2026 European Wrestling Championship

The 2026 European Wrestling Championships was a major international sporting event held from 20 to 26 April 2026 at the Feti Borova Olympic Park in Tirana the capital of Albania. A total of 30 gold medals were awarded across the men’s freestyle, Greco-Roman and women’s wrestling categories.

^{2026 European Wrestling Championships opening ceremony (AA)}

One day before the competition began on 19 April 2026 the United World Wrestling (UWW) European Council held its General Assembly in Tirana. The meeting was chaired by Karl Martin Dittmann President of the UWW European Council and attended by UWW President Nenad Lalovic General Secretary Carlos Roy and representatives from 31 national federations. Dittmann presented the European Council’s annual report along with reports on finance budget and program activities.

It was reported that the promotional program launched in 2023 to promote women’s wrestling continued in 2024 and 2025 and covered 11 countries: Austria Croatia Spain Estonia Finland Kosovo Latvia Lithuania North Macedonia Switzerland and Sweden. It was also announced that the project postponed for Great Britain was implemented in 2025 and that UWW Europe developed a new website at uww-europe.eu to increase visibility. UWW President Lalovic emphasized goals to enhance the visibility of wrestling on television and social media platforms.

The seven-day championship schedule was structured so that each wrestling style competed on consecutive days:

• Day 1 (20 April): Greco-Roman weight classes of 55 kg 63 kg 77 kg 87 kg and 130 kg held their qualification and semifinal matches.
• Day 2 (21 April): Repêchage and finals for the first day’s Greco-Roman weight classes and qualification and semifinal matches for the 60 kg 67 kg 72 kg 82 kg and 97 kg categories were held.
• Day 3 (22 April): Finals for the 60 kg 67 kg 72 kg 82 kg and 97 kg Greco-Roman weight classes were completed and qualification and semifinal matches for women’s wrestling in the 50 kg 55 kg 59 kg 68 kg and 76 kg categories began.
• Day 4 (23 April): Finals for the 50 kg 55 kg 59 kg 68 kg and 76 kg women’s weight classes were held and qualification and semifinal matches for the 53 kg 57 kg 62 kg 65 kg and 72 kg categories took place.
• Day 5 (24 April): Finals for the second day of women’s wrestling were completed and qualification and semifinal matches for men’s freestyle in the 57 kg 65 kg 70 kg 79 kg and 97 kg categories were held.
• Day 6 (25 April): Finals for the 57 kg 65 kg 70 kg 79 kg and 97 kg freestyle weight classes and qualification and semifinal matches for the 61 kg 74 kg 86 kg 92 kg and 125 kg categories were held.
• Day 7 (26 April): Repêchage and final matches for the 61 kg 74 kg 86 kg 92 kg and 125 kg freestyle weight classes concluded the championship.

Many former champions defended their titles in Greco-Roman wrestling. Key developments by weight class were as follows:

In the 55 kg category world champion Vakhtang Lolua (Georgia) advanced to his first European Championship final by defeating Stefan Grigorov (Bulgaria) 9-0 and Manvel Khachatryan (Armenia) 3-1. His opponent in the final was Emin Sefershaev (UWW) who defeated Omer Recep (Türkiye) 11-0. In the 60 kg category one of the tournament’s biggest upsets occurred: Suren Aghajanyan (Armenia) came from behind to pin last champion Nihat Mammadli (Azerbaijan) 5-0 and reach the final. The other finalist was Georgij Tibilov (Serbia) who defeated Denis Mihai (Romania) 9-0 and Corneliu Rusu (Moldova) 7-1. Mammadli had previously defeated Vladyslav Kuzko (Ukraine) 5-0.

^{Day 2 of the 2026 European Wrestling Championships (AA)}

In the 63 kg category Vitalie Eriomenco (Moldova) reached the final by defeating last champion Kerem Kamal (Türkiye) 6-5 after trailing 5-0 in the semifinal. The other finalist was Sergey Emelin (UWW) who defeated Mairbek Salimov (Poland) 9-0. In the 67 kg category last champion Hasrat Jafarov (Azerbaijan) advanced to the final by defeating Jan Oehlen (Sweden) 5-1 Abu Muslim Amaev (Bulgaria) by pin and Diego Chkhikvadze (Georgia) 4-2 in the semifinal. His opponent in the final was Murat Fırat (Türkiye) who defeated Oleksandr Hrushyn (Ukraine) 4-0.

