The Golden Grand-Prix Ivan Yarygin 2018 concluded at the Football-Arena Yenisei in Krasnoyarsk, Russia on January 28. Some 300 athletes from 20 countries (Russia, Mongolia, the USA, Cuba, Japan, Bulgaria, China, North Korea, Greece, Georgia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Finland, Norway, and Estonia) competed in 10 men’s and 10 women’s weight categories.
Mongolian wrestlers have been constantly participating in the Golden Grand-Prix Ivan Yarygin, an annual wrestling event named after Ivan Sergeyevich Yarygin, who was a Soviet and Russian heavyweight freestyle wrestler.
Between 1970 and 1980, Yarygin won all the international competitions he took part in, except for the 1970 and 1974 European championships where he placed second. Yarygin won the Munchen 1972 and Montreal 1976 Olympic Games, and the Teheran 1973 World Championships.
This year, over 60 Mongolian wrestlers took part in the Golden Grand-Prix and returned home with 10 medals (one gold, one silver and eight bronze). Mongolian athletes claimed the most medals in the history since 1991 at this year’s event.
The youngest champion of the Asian Championships and State Merited Athlete P.Orkhon won the women’s 62 kg at the Golden Grand-Prix Ivan Yarygin on January 27 for the third year in a row.
International Sports Master E.Gantuya seized the silver medal in the women’s 57 kg category. Eight bronze medals went to Sports Master Ts.Tsogbadrakh (men’s 57 kg), International Sports Master T.Tuvshintulga (men’s 61 kg), L.Turtogtokh (men’s 92 kg), N.Zolboo (men’s 125 kg), E.Davaachimeg (women’s 55kg), Z.Bolortungalag, E.Tsevegmid (women’s 64 kg), State Merited Athlete O.Nasanburmaa (women’s 72 kg) respectively.
The competitions in men’s categories were fierce due to the decision made by United World Wrestling to issue world ranking points to the male athletes at the Golden Grand-Prix Ivan Yarygin from this year. Nine Mongolian male athletes competed for a bronze medal and four of them came home with medals.
The wrestlers of the host country, Russia, won eight gold medals out of 10. In the 97 kg category, Olympic champion Kyle Snyder fought fiercely and won gold for the second year. American wrestler David Taylor, who became famous winning Iranian wrestler Hassan Yazdani in a clear win at the World Cup last year, took the victory for the first time in the men’s 86 kg category. Russians lost the gold medal in this weight category after 20 years (previously, Mogamed Ibragimov, a Russian naturalized Macedonian wrestler took gold in the 85 kg in 1998).
The host country didn’t win any gold medals in the women’s weight categories as Chinese wrestlers claimed five and Japanese wrestlers claimed three gold medals. The other two gold medals were won by P.Orkhon (Mongolia) in the women’s 62 kg, Tamyra Mensah-Stock (USA) in the 68 kg.
Chinese female wrestlers proved formidable opponents and finished the competition with five gold, two silver and three bronze medals.