The Paris Olympic Games are already in full swing, and there are 4 days left before the start of the freestyle wrestling competitions. We have already published three articles about wrestlers who, in our opinion, can successfully perform at the Olympics.
Today we present our fourth article about athletes who will not let us down and will show excellent results in freestyle wrestling.
Chermen Valiev (Albania, 74 kg)
Ossetian wrestler Chermen Valiev will go to his first Olympic Games as part of the Albanian national team. Previously, he competed for the Russian national team and demonstrated high results in the domestic arena. However, despite his achievements, he was unable to take first place in the weight category up to 74 kg due to strong competition, in which Zaurbek Sidakov almost always led. Chermen lost several times in fights with Sidakov, which was the reason for his decision to change his sports citizenship.
The first tournament after changing his citizenship was the World Olympic Licensing Tournament in Istanbul. Chermen went to Istanbul to obtain an Olympic license and successfully completed the task. He fought six matches at the tournament, showing a high level of wrestling in five of them. In the 1/16 finals, he defeated Armenian Hrayr Alikhanyan. In the 1/8 finals, tough fights began: Chermen defeated Georgian Avtandil Kenchadze with a score of 5:4. In the 1/4 finals, he deprived Frank Chamizo of his dream, winning with a score of 5:5. In the semi-finals, Chermen could not keep up the pace and lost to Tajik wrestler Viktor Rassadin.
To obtain an Olympic license, Chermen needed to win two more matches. In the bronze medal fight, he defeated Kazakh Nurkozha Kaipanov with a score of 4:3, and in the fight for a license between bronze medalists, he showed all his best qualities and defeated Turk Soner Demitrash. Thus, Chermen became an official participant in the Olympic Games.
Considering his recent performances and the high level of wrestling, thanks to which he left behind many strong opponents who could also become Olympic medalists, as well as his deep knowledge of the Ossetian wrestling school, we can confidently say that Chermen has every chance of winning a medal at the Olympic Games.
Georgios Kouyumtsidis (Greece, 74 kg)
23-year-old Greek Giorgos will confidently go to Paris as one of the favorites of the Olympic Games. He won a license to participate in the Olympics at the World Championships, taking the gold 5th place, which also gives a ticket to the Games. Giorgos is a two-time U-23 European Champion and a European Champion among adults in the weight category up to 79 kg. Although his main weight category is 79 kg, as the World Championships showed, he is also capable of successfully competing in the category up to 74 kg, demonstrating a high level of wrestling.
At the World Championships, Giorgos defeated the vice-champion of the Olympic Games Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov and the European Champion Taimuraz Salkazanov. However, in the semi-finals, he lost to Kyle Dake in a tough fight.
For his age and level of wrestling, the guy has a good future and at his first Olympic Games he can fight for medals.
Giorgos Kouyumtsidis's latest results:
2023 U-23 European Championships - gold medal
2024 U-23 European Championships - silver medal
2025 U-23 European Championships - gold medal