Ranking Series

Wrestling to Debut Ranking Series in 2018

By Tim Foley

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY (December 6) -- United World Wrestling, the international governing body for the sport of wrestling, has announced details behind the launch of an annual ranking series.

The 2018 series will be a soft launch with full implementation expected in 2019.

“The wrestling community deserves a clear ranking system for the sport’s top athletes,” said United World Wrestling president Nenad Lalovic. “Rankings makes it easier for our fans, athletes and coaches to understand the impact of each tournament and match. That’s brand new for our sport.”

In addition to the continental and world championships, the 2018 series will feature four specialty ranking tournaments for each of the three Olympic styles: Greco-Roman, women’s wrestling and freestyle. Points in all tournaments will be awarded based on finish plus the number of competitors present in each weight category. Nations may only enter three athletes in any single weight class.

For example, if at the 2018 world championships at 70 kg, sees 40 participants the world champion will receive 25 + 40 pts = 65 points.

Points are only retained by individual athletes, not nations. Also, points can NOT be carried across weight categories. The rankings will be used to determine seeding at the Senior World Championships in Budapest.

The first rankings will be posted March 1, 2018 on the United World Wrestling homepage

*If a weight category only has one bronze medal (by example Nordic System), the athlete ranked in the fourth place will get 12 points in the Senior World Championships or Olympic Games, 7 points in the Continental Championships and 3 points in the UWW Select Ranking Events.

**If a weight category only has one fifth place (by example after a doping case), the athlete ranked in the sixth place will get 9 points in the Senior World Championships or Olympic Games, 5 points in the Continental Championships and 1 point in the UWW Select Ranking Event.

Ranking Events

Freestyle Wrestling

Ivan Yariguin (RUS), January
Tbilisi GP (GEO), June                          
South Africa Open (RSA), July            
Medved (BLR), September                            

Women’s Wrestling

Klippan Lady Open (SWE), February             
Mongolia Open (MGL), June           
China Open (CHN), June                  
Poland Open (POL), September                 

Greco-Roman Wrestling

Takhti Cup (IRI), January                             
Granma y Cerro Pelado (CUB), February        
Hungarian GP (HUN), June                    
Vehbi Emre (TUR), July                           

#WrestleParis

Olympic champion Focken carries Olympic torch for Paris 2024

By Vinay Siwach

ALSACE, France (June 27) -- Tokyo Olympic champion Aline FOCKEN (GER) was part of the Olympic Torch Relay on Wednesday in Alsace, stage 41 of the relay for the 2024 Paris Games.

"It was magical," Focken said. "It was a short run for only a few minutes but I enjoyed it. I felt the Olympic spirit and pride to run with the torch. We were briefed a lot, about the significance of the torch and it's for peace and I felt it all the time. It was special."

The relay began from the European Parliament and then passed in front of the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe. It also lit up the city’s covered bridges, the Grande île district, the Alsatian Museum and the Notre Dame gothic cathedral before finishing at Place Kléber, in the city’s heart, where the celebration venue was located.

 

The Olympic Torch Relay continued its voyage through eastern France with a distinctly European tone. In addition to putting the spotlight on the gems of Alsace, the Olympic Torch Relay also highlighted fraternity between people, such as Franco-German links, which were celebrated during an exceptional collective relay on the Three Countries Bridge in Huningue. Another collective relay took place in Strasbourg, dedicated, as each day, to a specific sport.

Focken carried the torch at the start of the three country bridge for 250 metres. The starting point of Focken's run was in Germany while her finish was in France. She then handed over the Olympic Torch to Frenchman Eric Kueny, representative of the host country in Huningue.

Aline FOCKEN (GER)Aline FOCKEN (GER) with the Olympic torch on Wednesday. (Photo: Lewis Joly)

Focken, who won the gold medal in 76kg weight class in Tokyo, became the first woman from Germany to win gold at the Olympics in wrestling. She said her feeling was similar to Olympic Games but she was nervous before the run.

"I was nervous," she said. "It's different and all the TV is around you. I was relaxed but nervous. It was a really special moment and I thought that this may be the last Olympic moment for you so just enjoy it. I took my family with me to the relay."