YoungestToOldest

The Youngest/Oldest GR Gold Medalists in Olympic History

Monday, May 18, 2020 - 19:25 By Ikuo Higuchi

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(This is the last of a three-part series that appeared on the Japan Wrestling Federation website. It was translated for UWW by Ken Marantz.)

A Style Dominated by Europeans
Compared with the United States and Asia, where most wrestlers start the sport in freestyle, many in Europe start out in the sport as youth in Greco-Roman style. This can account for the fact that out of 196 gold medals awarded at the Olympics so far, 168 have gone to Europeans (170 if wrestlers from current Asian countries who competed for the Soviet Union are included). 

Even so, it took more than a century of Olympics before a teenager would bring home a gold. Islambek ALBIEV (RUS) broke through the barrier at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he won the 60kg gold at 19 years 7 months 15 days. A world junior champion in 2006, Albiev added to his stature when he triumphed at both the European and World Championships the year after Beijing.

Albiev remains the lone teenager to win a Greco gold heading into the Tokyo Olympics, although such a feat might have more to do with timing than skill, given that the Olympics come only once every four years. A wrestler who is 16 or 17 in an Olympic year will likely never get a legitimate shot at a gold as a teenager (not that it really matters in the end if one wins a gold at 19 or 20; it is just being mentioned here for historical purposes). 

Take the case of legendary Hamza YERLIKAYA (TUR), who was just 17 years 3 months 16 days when he won the 82kg title at the 1993 World Championships. But his triumph at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics came 1 month 18 days after he had celebrated his 20th birthday. Yerlikaya would add another Olympic title in 2000 and world title in 2005 before going on to become a member of Turkey's Parliament.

The 1987 World Championships in Clermand-Ferrand produced a teenaged Greco champ in Pedro Favier ROQUE (CUB), who won the 52kg gold at 18 years 8 months 26 days. He would have still been 19 at the Seoul Olympics the following year, but it was not to be. Cuba, following the lead of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, did not participate in the Games in the south of the peninsula.

Comparatively, freestyle has eight Olympic champions who were in their teens or 20, while Greco has just half that number with four. Perhaps this shows how Greco relies more on experience to master. 

It looking at the oldest gold medalists, the world and Japanese media heralded the crowning of a 40-year-old champion at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Anatoli ROSCHTSCHIN (URS) was 40 years 6 months 0 days when he won the over-100kg crown. But there had been an older champion before that, back in the days before mass media. At the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, Adolf LINDFORS (FIN) was 41 years 6 months 12 days when he triumphed in the over-84kg class. And he certainly earned his medal--he won all five of his matches by fall, with his second-round victory take 23 minutes 43 seconds and his win in the final lasting a whopping 47 minutes 38 seconds. (In that era, the time limit for a match was reportedly 50 minutes.)

As in freestyle, the majority of champions on the oldest-ever list are in the upper weight classes. Of the top 15, the lone lightweight champions (68kg or lower) came in the pre-World War II era. Since the end of the war, there have been only six gold medalists aged 30 or over in the lightweight divisions, most recently Davor STEFANEK (SRB), who was 30 years 11 months 4 days when he won the 66kg gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

By the way, Japan has had four Greco champions in Olympic history. The youngest was Masamitsu ICHIGUCHI (JPN), who was 24 years 9 months 7 years when he took the 57kg gold at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The oldest, 1984 Los Angeles Olympic 52kg champion Atsuji MIYAHARA (JPN), was 25 years 7 months 13 days on the day of his triumph.

Why am I bringing this up? If the upcoming Tokyo Olympics had been held as scheduled this summer, current world 60kg champion Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) could have broken Ichiguchi's record as youngest-ever by winning the gold on Aug. 3, when he will be 24 years 7 months 16 days. But with the Games postponed for year, Fumita instead has a chance to become the oldest-ever. The final is tentatively slated for Aug. 2, 2021, when Fumita will be 25 years 7 months 15 days--just two days older than Miyahara.

