The story has been made as part of the cooperation between the Nordic broadcasting companies , SVT (Ida Forsgren) and NRK.
ISTANBUL. Wrestling’s final Olympic qualifying tournament is a brutal place.
Athletes who have been chasing their Olympic dream for years experience the whole spectrum of emotions during the two-day qualification.
In the interview area, relieved smiles, uncontrollable tantrums and lots of tears can be seen after the matches.
The trash can next to the media point gets hit again and again as the wrestlers head past it towards the dressing rooms.
Away from the molski, in the arena’s galleries, they live their own soap series. Chairman of the Russian Sports Federation Mikhail Mamiashvili has arrived at the tournament to motivate Russian athletes chasing Olympic places.
Mamiašvili, the 1988 Olympic champion, is considered the best Greco-Roman wrestler of his time. Since then, the 60-year-old sports legend has risen to a significant leadership position in Russia.
Since 2021, Mamiašvili has been the vice-president of the International Wrestling Federation UWW. According to those familiar with the sports world, he is the one who wields the most power in the UWW.
Mamiashvili is also known as the president Vladimir Putin as an enthusiastic supporter.
He comes to the qualifying tournament in Istanbul straight from Putin’s inauguration.
Mamiašvili’s presence in international games is not a given. The wrestling boss has not enjoyed the tournaments since sanctions were imposed on Russian sports due to the country’s war of aggression.
Wrestlers from Russia and Belarus were banned from international competitions in spring 2022, but from spring 2023, some of them have been allowed to compete with a so-called neutral status.
Even in Istanbul, the athletes do not have national emblems. Dressed in black and gray tracksuits, Russian and Belarusian wrestlers form a team called AIN (Individual neutral athlete).
Mamiashvili considers the sanctions and current participation conditions to be a blatant injustice. Partly because of that, he has stayed away from competitive events.
The wrestling boss has hardly been seen at the games organized in Europe, but he flies to Turkey.
The relaxed Mamiashvili seems to be at home in the Istanbul Arena. He moves among the international wrestling leaders with a smooth assurance, occasionally slapping the hand of one of his colleagues and smiling broadly.
Mamiashvili agrees to an interview between matches. For that, he directs us to the sofas in the VIP areas of the arena. At a time when Russian athletes and sports decision-makers are under pressure in many sports, there is still a place for a well-known wrestling personality on the guest show.
The interview begins on a friendly note. To the question, what are the goals of the Russian wrestling team in qualifying for Istanbul, Mamiashvili responded by praising Finland effusively. He says he fondly remembers his Finnish colleagues, especially the 1984 Olympic winner A bunch of Salomäki.
– Our working relationship was very friendly and warm. Finland played a huge role in my sports career, Mamiašvili says.
“Don’t try to change us”
As the conversation continues, the tone of the wrestling boss’s voice gradually becomes more aggressive.
International sports leaders are the targets of the biggest robbery. Mamiashvili often brings up the chairman of the International Olympic Committee, the IOC by Thomas Bach.
The Russian is especially proud to know about the wrestlers of the national team, such as superstars Abdulrashid Sadulayev and Musa Yevloeva has not been allowed back into international competitions.
Olympic winners Yevloyev and Sadulayev took part in a propaganda event organized by the Putin regime at the Luzhniki stadium shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. Sadulayev also belongs to the army club CSKA.
Mamiashvili feels that Russian athletes are oppressed at a time “when sports should bring people together”. He calls the decision-makers of the IOC dishonorable people.
– They try to force us to live according to their own formulas. We have our own customs that make us a united people of many nationalities. We don’t force our ways on anyone.
Mamiashvili also brings up his relationship with President Putin.
– I get asked a lot about my personal relationship with the leader of our country, Vladimirovich Putin. Look at the results of our presidential election. It will become clear to you what kind of values our country has.
After the camera turns off, Mamiashvili delivers a long and intense monologue, reminiscent of an excerpt from the propaganda programs of Russian state channels. In the speech, the “Ukrainian fascists”, against whom Russia is now fighting, the “constantly organized gay parades” in Europe and God’s will are glimpsed.
Mamiašvili states that he knows that Finland’s number one priority is the rights of trans people.
– We don’t want that kind of life. We want to protect our children. Don’t try to change us.
Russian wrestlers humble
Mamiashvili wants to continue watching the matches, because there is a lot at stake in Russia. He shakes our hands with a smile, as if we were having a leisurely afternoon coffee.
It’s a short distance from the Vip-aition leather sofa to the wrestling mats downstairs, but the atmosphere changes radically.
