Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! May 21, 2018

By Eric Olanowski

Reviewing Beat the Streets and World Military Championship results. Also taking a look at the More than Medals camps and Youth Olympic Games qualifiers after two cadet continental championships.  

1. Olympic Champions Erase Big Deficits At Beat the Streets 
Olympic champions Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) and Kyle SNYDER (USA) dug themselves out of deep holes to notch up victories at the Beat the Streets “Rumble On The River” in New York, New York. 

Burroughs, the 2012 London Olympic champion defeated two-time world champion, Frank CHAMIZO (ITA), 6-5 in one of the most anticipated match-ups in recent memory. 

Burroughs trailed the Italian Rio Olympic bronze medalist Frank Chamizo 4-0 after surrendering two early takedowns to start the 74kg match-up. 

The four-time world champion scored two points on a left side single leg with 36 seconds left to bring the score to 4-2. 

After giving up a step out to begin the second period, the American closed the match with back-to-back takedowns, taking the match, 6-5 to remain the king of 74kg. 

At 97kg, Kyle Snyder trailed two-time world silver medalist, Reineris SALAS PEREZ (CUB), 8-1 after forfeiting a takedown, a gut to the right side and a massive four-point throw. 

The two-time world champion was able to close out the inaugural period with a pair of one point exchanges, slimming the differential to five points heading into the final period. 

From there, Snyder’s smothering pace proved to be too much for Perez, as the reigning world and Olympic champion closed the match on an 8-0 run, ultimately winning the bout, 9-8.

FULL RESULTS

Olympic champion, Soslan RAMONOV (RUS) captured his third World Military Championship. 

2. Russia Reels in Seven Golds at 2018 World Military Championships 
Led by 2016 Olympic champion, Soslan RAMONOV (RUS), Russia reeled in seven of the possible ten freestyle gold medals and captured a medal in every weight class at the 2018 World Military Championships in Moscow, Russia. Iran finished the tournament in second place with two gold medals, while the remaining top spot went to Mongolia.

In his first competition since January’s Indian Pro League, Russian superstar Soslan Ramonov nabbed back-to-back World Military titles and third overall with a 12-5 win over Germany’s Alexander SEMISOROW in the 70kg gold-medal bout. 

Meanwhile, Khetik TSABOLOV (RUS) who is coming off a ninth-place finish at the European Championships rebounded by apprehending his fourth World Military gold medal with a win over Bahman TEYMOURI (IRI) in the 74kg finals. 

Also of note, Vladislav BAITSAEV (RUS), who won the European Championships two weeks ago took home the 97kg gold medal with a win over Iran’s 2017 world team representative, Amir MOHAMMADI (IRI), while U23 world champion Nachyin KUULAR (RUS) won his first title since 2016 with a fall over SONG Sik (KOR) to claim the top spot at 65kg. 

Other notable champions were Iran’s Mehrab REZAZADEH and Yadollah MOHEBBI and Mongolia’s KHASH-ERDENE Bekhbayar. 

FULL RESULTS

Sahak HOVHANNISYAN (ARM) defeated Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) to qualify Armenia's 60kg GR spot at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games. (Photo by Gabor Martin) 

3. Youth Olympic Games Qualifiers After the Cadet Asian and European C'ships 
The 2018 Youth Olympic Games will take place October 12-14 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. For qualification purposes, the highest placing athlete from the cadet continental championships will qualify their nations spot for the 2018 Games in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. 

In women's wrestling, the top two athletes from the cadet continental championships will qualify their nations spot for the Buenos Aires Games. 

Qualifiers After the Cadet Asian and European Championships 
Freestyle 
48kg – RUS and UZB
55kg - JPN and UKR 
65kg – AZE and IRI 
80kg - IRI and RUS 
110kg – IRI and RUS 

Greco-Roman 
45kg – BUL and IRI 
51kg - GEO and JPN 
60kg – ARM and UZB
71kg – JPN and RUS 
92kg - IRI and RUS  

Women's Wrestling 
43kg – AZE, BLR, JPN, and MGL 
49kg – HUN, JPN, SWE, and UZB 
57kg – HUN, IND, JPN, and MDA
65kg – CHN, HUN, JPN, and UKR
73kg – BLR, JPN, TUR, and UZB 

4. #MoreThanMedals Camps Wrap Up in Uzbekistan and Guatemala 
Two of United World Wrestling’s “More Than Medals” camps wrapped up this weekend in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The "More Than Medals" camps were created to provide cadets from different nations with an opportunity to have fun, practice and learn from opponents and coaches while improving techniques. 

