Biography

In 2008, Mariya STADNIK (AZE) competed in her first Olympic Games and won a bronze medal at the 48kg. She improved her performance by winning a silver medal at the 2012 Games in London. In 2016, she was primed to win the gold medal but suffered a last-second defeat against Eri TOSAKA of Japan. In Tokyo, she will be the top-seeded wrestler in her weight class. One of the most remarkable wrestlers in the world, she has won eight European Championships and two European Games. She won the world title in 2009; then after a ten-year hiatus, she returned to win gold at the 2019 World Championships. In addition, she has three silver medals at the Worlds. Stadnik has lost only eight times internationally since her loss to Carol HUYN of Canada at the 2008 Games in Beijing. All of the eight losses have come against Japanese wrestlers. She was born in Ukraine but wrestles for Azerbaijan since 2011. Stadnik has two kids -- a daughter and a son.