Vevey, Switzerland—FILA, the international federation for  wrestling, will hold an Extraordinary Congress May 18 in Moscow to discuss and make changes in the sport in its effort to keep wrestling in the Olympic Games.

Invitations went out to 177 national federations for the extraordinary meeting in Russia and the delegates will discuss a variety of possible changes including new rules, changes in the organization to include more women in leadership roles and additional athlete involvement in the sport’s governing body. 

Also under discussion by the world wrestling family will be a decision on the non-Olympic styles associated to FILA.

“This will be one of the most important meetings in the history of our sport,” said Acting President Nenad Lalovic.  “This will be the time we make our sport better.  We are proud of our past, but we’re looking to our future and we will be strong enough to change.”

Among the items on the agenda will be the election of Lalovic as president of the organization.  If elected, he will fill the term of Raphael  Martinetti who resigned in February after the sport was not included on the core sports program recommended by the IOC Executive Board, Feb. 12, 2013.  The remainder of Martinetti’s term will run through September, 2014.  He will be eligible to run for a six-year term at that time.

The Congress will take place 11 days before Wrestling makes its presentation to the IOC’s Executive Board May 29 in St. Petersburg, Russia. 

Wrestling is one of eight sports in the running for the Olympic Games sports program for 2020.  The IOC Executive Board will name the finalists who will advance to the full IOC Session, Sept. 4-7, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  One of the eight sports will be selected by a vote of 115 IOC members at the Session.                    

For more information or for Media Accreditation to the Congress contact Bob Condron,  FILA Press Officer, 41.21 312 84 26 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Accreditation is necessary for admittance to the Congress

Olympic Champs Vlasov, Kim Top FILAInternational Greco-Roman Rankings

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (May 2) - London 2012 Olympic Games gold medalists Roman VLASOV (Russia) and KIM Hyeon-Woo (Korea) top FILA's first international rankings for Greco-Roman wrestling.

VLASOV won his second European championships crown at 74kg in Tbilisi in March while KIM, the gold medal winner in London at 66kg, had no difficulty moving up a weight category and taking the 74kg title at the recently concluded Asian championships in New Delhi.

The Olympic gold medal duo, as respective continental champions, are ranked one-two at 74kg in FILA's inaugural international rankings.
Olympic Games silver medalist Tamas LORINCZ (Hungary), the runner-up to KIM in London, finds himself on top of the heap at 66kg after handily winning the European crown there.

Another London silver medalist Rustam TOTROV (Russia) took a second place at the Vehbi Emre Grand Prix tourney in February, but Artur ALEKSANYAN (Armenia), a bronze medal winner in London, won the European championship at 96kg and sits on top of the rankings.
Meanwhile, Olympic Games bronze medal winner and defending world champion Riza KAYAALP (Turkey) won the Vehbi Emre crown in Istanbul and followed up with his third European title at 120kg.

As is often the case in the first year of a new Olympic cycle, a number of the familiar names are missing -- either having left their shoes at the middle of the mat or taking a breather from the demands of high-level training and competition.

In their place, a host of new names and faces, each with their own Olympic hopes and dreams, appear in the senior ranks

In these inaugural FILA rankings, consideration was given to international results from the end of the London 2012 Games with a special eye on the continental championships and the Golden Grand Prix events. Results from other international and some domestic events were taken into consideration.  Each weight category featured top 10 rankings.

Clic here to see the complete ranking !

William May has been active in wrestling across three continents for more than 40 years as a competitor, coach, referee and journalist. William wrestled with the Minnesota Wrestling Club (USA) in the early 1970s and went to Japan as an English teacher and later a sportswriter for 16 years with the Kyodo News Service in Tokyo. In Japan, William continued to wrestle and coach at Kokushikan University in Tokyo. He also collaborated with the magazine, Japanese Wrestling Monthly, and later the website of the Japan Wrestling Federation. In 2002, William moved to Czech Republic where he teaches English, writes for the JWF website, and coaches at a local wrestling club in Kladno. In 2008 and 2012, William worked as the "Sports Information Specialist" for wrestling at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games. He can be reached on his Facebook page or by email, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

(For more information please contact FILA at 41.21 312 84 26 or Bob Condron, Press Officer, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

FILA Announces New Advertising Campaign Lausanne, Switzerland: Mr. Nenad Lalovic, Acting President of FILA, the international federation of the sport of wrestling, today announced a new advertising campaign for the federation. The interactive campaign will run in various print and online media outlets around the world beginning on Tuesday, April 30th. “Our new campaign is meant to complement the changes taking place within our federation, “said Mr. Lalovic. He added, “We have drawn on the basic elements of our sport – strength and universality - to express the values of wrestling, and wrestling’s value to the Olympic Movement.” FILA is undertaking a comprehensive, global effort to maintain wrestling as a sport on the Olympic Program. FILA’s activities range from transforming the governance of the federation to revising competition rules and modernizing the presentation of the sport itself. For more information please contact the FILA Communications office in Vevey, Switzerland, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Come discover the new campaign on Facebook