TOP 15 YOUNGEST OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS (GRECO-ROMAN)
Name                                                        Age                               Olympics                       Wt.    Date of birth
1. Islambek ALBIEV (RUS)                    19 years 7 months 15 days         2008 Beijing       60kg     1988/12/28

2. Hamza YERLIKAYA (TUR)             20 years 1 month 18 days         1996 Atlanta         82kg     1976/06/03

3. Suren NALBANDYAN (URS)           20 years 1 month 21 days         1976 Montreal       68kg     1956/06/03

4. Shazam SAFIN (URS)                       20 years 3 months 20 days      1952 Helsinki         67kg     1932/04/07

5. Alexandre KARELINE (URS)          21 years 0 months 2 days           1988 Seoul           130kg     1967/09/19

6. Varteres SAMURGASHEV (RUS)   21 years 0 months 13 days         2000 Sydney          63kg     1979/09/13

7. Boris GUREVICH (URS)                    21 years 4 months 4 days       1952 Helsinki          52kg     1931/03/23

8. Ji-Hyun JUNG (KOR)                        21 years 5 months 0 days       2004 Athens            60kg     1983/03/26

9. Alexander KOLTSCHINSKI (URS) 21 years 5 months 4 days           1976 Montreal    +100kg   1955/02/20

10. Khassan BAROEV (RUS)                 21 years 8 months 24 days      2004 Athens          120kg     1982/12/01

11. Roman VLASOV (RUS)                    21 years 9 months 30 days      2012 London           74kg     1990/10/06

12. Jouko SALOMAEKI (FIN)              21 years 11 months 7 days         1984 Los Angeles   74kg     1962/08/26

13. Schamil CHISAMUTDINOW (URS)  21 years 11 months 21 days   1972 Munich           68kg     1950/09/20

14. Henri DEGLANE (FRA)                    22 years 0 months 18 days      1924 Paris              +82kg     1902/06/22

15. Vincenzo MAENZA (ITA)                 22 years 2 months 30 days      1984 Los Angeles      48kg     1962/05/02

TOP 15 OLDEST OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS (GRECO-ROMAN)
Name                                                        Age                                       Olympics                        Wt.    Date of birth
1. Adolf LINDFORS (FIN)                   41 years 6 months 12 days          1920 Antwerp           +82kg     1879/02/08

2. Anatoli ROSCHTSCHIN (URS)      40 years 6 months 0 days            1972 Munich          +100kg     1932/03/10

3. Johannes KOTKAS (URS)               37 years  5 months 24 days          1952 Helsinki           +87kg     1915/02/03

4. Kaaro ANTTILA (FIN)                   36 years  10 months 10 days         1924 Paris                   62kg     1887/08/30

5. Carl WESTERGREN (SWE)           36 years  9 months 25 days          1932 Los Angeles      +87kg     1895/10/13

6. Claes JOHANSON (SWE)               35 years  9 months 16 days          1920 Antwerp           82.5kg     1884/11/04

7. Erik MALMBERG (SWE)                35 years  6 months 23 days          1932 Los Angeles        66kg     1897/01/15

8. Eemeli VAERE (FIN)                      34 years  10 months 23 days         1920 Antwerp          67.5kg     1885/09/28

9. Axel GROENBERG (SWE)             34 years  2 months 18 days           1952 Helsinki              79kg     1918/05/09

10. Mijain LOPEZ NUNEZ (CUB)     33 years  11 months 26 days          2016 Rio de Janeiro  130kg    1982/08/20

11. Ahmet KIRECCI (TUR)                33 years 9 months 10 days            1948 London              +87kg     1914/10/27

12. Ivar JOHANSSON (SWE)             33 years  6 months 9 days            1936 Berlin                    79kg     1903/01/31

13. Rudolf SVENSSON (SWE)            33 years  4 months 11 days           1932 Los Angeles          87kg     1899/03/27

14. Vaeinoe KOKKINEN (FIN)          32 years  8 months 13 days           1932 Los Angeles          79kg     1899/11/25

15. Valentin NIKOLAEV (URS)          32 years  8 months 0 days            1956 Melbourne            87kg     1924/04/06

#JapanWrestling

Fujinami survives scare to take 57kg title, extend streak to 150 wins

Sunday, December 21, 2025 - 14:24 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO (December 21) -- It was one of those unimaginable scenes that suddenly appears like a mirage. Was that really Akari FUJINAMI, the Paris Olympic champion and two-time world champion who had not lost since 2017, on her back and fighting to prevent an upset of epic proportions?

Alas, Fujinami being Fujinami, she managed to avoid the fall, then came back with a late takedown to escape with a 4-2 victory over a gutsy Himeka TOKUHARA in the women's 57kg final at the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships on Sunday.

"I came up against reality at this tournament," said Fujinami, who extended her current winning streak to 150 matches dating back to junior high school, while continuing to make the tough adjustment from 53kg up to 57kg.

