From: United World Wrestling Press
[email protected] Subject: Financial Assistance Programs Boost Wrestling Nations in Olympic Year Date: June 1, 2021 at 8:25 AM To:
[email protected] Financial Assistance Programs Boost Wrestling Nations in Olympic Year Augusto MIDANA (GBS) qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games after receiving financial assistance to attend the qualification event in Tunisia. (Photo: UWW) CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (June 1) -- As the COVID pandemic swept the globe and impacted lives and economies worldwide, United World Wrestling - led by president Nenad Lalovic and the UWW bureau - worked to create financial opportunities for small, heavily affected nations keen to continue in their Olympic journey even as financial opportunities dwindled. In addition to existing programming, Lalovic and the bureau settled on direct assistance to support athletes and coaches in their quest to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games. Utilizing its established Technical Assistance program, UWW supported 121 athletes and coaches from 43 nations. "We were determined to assist all our national associations and stay united through the most difficult challenges," said Lalovic. "These past 16 months have tested our resilience, but we've stayed united as a family and through the efforts delivered by the UWW Development Team, we saw great buy-in and five athletes who were able to qualify." Georgios PILIDIS (GRE) qualified during the World Olympic Qualifier in Sofia. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan) Of the recipients, five athletes successfully qualified