#WrestleWarsaw

Live Blog: Poland Open Ranking Series, Day Three

By Eric Olanowski

Poland Open enters day three with women's wrestling in action in Warsaw on Thursday. Stars like Mariya STADNIK (AZE), Erica Wiebe (CAN), Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) and many more will take the mat. (Day 2 Recap)

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

Final Matches: (As they come in):
50kg - Oksana LIVACH (UKR) vs. Mariya STADNIK (AZE)
55kg -  Sumiya ERDENECHIMEG (MGL) vs. Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS) 
62kg - Ana Paula GODINEZ GONZALEZ (CAN) vs. Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) 
65kg - Henna Katarina JOHANSSON (SWE) vs. Anastasiia LAVRENCHUK (UKR) 
76kg - Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER) vs. Epp MAEE (EST) 

13:16: That does it for the morning session. We'll see you back here at 18:00 for Thursday's women's wrestling medal matches. 

12:36: Very limited action in that semifinal, but Rotter Focken holds on to criteria and reaches the finals with a 1-1 win over Olympic champ Wiebe. She'll take on the winner of Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) and Epp MAEE (EST).

12:22: I'm not sure how today flew by so fast, but we're already to the Day Three semifinals. We'll wrap up these final matches on each mat and roll right into today's semifinals. 

12:18: If there's such thing as too many world champions wrestling in one day, today is that day! One world champion walks off Mat A and another one walks on! Mat A welcomes Bulgaria's Taybe Yusein! 

12:15: What a show Tynybekova and Ovcharova are putting on! There are 18 points on the board already and we still have two minutes left to go!

12:05: World champion Aisuulu Tynybekova is coming up on Mat A. She's wrestling '19 world silver medalist Liubov OVCHAROVA (RUS).

12:04: Stadnik is on fire today. She's won both matches by technical superiority. 

12:03: Stadnik is back up again. She's wrestling Golston on Mat A. Stadnik scored two early takedowns and leads 4-0 after the opening 45 seconds.

11:51: Mae does it again! This time, she scored a takedown and won the match, 3-1.

11:46: Mae beat Olympic champion Vorobieva to win European gold a few months ago. The two are wrestling again on Mat C right now!

11:41: Olympic champion Erica Wiebe built a substantial lead over on Mat C. It looks like she's going to close things out with a 7-0 win over Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ). Weibe will wrestle the winner of Bout 119 (Mat A) between Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA) and Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER) 

11:31: Olympic bronze medalist and four-time world medalist -- including '13 world champion -- Maria SASTIN (HUN) are squaring off on Mat B. Amri leads 1-0 after the first period. 

11:27: Tynybekova Watch: She'll be up in seven matches on Mat A.

11:24: Quick suggestion: do not take down Stanik. Vuc took her down and led, 2-0. Stadnik proceeded to score 12 points in 25 seconds and moved into the quarterfinals where she'll wrestle the winner of Erin Simone GOLSTON (USA) and Weronika SIKORA (POL).

11:19: We have a rematch of the '19 world finals between Mariya STADNIK (AZE) and Emilia Alina VUC (ROU) going on on Mat A. 

11:15: For a second time this season, Olympic champion Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) defeats Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR). She also beat her in the finals of the European Olympic Qualifier. Today, the final score was 4-1 in favor of the Russian.

11:14: World bronze medalist Epp MAE (EST) is making her tournament debut on Mat A. This is her first competition since back since becoming Estonia's first woman to win gold at the European Championships. She's wrestling Aysegul OZBEGE (TUR). 

11:11: Good morning, wrestling fans! After two days of exciting days of wrestling, freestyle is in the rearview mirror.  Women's wrestling takes center stage on  Day Three in Poland.

#BeachWrestling

Youth Olympic quotas in focus as Katerini hosts U17, U20 BW Worlds

By United World Wrestling Press

KATERINI, Greece (September 23) -- Thirty countries, close to 300 wrestlers, a global glory and a Youth Olympic dream.

Over two days this week, on September 25 and 26, the world’s best age-group beach wrestlers descend upon the scenic Katerini Beach, where the sun sets behind the imposing Mount Olympus. In this postcard-perfect surroundings, they will hope to write their scripts at the U17 and U20 World Championships.

The tournament will be live on the YouTube channel of United World Wrestling's Beach Wrestling channel.

The championships will be taken into consideration for quotas for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games qualifier, adding another layer of significance to the U17 event.

United World Wrestling has received a request for quotas from more than 100 National Olympic Committees with a total of 300 male and 269 female wrestlers. Currently, there are 48 quotas per gender. In this context, the World Championships in Katerini will add excitement to the race for the Youth Olympic Games, scheduled to be held in Dakar.

The U17 and U20 World Championships will be held across eight weight classes each in men’s and women’s categories. Last year, Ukraine and the United States reigned supreme in the men’s and women’s events, respectively, of the U17 World Championships. This year, too, they will be among the favorites to lift the team titles.

Once again, this year, Ukraine has entered a jumbo team with eight wrestlers in the U17 men’s competition. Only hosts Greece (12), Georgia (11), and Moldova (9) have a contingent bigger than theirs. On the women’s side, the USA has fielded the largest delegation among the 24 teams, with 9 wrestlers. In Beach Wrestling, a country can register a maximum of 3 athletes per weight category.

It won’t be so straightforward for both teams to retain their titles, with challengers emerging from other nations, particularly hosts Greece, who would hope to put on a good show in front of their home crowd. Romania, Moldova, Georgia and Iran will remain strong contenders despite Ukraine's legacy in the competition, especially the women's.

Earlier this month, the U15, U17 and U20 African Beach Wrestling Championships were held in Casablanca, where Algeria bagged the U17 men’s and women’s titles. The serene Ain Diab beach in the Moroccan capital hosted the age-group tournaments before the Beach Wrestling World Series, marking the first time the event was held in an African city.

Soon after the U17 and U20 Beach World Championships, the Katerini Beach will host the World Series on September 27 and 28. The penultimate stop of the event is set to be the biggest of the 2025 season so far in terms of participation. There have been a record number of entries, underlining the sport’s continued global growth.

The World Series will return to Africa in October for its final instalment of this season, when the tournament will be held in Alexandria, Egypt, on October 18 and 19.