"To give up those points isn't a good thing, but it shows I have room for growth. Close matches like this are exciting. This down-to-the-wire, thrilling wrestling was really fun. I came out of this tournament with the feeling that I will become even stronger."

The final day of the four-day tournament at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym spotlighted much of the cream of the Japanese crop, with six medalists from the Paris Olympics in action and one weight class featuring a clash of reigning world champions.

Among the other Paris gold medalists, the lone one to taste defeat was Sakura MOTOKI, who fell to nemesis and Paris bronze medalist and defending champion Nonoka OZAKI 3-3 in a nail-biting women's 62kg final. Kotaro KIYOOKA triumphed amid a stacked field at freestyle 65kg, while Nao KUSAKA continued his domestic dominance at Greco 77kg.

The tournament is also serving as the qualifier for the Asian Championships in April, as well as one of two qualifiers for the World Championships and Asian Games, to be held in fall. The latter holds additional significance in that it will be held in Japan.

Akari FUJINAMI (JPN)Akari FUJINAMI finishes up the winning takedown against Himeka TOKUHARA in the final minute of the women's 57kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

The 22-year-old Fujinami, the Paris champion at 53kg, announced earlier this year that she was moving straight up to the next Olympic weight class at 57kg. But she opted to not even try to qualify for this year's senior World Championships, feeling she wouldn't be physically ready, and instead had her first test run of sorts with a victory at the world U23.

The two days at the All-Japan seemed to validate her decision to not rush the process, as she had her hands full with two of Japan's more powerful wrestlers.

In the semifinals on Saturday, she was never in danger of losing to Asian champion Sara NATAMI, but she gave up two 2-point exposures on counters late in a 7-4 victory. Then against Tokuhara, it was like she ran into a brick wall that crashed down on top of her.

Tokuhara, a member of the Japan Self-Defense Force team who was a world U23 champion at 59kg in 2022, relies on her power, which earned her the ticket at 57kg to this year's World Championships in Zagreb, where she lost in a bronze-medal match.

"Tokuhara and Natami are both strong, physical wrestlers," Fujinami said. "When I moved up to 57kg, those are the two I most needed to beat. Beating them both is a plus. Of course, everyone looks at the points I gave up, but I became the challenger when I moved up in weight, and I'm glad to have been able to come out with the win."

Akari FUJINAMI (JPN)Akari FUJINAMI squares off with Himeka TOKUHARA in the women's 57kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

After her win, which gave her a fourth career title and first since 2022, she showed a vulnerable side, acknowledging she has a fear of failure and concerns over her ability to continue her incredible success amid the new challenge. Speaking about the pressure brought her to tears at one point.

"I'm really afraid of losing," she said. "It's strange for me to start crying now. My goal is to win the titles at the Asian Games and Los Angeles Olympics, and every day, I wonder to myself, is this the right thing to do? Is this making me better?

"I am also human, and there are things that scare me. It's that fear that makes me work hard every day. I'm sure I will have even tougher matches ahead. It feels like a given that I will win, and if I lose, everything will fall apart."

Akari FUJINAMI (JPN)Akari FUJINAMI gets a stepout in the second period of the women's 57kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

In the final, Fujinami found her takedown attempts consistently blocked by Tokuhara, who relied on an effective whizzer or a front head lock, and had only an activity point to show for the first 2:30 of the first period. That was when the wall fell on her.

When Fujinami shot in for a single, Tokuhara whizzered to get Fujinami to straighten up. Then she pivoted around with a fierce pancake that slammed Fujinami straight to her back for 2 points with :25 left on the clock.

Fujinami set her left elbow on the mat to keep her shoulder up as Tokuhara pressed for the fall.

With only a few seconds left, Fujinami transitioned to a bridge, but at one point her shoulders hit the mat for a split second. The mat referee indicated a fall, but neither side judge confirmed, and time ran out.

Asked when the last time she was in danger of a fall, Fujinami laughed and replied, "I can't even remember the [opponent's] name."

Fujinami said she knew how much time was left and that she was confident she could ride it out. She said she constantly practices for such a situation, even though it would seem that the odds of it happening were somewhere in the Powerball range.

"I thought the way she had the hold, I wouldn't be pinned," Fujinami said. "I do bridges every day in practice. I had prepared for the possibility of this situation, so I wasn't thinking, 'Oh no, what should I do?' And even though I don't have much actual experience, I stayed calm.

"I knew that move was in her arsenal, but I couldn't stop it. It showed that I still have weakness. I also practiced what to do after failing to get in on a tackle, but she still hit the move, so there's still some work to be done."