In the 72 kg category Ibrahim Ghanem (France) advanced to the final for his second consecutive gold medal by defeating Gaspar Terteryan (Armenia) 6-1. His opponent in the final was Iuri Lomadze (Georgia) who defeated Cengiz Arslan (Türkiye) 3-2. In the 77 kg category Malkhas Amoyan (Armenia) reached the final by defeating Edvin Baff (Sweden) 4-0 Irfan Mirzoiev (Ukraine) 9-0 and Alexandrin Gutu (Moldova) 3-1 in the semifinal. In the other semifinal Ramaz Zoidze (Georgia) defeated Robert Fritsch (Hungary) 8-0.

In the 82 kg category last champion Gurban Gurbanov (Azerbaijan) advanced to the final by defeating Svetoslav Nikolov (Bulgaria) on criteria Mihail Bradu (Moldova) 5-4 and Gela Bolkvadze (Georgia) 2-1. In the final he faced Adlet Tiuliubaev (UWW) who defeated Karlo Kodric (Croatia) 7-3. In the 87 kg category Semen Novikov (Bulgaria) reached the final by defeating Dogan Kaya (Türkiye) 8-0 Marjan Kola (Albania) 9-0 and Islam Abbasov (Azerbaijan) 4-0. His opponent in the final was Turpal Bisultanov (Denmark) who pinned Yaroslav Filchakov (Ukraine) after eliminating Ihar Yarashevich (UWW) and Gevorg Tadevosyan (Armenia).

In the 97 kg category Kiril Milov (Bulgaria) advanced to the final by defeating Gerard Kurniczak (Poland) and Kiryl Maskevich (UWW) without conceding a point and then defeating Artur Sargsian (UWW) 7-1 in the semifinal. His opponent in the final was Alex Szoke (Hungary) who defeated Vladen Kozliuk (Ukraine) 3-0. The 130 kg category witnessed the tournament’s most notable record-breaking moment. Rıza Kayaalp (Türkiye) advanced to the final after pinning Albert Vardanyan (Armenia) and defeating Marat Kamparov (UWW) on criteria. In the semifinal he faced Pavel Hlinchuk (UWW) who was disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct with 30 seconds remaining in the match. In the final Kayaalp defeated Darius Vitek (Hungary) 1-1 on criteria to claim his 13th European Championship title surpassing the 12-gold medal record previously shared with Russian wrestler Aleksandr Karelin and standing alone at the top.

The Ukrainian team continued its medal pursuit with a strong roster. Match details were as follows:

• 50 kg and 53 kg: In the 50 kg category Oksana Livach (Ukraine) advanced to the semifinal by defeating Svenja Jungo (Switzerland) 12-1. In the same weight class Emilia Grigore Vuc (Romania) came back from 9-3 down to win 19-9 against Emanuela Liuzzi (Italy). In the 53 kg category Vanesa Kaladzinskaya (UWW) defeated Jonna Malmgren (Sweden) 12-5. Mariia Yefremova (Ukraine) defeated Natalia Malysheva (UWW) 5-1 and Carla Jaume Soler (Spain) pinned Zeynep Yetgil (Türkiye) for notable results.
• 55 kg and 57 kg: In the 55 kg category Tuba Demir (Türkiye) achieved a significant victory by defeating last champion Ekaterina Verbina (UWW) 13-6 in the quarterfinal. Liliia Malanchuk (Ukraine) defeated Veronika Konsevich (North Macedonia) 8-0. In the 57 kg category Magdalena Glodek (Poland) pinned Solomiia Vynnyk (Ukraine) while Aryna Dzemchanka Martynava (UWW) defeated Aleksandra Skirenko (UWW) 11-8.
• Heavyweight Categories: In the 62 kg category Grace Bullen (Norway) defeated Ameline Douarre (France) 10-0 while in the 65 kg category Iryna Koliadenko (Ukraine) defeated Iris Mathilde Thiebaux (France) 10-0. In the 68 kg category Nesrin Baş (Türkiye) won the gold medal while Alina Shauchuk (UWW) defeated Noemi Szabados (Hungary) and Karolina Domaszuk (Poland) both by 10-0. In the 72 kg category Buse Tosun (Türkiye) delivered a strong performance by pinning Viktoryia Radzkova (UWW). In the 76 kg category Martina Kuenz (Austria) defeated Elmira Yasin (Türkiye) and Anastasiya Zimiankova (UWW) to secure an impressive streak.

In freestyle wrestling the standout performance came from Abdulrashid Sadulaev (UWW) returning to the competition after a six-year absence.