After last weeks second cadet continental championship, the European Championships, more than 65 athletes and 20 coaches from 11 nations stayed in Tashkent, Uzbekistan to continue to hone their skills before the Youth Olympic Games. 

Over 60 athletes from 10 different countries made the trip to Guatemala City to participate in the "More Than Medals" camp in preparation for the third continental championship, the 2018 Pan-American Championships. 

Suples Training Systems also made the journey to Guatemala's "More than Medals" camp to deliver training equipment while also providing an introductory course on how to use that new equipment. 

5. 2018 Cadet Pan-American Championships Begins Friday 
With 20 Youth Olympic Game spots up for grab, the 2018 Pan-American Championships kick off Friday, May 25 in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

Greco-Roman action at the third cadet continental championships kicks off on Friday, women’s wrestling action follows on Saturday and freestyle wrestling closes out the championships on Sunday. 

SCHEDULE
Friday – May 26
10:00 AM - Qualification rounds and repechage GR
6:00 PM- Opening Ceremony
7:00 PM - Finals GR – all categories 

Saturday – May 26
10:00 AM - Qualification rounds and repechage WW
5:00 PM - Finals WW – all categories

Sunday – May 27
10:00 AM - Qualification rounds and repechage FS 
5:00 PM - Finals FS – all categories

Weekly FIVE! in Social Media 

1.@frankchamizo92VS @alliseeisgold ?
Give it a name! 
Придумайте название к фото! ?
@beatthestreets

2. Icho and Snyder! 10x World champion and 4x Olympic champion Kaori ICHO (JPN) with one of her favorite wrestlers, 2016 Olympic champion and 2x world champion Kyle SNYDER (USA)

3. More than Medals-America’s is underway! The program serves Cadet level wrestlers from around the Americas and works to develop their skills on the Mat! #growwrestling

4. Looks like a puzzle...:)
Выглядит как головоломка:)
مثل یک پازل به نظر می رسد
#wrestling#coolpic#wrestlers#sport#ilovewrestling#unitedworldwrestling#puzzle#борьба#борцы#головоломка#яборец

5. A huge congratulations to 48KG ZOPUNIAN (RUS) / 55 KG OSTAPENKO (UKR) / 65KG BAYRAMOV (AZE) for their gold medal wins last night.

#WrestleAlexandria

#WrestleAlexandria Senior African Championships 2024 Preview

By Vinay Siwach

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (March 13) -- At last year's African Championships, Nigeria entered finals in all 10 women's weight classes. Out of the 10, it won six gold medals and four silver medals.

Nigeria will look to better its performance from 2023 at the African Championships which will be held on March 18 and 19 in Alexandria, Egypt. The U17 and U20 African Championships will be held before the senior competition at the same venue.

After a two-day break, the African and Oceania OG Qualifiers will also be held in Alexandria, making the African Championships even more important as the countries participating in the first event will be eligible to participate in the qualifiers.

Nigeria will be led by world bronze medalist Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR) at 57kg as she returns to competition for the first time since September. She had skipped last year's championships but a gold medal in Alexandria will earn her 10000 points. A win will ensure that Adekuoroye tops the 57kg rankings.

Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) will defend her 68kg gold medal. Oborududu has failed to repeat her performances since winning that silver in Tokyo. However, she won the African title for a record 10th time last year.

The 65kg champion Khadija JLASSI (TUN) is now jumping up to 68kg and will look to challenge Oborududu in the new weight class.

At 50kg, Mercy GENESIS (NGR) is returning to defend her gold as is Christianah OGUNSANYA (NGR) at 53kg, Mercy ADEKUOROYE (NGR) at 59kg and Ebi BIOGOS (NGR) at 72kg.

Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR) finished with a silver medal at 62kg but with Marwa AMRI (TUN) moving into coaching, she will be the favorite to win the gold medal in Alexandria.

The 76kg weight class can throw some interesting match-ups as 72kg bronze medalist Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) has moved to the Olympic weight class. She will likely face Hannah RUEBEN (NGR) who won a silver medal at 76kg last year.

Yousiff HEMIDA (EGY)Yousiff HEMIDA (EGY) was African champion in 2022. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

Freestyle

The six Olympic weight classes will see intense battles. 57kg champion Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS) will be the favorite to win the gold medal but bronze medalist Khalil BARKOUTI (TUN) is returning.

The 65kg weight class will see a new champion as only bronze medalist Zohier IFTENE (ALG) is returning for the African Championships. But it will be difficult to count out Shehabeldin MOHAMED (EGY), Wotna NDOC (GBS), Yassine JAA (MAR), Sylvio DIATTA (SEN) and Mohamed BEN HAFSIA (TUN).

Last year's silver medalist Bacar NDUM (GBS) will start as the favorite at 74kg as Amr REDA (EGY) has decided to skip the championships for the qualifiers.

It will be a similar story in 86kg as only bronze medalist Harrison ONOVWIOMOGBOHWO (NGR) is returning to upgrade his medal. The 2023 gold medalist Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG) will be looking to qualify for Algeria later and he will be replaced by Oussama ABDELLAOUI (ALG) for the championships.

At 97kg, none of the 2023 medalists are entered and a new African champion will be crowned. Fares YAHI (ALG), Abdelrahman ABOUHEIBA (EGY) and Anas SAMIR (MAR) will fancy their chances for the same.

Egypt will be looking to keep the 125kg medal to itself and that responsibility will be on Youssif HEMIDA (EGY) who is replacing the gold medalist Diaaeldin KAMAL (EGY). However, silver medalist Hamza RAHMANI (TUN) hopes to change the color of his medal.

At 61kg, Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG) is returning to defend his gold medal while 79kg silver medalist Chems FETAIRIA (ALG) is entered as well.

Moustafa ALAMELDIN (EGY)U20 world champion Moustafa ALAMELDIN (EGY) is the favorite at 67kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Greco-Roman

World bronze medalist and defending champion Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY) will be eyeing his eighth African Championships title as he enters the competition at 130kg. He has two African Games gold medals as well.

Mohamed has dominated the super heavyweight class for years in the continent and is likely to have smooth sailing to the gold again.

With most of Algeria's first team entered for the Olympic Qualifiers, Egypt has a huge chance to win gold medals in multiple weight classes. Last year, Egypt and Algeria shared five gold medals each in Greco-Roman.

At 60kg, Haithem MAHMOUD (EGY) will look to defend his gold medal but 55kg champion Mohamed DRIDI (ALG) has jumped up a weight class to challenge Mahmoud. Also in the mix is Ibrahim BUNDUKA (SLE) who finished with a silver medal.

No medalists from last year are entered at 67kg, leaving the weight class open for a new champion. U20 world champion Moustafa ALAMELDIN (EGY) will be the favorite to win the gold. He won a silver medal at the 2022 championships. Fayssal BENFREDJ (ALG) and Oussama NASR (TUN) can challenge Alameldin.

The 77kg will see returning champion Mohamed KHALIL (EGY) hoping to win a second straight gold medal. Algeria has entered Chawki DOULACHE (ALG) and a Freestyle bronze medalist last year Francisco KADIMA (ANG) is entered in Greco-Roman this year.

Haithem ISSAAD (ALG) and Noureldin HASSAN (EGY) are likely to wrestle for the gold medal at 87kg as most of the medalists have skipped this tour for the qualifiers. 

At 97kg, Emad ABOUELATTA (EGY) is challenging himself by moving up a weight class. He won a silver medal at 87kg last year and is entered in the new weight this year. But Amine BENDJELLOUL (ALG) will be keen on getting a hand on the Egyptian. Bendjelloul has big shoes to fill as he has named the replacement for Bachir SID AZARA (ALG).

Algeria has Abdelmalek MERABET (ALG) as the returning champion at 72kg.