Akari FUJINAMI (JPN)Akari FUJINAMI shoots for the winning takedown against Himeka TOKUHARA in the final minute of the women's 57kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

There was also still the match to be won, as she trailed 2-1 and had yet to come close to a takedown, which in this weight class, she has had to depend on more. In the 21 points she scored over three matches, none came from ground wrestling.

Midway through the second period, she was stopped again and close to being forced out with her back to the edge. But she nimbly used Tokuhara's momentum to slip around and force her out for a stepout that made it 2-2, but still left her trailing on criteria.

With a minute to go, Fujinami finally connected with a single-leg attempt. As Tokuhara reached over for a counter, Fujinami pressed ahead and gradually finished up the takedown with :45 left.

She then put up a wall of defense that Tokuhara could not penetrate to secure the victory. "I'm really happy to have come out with a win," Fujinami said. "It was a daily fight to prepare for this tournament."

Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)Nonoka OZAKI celebrates her victory over nemesis and Olympic champion Sakura MOTOKI in the women's 62kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

There was more drama to follow in the next and final match of the tournament, which paired Motoki and Ozaki for supremacy at 62kg once again.

Last June at the Meiji Cup All-Japan Championships -- the second of the two domestic qualifiers for major global competitions -- Motoki squeaked out a 3-3 victory over Ozaki in the final. She then followed that with a 6-5 victory in the world team playoff in which she literally scored the winning takedown in the final second.

Ozaki could then only watch as Motoki went on to win her first senior world title, which she then followed up by winning the world U23 gold. That made her just the third wrestler in history to achieve the "Golden Grand Slam" of Olympic, senior world and all three world age-group golds.

On Sunday, it was Ozaki's turn for late dramatics, albeit she didn't cut it that close. She was leading 1-1 on criteria after an exchange of activity points when Motoki scored a single-leg takedown with 1:30 left. Ozaki kept up the pressure before securing a single-leg takedown of her own with :18 left for the victory.

"The last time, I lost with less than a second left, which taught me that that's something that can happen," Ozaki said. "I thought, if my opponent can do it, then I can do it as well. I thought to imitate, or learn from, Motoki's fighting style and her mental strength.

"In the second period, I gave up points, but I thought I would do to her what she did to me. I kept fighting and looked to take advantage of any chance."

Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN)Yoshinosuke AOYAGI unsuccessfully attempts a front body lock roll in the freestyle 74kg final against Kota TAKAHASHI. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Aoyagi prevails in clash of world champions

In the second final of the tournament that pitted reigning world champions, Yoshinosuke AOYAGI made a successful incursion into the freestyle 74kg territory currently ruled by Kota TAKAHASHI.

Aoyagi, the freestyle 70kg champion in Zagreb, scored a takedown and roll combination with 40 seconds left, then held on for a 4-4 victory on criteria for his first All-Japan title. 

While happy with the victory, Aoyagi was left less than satisfied by his lack of an effective offense. His winning combination came after he spun behind in countering a takedown attempt.

"I'm still small in build, and he controlled the flow of the match," Aoyagi said. "Honestly speaking, I thought if it stayed that way I would lose. I didn't score any points with my moves, so there is much to reflect on from this match."

He says he plans to enter a Ranking Series tournament and, without going into specifics, said he would like to go overseas to train with U.S. and Russian wrestlers which "is the best way to improve one's skills and which benefits both sides."

He is also looking forward to testing himself at the Asian Championships, "Where I can show that I can be competitive at 74kg on the global stage," he said.

"I'm still in the stage where it's really tough, and I lack the power and get pushed around," Aoyagi said. "After the match, my legs were burning. There's so much more I need to do. I will look for ways to make improvements."

Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN)Kotaro KIYOOKA sweeps to the side for a takedown against Takara SUDA in the freestyle 65kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

At freestyle 65kg, Kiyooka used his low single and dynamic speed to scrape together a 5-2 victory in the final over Asian 61kg champion Takara SUDA.

Kiyooka swept to a low single-leg takedown in each period, but said he needs to work on setting it up closer.

"I wanted to cut the distance a little more, and use more variation for my shots," he said. "There's still many things I need to work on."

Kiyooka said he gained inspiration from his sister Moe's victory at 53kg on Saturday. It marks the second time that the two have completed a sibling double after 2023, when he won his lone other title.

Kiyooka, who had never medaled on the world level when he came out of nowhere and triumphed at the Olympics, got a wakeup call of sorts in Zagreb, where Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) avenged his loss in the Paris final by beating him for the world gold.