• 97 kg: Sadulaev reached the final by defeating Benjamin Greil (Austria) 10-0 Radu Lefter (Moldova) 10-0 and Akhmed Magamaev (Bulgaria) 12-2 in the semifinal. He faced Batyrbek Tsakulov (Slovakia) who defeated Givi Matcharashvili (Georgia) 12-1 in the final and won the match 14-3 to claim the gold medal.
• 57 kg: Islam Bazarganov (Azerbaijan) defeated Roberti Dingashvili (Georgia) 11-1 in the semifinal and then Musa Mekhtikhanov (Russia/UWW) 8-6 in the final to become champion.
• 61 kg and 65 kg: In the 61 kg category Zaur Uguev (Russia/UWW) won gold by defeating Zelimkhan Abakarov (Albania) 4-0 in the final. In the 65 kg final Bashir Magomedov (Russia/UWW) defeated Islam Dudaev (Albania) 10-0 to claim the title. Vazgen Tevanyan (Armenia) won bronze in this weight class.
• 70 kg and 74 kg: In the 70 kg final David Baev (Russia/UWW) defeated Aleksandr Gaidarli (Moldova) 2-1 to win first place. In the 74 kg category Taimuraz Salkazanov (Slovakia) became champion while Turan Bayramov (Azerbaijan) won silver.
• 79 kg and 86 kg: In the 79 kg category Ahmed Usmanov (Russia/UWW) defeated Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (Belarus) 4-2 in the final. Kadimagomedov had narrowly defeated Tariel Gaphrindashvili (Georgia) 11-10 in the semifinal. In the 86 kg category Ibragim Kadiev (Russia/UWW) defeated Arseniy Dzhioev (Azerbaijan) 2-1 in the final.
• 92 kg and 125 kg: In the 92 kg category Ali Tsokaev (Azerbaijan) won gold by defeating Ahmed Bataev (Bulgaria) 5-3. In the 125 kg category Giorgi Meshvildishvili (Azerbaijan) reached the top of the podium by defeating Vladislav Baitsaev (Hungary) 6-0 in the final. In the same weight class Hakan Büyükçıngıl (Türkiye) won bronze by defeating Khachatur Khachatryan (Armenia) 6-2.

Although Russian wrestlers won six gold medals they were excluded from the official team ranking due to international regulations. In the official team standings Azerbaijan led with 152 points followed by Georgia with 94 points and Armenia with 73 points. Armenia completed the tournament with three bronze medals in freestyle (Manvel Khndzrtsyan Arsen Harutyunyan and Vazgen Tevanyan) but was unable to field its key athlete Arman Andreasyan due to injury. Hungary and Moldova both finished with 61 points placing fourth and fifth respectively.

^{2026 European Wrestling Championships (AA)}

Türkiye concluded the competition with a total of 11 medals (2 gold 3 silver and 6 bronze) across Greco-Roman freestyle and women’s wrestling. The team placed second overall in both Greco-Roman and women’s categories.

• Gold Medals: Rıza Kayaalp (130 kg Greco-Roman) and Nesrin Baş (68 kg women).
• Silver Medals: Murat Fırat (67 kg Greco-Roman) Evin Demirhan Yavuz (50 kg women) and Elvira Süleyman Kamaloğlu (57 kg women).
• Bronze Medals: Kerem Kamal (63 kg Greco-Roman) Cengiz Arslan (72 kg Greco-Roman) Tuba Demir (55 kg women) Beyza Nur Akkuş (65 kg women) Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu (72 kg women) and Hakan Büyükçıngıl (125 kg freestyle).

^{2026 European Wrestling Championships (AA)}

Evin Demirhan Yavuz and Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu increased their total European Championship medal count to seven while Tuba Demir and Beyza Nur Akkuş won their first senior-level medals.

Taha Akgül President of the Turkish Wrestling Federation expressed satisfaction with the successful results achieved in Greco-Roman and women’s categories. Akgül noted that in freestyle wrestling the team underwent a rotation and renewal process following the Olympics and emphasized that Hakan Büyükçıngıl’s bronze medal in the heavyweight category held the value of a gold medal. He highlighted Hakan’s potential for growth and expressed confidence that with time and experience he would overcome his shortcomings and reach world-class standards. Soner Demirtaş Technical Director of the Freestyle National Team praised the athletes’ efforts and stated that the young team would gain valuable experience and achieve greater success in the future. The event secured an important place in wrestling history through record-breaking performances the rise of young athletes and UWW’s forward-looking initiatives.