DORTMUND, Germany (June 25) – Two-time junior European champions Grace BULLEN (NOR) and Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO) will each be seeking to complete their hat track of titles when the Junior European Wrestling Championships get under way on Tuesday, June 27.
Dozens of other medalists from three non-senior age-groups and scores of entries from the corners of the continent will also be scrambling for places on the medals podium over six days of wrestling at Helmut Kornig Halle in Dortmund.
Some older junior wrestlers are allowed to compete in junior and under-23 events while some of the elder cadets can also enter events at the junior level.
Bullen, who won the senior European crown in May, has won six straight age-group crowns beginning with cadet titles in 2013 and 2014 along with gold at the 2014 world championships and Youth Olympic Games. She won junior titles in 2015 and 2016.
Over the same period, the soft-spoken Bullen earned bronze and silver medals at senior-level European events before turning away all challengers in Novi Sad for her first major senior championship crown.
Pataridze also began his march through the majors in 2013 when he won the cadet world championship crown at 100kg, followed by the European and world titles as a cadet in 2014.
The burly Georgian had been perfect with two junior European and world triumphs each in 2015 and 2016, but was tripped up in the semifinals of the European under-23 championships in early April and had to settle for a bronze medal.
Another two-time junior European champion, Nofal BABAEV (AZE) won titles at 50kg in 2015 and at 55kg last year, and was listed as a possible alternate at 66kg in the preliminary entries. Alrosa Cup team member Namaz RUSTAMOV (AZE), however, appears to be the final entry for Azerbaijan.
In all, more than 60 champions and medal winners as well as scores of challengers from three continental age-group divisions – cadet, junior and under-23 – will be competing in the six-day championships.
From the other divisions, Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) won the European under-23 crown at 97kg in freestyle in March, while Aleksander KOMAROV (RUS) has won European and world cadet titles in Greco-Roman the last two years and seeks to keep his international record unblemished.
Freestyle (Tuesday & Wednesday, June 27-28)
The championships get under way with two-time former cadet world champion Andrey YATSENKO (UKR), at 60kg, seeking his first medal in a major junior meet. He does, however, own a silver medal from the 2016 European senior meet.
Also on Tuesday, U23 champ Matcharashvili tries to add the junior crown to his collection after taking silver at last year in Bucharest. Challengers for the 96kg crown include 2016 bronze medal winners, Sargis HOVSEPYAN (ARM) and Alikhmaev ALIMAGOMED (AZE).
Reigning junior world champ Afgan KHASHALOV (AZE) takes to the mat on Wednesday at 55kg, but could face European cadet champion Alik KHADARTSEV (RUS) somewhere on his journey through the bracket.
Defending Euro champ Gadzhimurad MAGOMEDSAIDOV (AZE) seeks to repeat at 84kg after slipping to third place at last year’s junior world meet. And, Magomedamin DIBIROV (RUS) also aims for a second trip to the top of the medals podium at 120kg.
Women’s Wrestling (Thursday & Friday, June 29-30)
Wrestlers from seven different countries have won gold medals in each of the last two years of the junior European championships with Bullen the only repeat champion. Russia was the only country with a pair of gold medalists in both years.
Bullen headlines the first day of women’s events, targeting her third European junior title two months after winning her first senior crown. She will likely face a challenge from last year’s champion at 55kg, Anastasia NICHITA (MDA), who was also a runner-up at the U23 tourney in March.
Also on Thursday, two-time cadet world champion Khanum VELIEVA (RUS), the only wrestler to defeat a Japanese entry in the cadet world meet last September, is entered at 67kg where she seeks her first junior title three weeks after winning the senior Russian championship crown.
The stars come out on Friday as junior world and European U23 champion Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) is entered at 72kg and will likely bring the curtain down on the women’s events.
And at the other end of the scale, 2016 champ at 44kg Oksana LIVACH (UKR) is at 48kg and will seek to reach medals podium in her 10th international event in a row since taking silver at the Euro cadets in 2013.
The most competitive category could well be 55kg where Leyla GURBANOVA (AZE), who doubled up with cadet and junior world titles in 2015, tops the list of entries. Defending champion Elena BRUGGER (GER) looks to repeat while 2015 champion Olena KREMZER (UKR) attempts to duplicate her win over Gurbanova in Istanbul.
Greco-Roman (Saturday & Sunday, July 1-2)
Greco-Roman gets under way on Saturday with junior world champion at 50kg Vladislav MELNIKOV (RUS) trying to grab the continental crown while cadet world champion Leri ABULADZE (GEO) enters his first junior championships, at 60kg, after finishing seventh at the senior European meet in early May.
At 74kg, Islambek DADOV (AZE) has bagged gold medals at the 2014 European cadet meet and the Youth Olympic Games as well as the U23 meet in March and will be seeking his first junior title after a bronze medal at the junior world meet last August.
The final day of the championships will feature two-time European and world cadet champion Aleksander KOMAROV (RUS) making his debut at the junior level while two-time European and world junior champion Pataridze targets the first half of completing a junior triple-double at 120kg.
Returning champion Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) moves up to 55kg and is followed by bronze medal winner Giovanni FRENI (ITA), while 2015 champion at 60kg Murat FIRAT (TUR) takes another chance at 66kg after finishing in fifth place in Bucharest.
Schedule
Monday, June 26
16:00-17:00 – Medical Examination: FS 50, 60, 74, & 96kg
17:15-17:45 – Weigh-in: FS 50, 60, 74, & 96kg
Tuesday, June 27
10:00-14:00 – Elimination Rounds & Repechage: FS 50, 60, 74, & 96kg
16:00-17:00 – Medical Examination: FS 55, 66, 84, & 120kg
17:15-17:45 – Weigh-in: FS 55, 66, 84, & 120kg
18:00-18:30 – Opening Ceremony
18:30-20:30 – Finals & Award Ceremonies: FS 50, 60, 74, & 96kg
Wednesday, June 28
10:00-14:00 – Elimination Rounds & Repechage: FS 55, 66, 84, & 120kg
16:00-17:00 – Medical Examination: WW 44, 51, 59, 67kg
17:15-17:45 – Weigh-in: WW 44, 51, 59, 67kg
18:00-20:00 - Finals & Award Ceremonies: FS 55, 66, 84, & 120kg
Thursday, June 29
10:00-14:00 – Elimination Rounds & Repechage: WW 44, 51, 59, 67kg
16:00-17:00 – Medical Examination: WW 48, 55, 63, 72kg
17:15-17:45 – Weigh-in: WW 48, 55, 63, 72kg
18:00-20:00 - Finals & Award Ceremonies: WW 44, 51, 59, 67kg
Friday, June 30
10:00-14:00 – Elimination Rounds & Repechage: WW 48, 55, 63, 72kg
16:00-17:00 – Medical Examination: GR 50, 60, 74, 97kg
17:15-17:45 – Weigh-in: GR 50, 60, 74, 97kg
18:00-20:00 - Finals & Award Ceremonies: WW 48, 55, 63, 72kg
Saturday, July 1
10:00-14:00 – Elimination Rounds & Repechage: GR 50, 60, 74, 97kg
16:00-17:00 – Medical Examination: GR 55, 66, 84, 120kg
17:15-17:45 – Weigh-in: GR 55, 66, 84, 120kg
18:00-20:00 - Finals & Award Ceremonies: GR 50, 60, 74, 97kg
Sunday, July 2
10:00-14:00 – Elimination Rounds & Repechage: GR 55, 66, 84, 120kg
18:00-20:00 - Finals & Award Ceremonies: GR 55, 66, 84, 120kg
