#BeachWrestlingWorldSeries

Georgian Men, Brazilian Women Sweep Beach Gold in Rio

Saturday, May 11, 2019 - 21:42 By Tim Foley

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RIO DE JANEIRO (May 11) – Brazilian funk music thumped Saturday afternoon as four of the nation’s beach wrestling women captured gold at the second stop of the Beach Wrestling World Series (BWWS). The Brazilian side, who laughed and danced their way to the unlikely quadruple gold also each collected 1000 CHF for winning their respective weight classes at the event.

Kamila BARBOSA (50kg), Camila FAMA (60kg), Brenda AGUIAR DOS SANTOS (70kg), and Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA) each cruised their way to gold over the course of the two-day event, creating a buzz among the hometown crowd.

“It was so special to win all four gold medals and to do it here in Rio,” said Fama. “I’m so happy with the way that we wrestled and love beach wrestling!”

As with the first BWWS stop in Portugal the mood in Rio was festive with wrestlers from a dozen nations mingling and dancing between their turns in the wrestling circle.

Also similar to the first stop, four Georgians made the finals of the event, only this time all four Georgians managed to take home top billing. The effort was led by ever-smiling Dato MARSAGISHVILI (90kg) who managed a tough-fought final versus two-time world champion Muhammed INAM (PAK), 2-0.

“This is very fun,” said Marsagishvili. “I enjoy beach wrestling and the competition was good.”

The Georgians were on top of their wrestling throughout the two-day event, scoring a number of close victories and big throws. The former mat wrestlers used a combination of snap downs and leg snatches to earn a combined 20 victories in the sand.

The BWWS awards 1000 CHF to gold medalists, 500 CHF to silver medalists, and 250 CHF to bronze medalists. The fans at each event also vote for their favorite “Best Throw” of the event. The Rio winner for “Best Throw” was Semen RADULOV (UKR) who won 1000 CHF for his blast double leg on day one of the competition.

Ukraine will host the third stop with Odessa entertaining athletes at the Beach Wrestling World Series on August 9-10. The fourth and final stop will be the 2019 Beach Wrestling World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia on September 6-7.

Men's Beach Wrestling

70kg
GOLD: Levan KELEKHSASHVILI (GEO)
SILVER: Semen RADULOV (UKR)
BRONZE: Reece HUMPHREY (USA)

80kg
GOLD: Davit KHUTSISHVILI (GEO)
SILVER: Ibrahim YUSUBOV (AZE)
BRONZE: Efe Sami UNAL (TUR)

90kg
GOLD: Dato MARSAGISHVILI (GEO)
SILVER: Muhammad INAM (PAK)
BRONZE: Kanan ALIYEV (AZE)

+90kg
GOLD: Mamuka KORDZAIA (GEO)
SILVER: Oyan NAZARIANI (AZE)
BRONZE: Ioannis KARGIOTAKIS (GRE)

Women's Beach Wrestling

50kg
GOLD: Kamila BARBOSA VITO DA SILVA (BRA)
SILVER: Susana Paula DE ALMEIDA DOS SANTOS (BRA)
BRONZE: Claudia Soledad CABRERA (ARG)

60kg
GOLD: Camila FAMA TRISTAO (BRA)
SILVER: Mehlika OZTURK (TUR)
BRONZE: Ana Luiza PEREIRA FRANCA (BRA)

70kg
GOLD: Brenda AGUIAR DOS SANTOS (BRA)
SILVER: Nikeli FERREIRA DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
BRONZE: Sonia Marina PEREIRA BRAZIO (POR)

+70kg
GOLD: Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA)
SILVER: Aysegul OZBEGE (TUR)
BRONZE: Dailane GOMES DOS REIS (BRA)

#WrestleTirana

Ukraine Puts Four in Women's Finals at Europeans

Wednesday, April 22, 2026 - 19:09 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (April 22) -- Ukraine kicked off Women's Wrestling at the European Championships with four finalists in five weight classes, including two defending champions in Tirana.

Oksana LIVACH (UKR), defending champion at 50kg, and Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR), defending champion at 76kg, returned to the finals, while Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) and Mariia VYNNYK (UKR) made it to the 55kg and 59kg gold-medal bouts.

At 68kg, the only weight class in which Ukraine did not get a finalist, a blockbuster final is set between U23 world champion Nesrin BAS (TUR) and defending champion Alina SHAUCHUK (UWW).

Livach used her aggressive style to score multiple stepouts in her 6-2 victory over Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (UWW), setting up a rematch of the 2025 European final against Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR), who was at her defensive best against Emilia GRIGORE VUC (ROU) and won 6-0.

Alpyeyeva reached the final after a clinical 4-0 victory over Martina KUENZ (AUT) in the semifinal. She will now face former European champion Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU), who moved past Enrica RINALDI (ITA), 3-1, in a low-scoring semifinal.

Malanchuk at 55kg came alive in the second period, scoring six points and securing a fall over U23 world silver medalist Tuba DEMIR (TUR). She led 1-1 on criteria at the break, then hit a double-leg attack and tried to hold Demir on the mat for a fall, but she survived.

Demir tried a leg attack, but Malanchuk countered and held her on the mat to secure the fall with 1:45 remaining.

She will now face former European champion Andreea ANA (ROU), who saw off Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA), 10-0, in the other semifinal.

Vynnyk, who was all but beaten in the semifinal against Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE), 6-2, tripped the Azerbaijan wrestler with less than 10 seconds remaining to claim a stunning victory and reach the 59kg final. After the trip, Vynnyk also scored exposure points.

She will now face Jowita WRZESIEN (POL), who defeated Svetlana LIPATOVA (UWW), 4-2, in a low-scoring bout. Wrzesien led 3-1 and was in danger of giving up a takedown when Lipatova attacked on a single leg. However, the Polish wrestler defended well and gave up only a stepout. Lipatova challenged but lost, conceding one more point to Wrzesien.

Bas vs Shauchuk

Defending champion at 68kg, Shauchuk defeated Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU), 4-3, scoring two second-period takedowns. She had beaten the Romanian in last year’s final. For gold this year, Shauchuk will face Bas, a U23 world champion and returning silver medalist from 72kg.

Bas had no trouble completing a 12-1 technical superiority win over Alina SHEVCHENKO (UWW) in the other semifinal.

RESULTS

50kg
SF 1: Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) df. Emilia GRIGORE VUC (ROU), 6-0
SF 2: Oksana LIVACH (UKR) df. Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (UWW), 6-2

55kg
SF 1: Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) df. Tuba DEMIR (TUR), via fall
SF 2: Andreea ANA (ROU) df. Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA), 10-0

59kg
SF 1: Mariia VYNNYK (UKR) df. Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE), 6-2
SF 2: Jowita WRZESIEN (POL) df. Svetlana LIPATOVA (UWW), 4-2

68kg
SF 1: Alina SHAUCHUK (UWW) df. Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU), 4-3
SF 2: Nesrin BAS (TUR) df. Alina SHEVCHENKO (UWW), 12-1

76kg
SF 1: Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) df. Martina KUENZ (AUT), 4-0
SF 2: Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU) df. Enrica RINALDI (ITA), 3-1