Ukrainian Wrestlers Nasibov and Beleniuk Secure Silver and Bronze in Greco-Roman Wrestling at Paris Olympics
On Thursday, 8 August, Ukrainian Greco-Roman wrestler Parviz Nasibov, 25, won a silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in the Greco-Roman wrestling competition in the 67 kg weight category. Another Ukrainian athlete, 33-year-old Zhan Beleniuk, a current member of the Ukrainian parliament, won a bronze medal in the men's Greco-Roman wrestling under 87 kg.
Parviz Nasibov lost in the final to 21-year-old Iranian opponent Saeed Esmaili Leivesi with a score of 5-6, winning his second Olympic silver. This is Nasibov's second Olympic final. In 2021, in Tokyo, the Ukrainian lost to Iranian Mohammad Reza Gheraei.
Zhan Beleniuk met in a duel with Polish Greco-Roman wrestler Arkadiusz Kulinic, 31. In the fight for bronze, the Ukrainian athlete defeated his Polish opponent with a score of 3:1. This is Jean Belenyuk's third Olympic medal. He won silver in 2016 and gold in 2020.
At the end of the fight, Beleniuk took off his boots and put them in the centre of the tatami. This is a symbolic gesture used by wrestlers to announce the end of their careers.
Ukraine has now risen to 15th place in the overall medal standings of the Olympics and has earned 10 medals.