"I realized my weakness," Kiyooka said. "As I said during the World Championships, I felt I wasn't the true champion. Wrestling is very deep and it made me feel I can still grow, so I took [the loss] in a positive light."

Yui SUSAKI (JPN)Yui SUSAKI shoots for a takedown against Haruna MORIKAWA in the women's 50kg final.  (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

At women's 50kg, Tokyo Olympic champion and Paris bronze medalist Yui SUSAKI turned a bit more conservative than she would have liked, but was never in danger in coming away with a 3-0 victory in the final over world U23 champion Haruna MORIKAWA.

Susaki scored a single-leg takedown and stepout in the first period, then spent the second trading underhook positions and fending off Morikawa's lone shot of the match to secure her fourth career title and first since 2022.

"It was my first All-Japan in awhile and I definitely wanted to win," Susaki said. "Although that feeling was strong, I wasn't aggressive enough in the second period. It was a match that brought up things to work on."

Susaki, a four-time world champion and another member of the "Golden Grand Slam" trio, took advantage of the absence of main rivals Remina YOSHIMOTO, who sat out the tournament, and Umi ITO, who withdrew due to injury.

"With the Los Angeles Olympics ahead and my main rivals not competing, I also considered this a tournament I couldn't lose," she said.

Susaki said the victory culminates a rough span since the disappointment of Paris, from which she still feels the sting of failing to defend her Olympic crown.

"There was the loss at the Paris Olympics, there were injuries and various hardships that I went through that I had never faced before," she said. "It was really a trying year and a half. If it wasn't for the support of many people, I would not have been able to make it back here."

In Greco 77kg, Kusaka executed a 2-point throw in his second chance from par terre -- there was some discussion over whether it should be scored as 4 -- which was enough for a 4-0 victory over 2023 champion Isami HORIKITA.

The victory added to Kusaka's lone other title, won at 72kg in 2019, and capped a year in which he also won a silver medal at the World Championships.

At Greco 67kg, defending champion Katsuaki ENDO won the latest in the seemingly endless series of finals with former Nippon Sports Science University teammate and top rival Kyotaro SOGABE, scoring a second-period gut wrench for a 3-1 victory.

It was Endo's fourth career title as he and Sogabe have now combined to win the last five golds.

Day 4 Results

Freestyle

65kg (15 entries)
GOLD: Kotaro KIYOOKA df. Takara SUDA, 5-2

BRONZE: Kaiji OGINO df. Shinnosuke SUWAMA, 3-0
BRONZE: Kaisei TANABE df. Futa MIYAZAKI by TF, 11-0, 3:45

74kg (11 entries)
GOLD: Yoshinosuke AOYAGI df. Kota TAKAHASHI, 4-4

BRONZE: Toki OGAWA df. Yujin TAKIZAWA, 4-1
BRONZE: Hikaru TAKATA df. Tatsuki KAMIYA by TF, 12-0, 2:35

Greco-Roman

67kg (13 entries)
GOLD: Katsuaki ENDO df. Kyotaro SOGABE, 3-1

BRONZE: Kensuke SHIMIZU df. Takaku SUZUKI by Fall, 4:30 (8-0)
BRONZE: Haruto YABE df. Kojiro HASEGAWA by TF, 13-2, 2:25

77kg (13 entries)
GOLD: Nao KUSAKA df. Isami HORIKITA, 4-0

BRONZE: Kiriru SHIMABUKURO df. Naoki KADODE, 7-1
BRONZE: Issei HONNA def. Kodai SAKURABA by Inj. Def.

Women's Wrestling

50kg (17 entries)
GOLD: Yui SUSAKI df. Haruna MORIKAWA, 3-0

BRONZE: Mako ONO df. Yuu SAKAMOTO, 3-1
BRONZE: Rinka OGAWA df. Kurumi KANAYAMA, 9-0

57kg (10 entries)
GOLD: Akari FUJINAMI df. Himeka TOKUHARA, 4-2

BRONZE: Rin KINOSHITA df. Risa MOTOHARA, 2-1
BRONZE: Sara NATAMI df. Miyu IWASAKI by Fall, 1:59 (4-0)

62kg (9 entries)
GOLD: Nonoka OZAKI df. Sakura MOTOKI, 3-3

BRONZE: Yuzuka INAGAKI df. Hana YOSHIKAWA by TF, 10-0, 3:38
BRONZE: Sakura ONISHI, no opponent