This past weekend, the 2024 Russian National Championships were held in Naro-Fominsk. As is custom for the powerhouse program’s annual domestic event, the overall field was large and sufficiently crammed with elite-class athletes in each weight category. But even among such a high-profile collective, it was Musa Evloev upon whom everyone’s focus resided.
Evloev, 30, had not competed since coming away with gold at the Tokyo Olympic Games in August of ’21 but ran the table in the 97 kilogram division to earn his fourth National crown. With Artur Sargsyan (World bronze in ’21) out due to injury, the bracket became a two-horse race between Evloev and two-time U23 World gold Aleksander Golovin. A predictably tight match ensued, and Evloev squeaked by with a 2-0 decision.
Evloev’s return ends what had been a hiatus of more than two years. The two-time World Champion encountered various injury-related pauses in the time since his run to gold in Tokyo. Sargsyan received the starts for Russia at nearly every major event in Evloev’s absence. While that figures to change, in part on account of Sargyan himself currently nursing an injury, the Russian Wrestling Federation has not yet definitively confirmed whether or not Evloev will get the call to enter the European Championships (beginning on February 12). Sargsyan is listed among the entries published by United World Wrestling, the global sanctioning body for the sport — but the RWF has until three days prior to the tournament to make roster changes.
After earning National title #4, Evloev was interviewed by Russian Wrestling Federation reporter Tigran Avanyan. Below are several blurbs featuring Evloev’s dialogue from the Q&A.
Evloev on if he knows what the coaching staff is planning for him next
“You know, I haven’t lost to anyone since 2018, and this is thanks to my coaches — David Kadilov, Mikhail Ilezov, Vladimir Khromov and, of course, Gogi Koguashvili. Therefore, I completely trust them and do only what they tell me.”
Evloev on struggling from par terre top during the tournament
“It’s simple: if you can’t score on the mat, you have to fight in the standing position. I used to do most of my scoring on the mat, and it didn’t matter who was lying underneath. I lifted everyone. Previously, I was just trying to get my lift, but now I build tactics around it. You need to take it as practice, and you need to take advantage of one or two positions. Otherwise, the match can slip away. In general, I was confident that I would win on the mat and wouldn’t lose points in the stand-up, and that’s how it turned out. But you need to train and improve in all aspects.”
Evloev on how he thinks he would do right now in a World-level competition
“If necessary, today I could wrestle on the feet. I’m not ready to lift off the mat yet, it doesn’t work. I need to practice that; but standing up, 100 percent. Therefore, it would be interesting to test myself abroad against the best international wrestlers.”
2024 Russian Nationals
FULL PLACEWINNERS
55 kg
GOLD: Vitaly Kabaloev
SILVER: Amayak Osipov
BRONZE: Mavlud Rizmanov
BRONZE: Viktor Vedernikov
60 kg
GOLD: Emin Sefershaev
SILVER: Dovujon Toshev
BRONZE: Andrey Ivanov
BRONZE: Sergey Chigirev
63 kg
GOLD: Sergey Emelin
SILVER: Zhambolat Lokyaev
BRONZE: Gavril Anzhigov
BRONZE: Roman Ivanov
67 kg
GOLD: Ruslan Bichurin
SILVER: Azamat Akhmedov
BRONZE: Ashot Egizarov
BRONZE: Adam Gauzhaev
72 kg
GOLD: Narek Ohanyan
SILVER: Alen Mirzoyan
BRONZE: Imran Aliev
BRONZE: Stanislav Kilmov
77 kg
GOLD: Sergey Stepanov
SILVER: Sergey Kutuzov
BRONZE: Ismail Barakhoev
BRONZE: Adlet Tyulubaev
82 kg
GOLD: Islam Aliyev
SILVER: Rafael Yunusov
BRONZE: Stanislav Pseunov
BRONZE: Imam Aliyev
87 kg
GOLD: Vaag Margaryan
SILVER: Adlan Akiev
BRONZE: Aues Gonibov
BRONZE: Timur Chepchigashev
97 kg
GOLD: Musa Evloev
SILVER: Aleksander Golovin
BRONZE: Nikita Melnikov
BRONZE: Magomed Mukhtarov
130 kg
GOLD: Nokcho Labazanov
SILVER: Marat Kamparov
BRONZE: Mikhail Laptev
BRONZE: Vitali Shchur
Viktor Lorincz Talks Coaching
Retired multi-time World medalist Viktor Lorincz has quickly ascended up the coaching ladder and, in addition to helping out with Hungary’s Senior National Team, was put in charge of the nation’s U23 athletes, as well. Lorincz was recently recognized by the Hungarian Wrestling Federation as their “Youth Coach of the Year” for ’23, but going forward he will concentrate mainly on the Seniors. Last week, Lorincz shared a few insights on his approach to coaching with his national governing body.
Lorincz on receiving the “Youth Coach of the Year” award
“The fact that I was nominated was already very nice. I have been coaching for three years now, and yet my work has been recognized. It is a special pleasure that the title was decided by a vote and the professional committee found me worthy. All this shows is that I am on the right path, but I don’t forget that I am still at the very beginning. I want to improve as much as possible so that I can give back to the sport the many good things that I have received from it.”
Lorincz on shifting from U23 coaching to Senior
“I really enjoyed the work, but from now on, on paper, I will only help the Senior National Team. I am glad that I received the trust from the organization. Of course, not much will change, as the U23 guys are also preparing with us.”
Lorincz on trying to constantly learn as a coach
“The world is constantly changing, and so is wrestling. Each year, new things can be discovered in our sport. You cannot follow a single path and stick to it tooth and nail. Of course, I have a basic idea of what kind of coach I want to be, but I will always add something new to it. I would look at wrestling with more eyes. Fortunately, I can learn from excellent colleagues, so everything is given to my development. I want to give as much as possible to our athletes, with patience and dedication. That’s my philosophy.”
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