The men in suits watching the matches from behind the glass and enjoying the VIP status are replaced by sweaty athletes whose faces show tension. The spirit of the game couldn’t be clearer: only winning is an option.
When Russian wrestlers were allowed back into international arenas last year, a striking change was visible in the nature of the national team.
– We were surprised how along the walls they went during the first months. Their characteristic pride and self-awareness shone through their absence, executive director of the Finnish Wrestling Federation Pasi Sarkkinen remembers.
Now things are changing. Head coach of Russian Greco-Roman wrestling Gogi Koguashvili agrees to the interview on the condition that it does not ask “provocative questions about the war”.
The head coach admits that he was worried about how his team would be received in international competitions. According to Koguašvili, fellow athletes have treated the Russian team warmly.
However, sports sanctions have had a drastic effect on Russian wrestling.
– We missed several prestigious competitions. It leaves its mark on any team, says Koguašvili.
The dividing line can be seen in the qualifying tournament in Istanbul. In the wrestlers’ common dressing and training room, the Russians keep to themselves a lot.
The other teams have dressing booths marked with the countries’ flags, the representatives of Russia and Belarus sit on the edge of the hall, where the letters AIN are formed with masking tape on a mattress raised against the wall.
Russian and Ukrainian wrestlers train in the same facilities and sometimes meet on the competition mat. Otherwise, they live as if the other party does not exist.
When Koguashvili is asked about his relationship with the Ukrainian team, the coach formulates a diplomatic answer.
– I myself am ethnically Georgian. I have spent my whole life in camps with Ukrainians, Belarusians, Russians, Kazakhs, all nationalities. Ukrainians are our brothers, period.
Russian athletes will do well in Istanbul. Chairman Mamiashvili visits the wrestlers from time to time to psych them up, and the members of the Russian Greco-Roman team reach three of the four possible Olympic spots.
After the performances, there is a relieved atmosphere in the Russian camp. Grabbed an Olympic place in the 77-kilogram category Sergey Kutuzov says the five-ring races are everything to him.
– They are every little boy’s dream. We have given our lives to the sport, and we want to reach the absolute top.
Will Russia withdraw from the Olympics?
Kutuzov’s Olympic dream may be destroyed even before the start of the Paris Games.
The Russians and Belarusians who passed the qualifiers will next face the International Olympic Committee’s investigation panel. IOC representatives investigate the athletes’ backgrounds and only then decide whether they will be allowed to participate in the Olympics.
Those who have not publicly supported the war in Ukraine or do not belong to their country’s army or security service can enter the Games.
Mihail Mamiashvili has also hinted at the possibility of withdrawing the entire national team from the games, if the superstar Abdulrashid Sadulayev is not allowed to compete. Currently, Russian wrestlers have 16 places to Paris.
– Our goal is to reach as many Olympic places as possible. Then we will make the final decision on participation. One thing is certain. Whatever we decide, it serves the interest of our team and our country, Mamiašvili outlined in our previous interview session.
Even though you won’t see Russia’s AIN team at the Olympics, a large Russian team will compete at the Paris wrestling tournament.
Since the start of the war of aggression, numerous Russian wrestlers have changed their country of representation. The phenomenon is not new in wrestling, but with the war, the transfer boom has clearly accelerated.
– Russians have come to different parts of Europe, Arab countries and other parts of Asia, says Pasi Sarkkinen.
Seven Russians who have changed citizenship after 2022 made their way to Paris. Namely among them, raised by the St. Petersburg wrestling school Aleksandr Komarov25, won the European Championship in Serbian colors in February.
According to rumors, the wrestling boss Mamiašvili did not take his protégé’s departure particularly understanding. However, he says to that wrestlers moving elsewhere is not a problem.
– In wrestling, 70-80 percent of medalists are Russian. This has basically always been the case, but it is especially evident today. It does not matter. Athletes are encouraged in any case.
The subject is sensitive. Komarov refuses an interview citing political reasons. The International Wrestling Federation, UWW, did not respond to requests for an interview. The UWW has been criticized for its too lax approach to the exchange of citizenships.
Moved to Serbia in 2023, achieved an Olympic place in Greco-Roman wrestling in the 60-kilogram category Georgy Tibilov commented on his solution in few words. He implies that the departure was a necessary game move for the Olympic dream.
– I had my reasons that forced me to move to Serbia. Fortunately, everything went well. Now I can show how much I work and measure that work in competitions. I am grateful to Serbia for that, he says.
Russian national team coach Gogi Koguašvili admits that the departure of his own proteges has hurt.
– I don’t like it when my students and athletes go to represent another country. But that’s life. I can’t stop them from leaving.