotel.

International Olympic Committee member and former President of Croatia Kolinda GRABAR-KITAROVIC.

Former President of Croatia and International Olympic Committee member Kolinda GRABAR-KITAROVIC marked her presence at the historic event in capital city of Croatia.

Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Croatia State Secretary Josip PAVIC was also present at the conference and expressed his gratitude for entrusting Croatia for hosting the championships and the conference. Croatia Wrestling Federation President Vladimir BREGOVIC, Dean of University of Kinesiology, Zagreb Prof. Mario BAIC and numerous other stakeholders marked their presence at the conference.

On day one of the conference, UWW's growth in media and digital transformation was discussed with focus on strategy, social media, partnership and equipment and new technologies. The discussion then headed to Beach Wrestling and Associated Styles with Amateur MMA and Grappling as the main topics.

Zack ERRETT

The second day of the conference saw UWW Educator Zach ERRETT explaining the rules of Beach Wrestling, International Testing Agency Senior Legal Counsel Ayesha TALPADE presenting details of anti-doping program, followed by a panel discussion.

Kuniko TANIOKA, President of the Shigakkan University in Japan, led the discussion on sport nutrition and weight management along with UWW Medical Commission members Saam FALAHATI, Ioannis BARBAS and Szabolcs MOLNAR.

Former wrestlers shared their experiences on transitioning from wrestling to other jobs. Neven and Nenad ZUGAJ were among the panellists that also included Mijain LOPEZ, Taha AGKUL, Arsen JULFALAKYAN, Don RYAN, Alexei BAZULIN, Erica WEIBE, Bruce BAUMGARTNER.

Sofia MATTSSON

Head of the United States women's team Terry STEINER presented the "coaching the women's" part on day three. He explained how to support and train women wrestlers and led the panel that also had Tanioka, Marwa AMRI, Vincent AKA, Sofia MATTSSON, Wiebe and Nadine PIETSCHMAN.

"Depending on the success of this first World Conference, we will decide if in the future it will be a biannual one or a quadrennial one. Maybe every year if you have so much to say," Lalovic said. "World Championships is the best opportunity for that because people are already here. This physical presence is always more efficient."

A national federation workshop organized by United World Wrestling in Zagreb.

NF workshop

UWW also organized a workshop for the National Federations. UWW Sports Director Jean-Daniel REY and UWW Development Director Deqa NIAMKEY welcomed various NFs which had registered for the workshop.

Capacity building, finance and event organization were the key topics at the workshop. Croatia Wrestling Federation Secretary General Tin BREGOVIC, Professor of Kinesiology Nenad BORKOVIC, Professional Master in Social Innovation and Management Ivan BLAZEVIC led a panel discussion on the topic as they were part of the organizing committee for the World Championships in Zagreb.

Azerbaijan, Brazil, Spain and Thailand presented case studies related to event organization and the challenges of competitions.

Wrestling Names Qualifiers for 2018 YOG, 50 Nations Set to Participate

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UWW successfully hosts first-ever World Conference