The Beach Wrestling World Series sees its fourth time back in the beautiful country of Romania, however this time not in Constanta but Timisoara. This leg marks the midway point of the season, and the wrestlers are more than ever keen to establish themselves in the overall rankings. With more points up for grabs, heading into the second half of the season makes the stakes higher than ever. Who will be crowned the Kings and Queens of Sand in Romania will be revealed when the action unfolds in Timisoara’s Roses Park.

Situated in the country’s western region, Timisoara may not be a typical seaside spot, however the rich history and passion for wrestling within the country makes it the ideal location for connecting to the roots of the sport. The Serie’s third tournament of the season will unfold in Roses Park, a stunning landscaped venue and sports park where various activities take place on the sanded sports area. This is not the first-time athletes have participated in World Series event not on the beach as 2019 in Chaves, Portugal and Zagreb, Croatia saw the sandy pits inland. The United World Wrestling’s fastest growing style continues to push athletes outside of their comfort zones with sand being the biggest factor in creating unpredictability as well as the elements that come with competing outside, beachfront or not.

Now just over a week out from competition, wrestlers will be making their final preparations as they go head-to-head sandside. While many faces will return from last stop’s Saint-Laurent-du-Var tournament, there will also be a swarm of new and returning names debuting for the first time this season. We can expect to see the largest turnout of the season so far with a total of 88 athletes from 16 nations ready to clash with large teams from Greece, Moldova, host-nation Romania, and Ukraine, promising strong competition across all divisions.

In the women’s 50kg division, home-crowd favourite Ana Maria PIRVU (ROU) saw a strong third place in the last stop and is expected to bring the same strength to her home sand. However, that won’t go without contention and pressure from France’s Justine Fanny VIGOUROUX. The women’s 60kg division has been dominated by the Ukrainians for much of the season so far by the likes of Anastasiya KRAVCHENKO, Sofiia KUSHNIR, and the second stop’s Top Technique Winner Sofiia BORDINSKYKH. Will an outsider upset this division?

Looking to the women’s 70kg division, Ukrainian’s Oksana KUKHTA HEREL and Olena NIKITINSKA are so far sitting number one and two respectively in the overall rankings, however Romanian local favourite Adina Ionela IRIMIA is comfortably sitting third in the rankings and with a crowd backing her, she is more than capable of putting pressure on the Ukrainian women. With the absence the +70kg division’s domination of Eliana BOMMARITO (USA) who will be likely sitting this leg out, Grecian Stefania ZACHEILA and Saint-Laurent-du-Var’s bronze medallist Iryna PASICHNYK (UKR) are in contention to take home a win in Romania.

In the men’s 70kg division, overall ranking leader Ukrainian Oleksii BORUTA will be fighting for another win. Teammate Ivan SEMENOV (UKR), Mexican stop winner American Justin BENJAMIN, and Frenchman Quentin STICKER will seek to block his winning streak. The men’s 80kg category will be one to keep us on our toes with French stop winner Moldovan Vasile DIACON and silver medallist Christos CHRISTOFORIDIS of Greece present. France’s Hugo CUENOT and Alberto MARTINEZ NAVARRO of Spain who were respectively third and fourth in France will also be there to give the top picks a run for their money.

The men’s 90kg category could see this season’s current overall ranking leader Ibrahim YUSUBOV (AZE) as a favourite for a win. Or perhaps an upset is on the horizon with Mahmut Seyfi OZKAYA (TUR) or even Saint-Laurent-du-Var’s stop winner Traian CAPATINA of Moldova, both there to put pressure on the Azerbaijani. In the men’s +90kg category, powerhouses Fatih YASARLI (TUR) and Mamuka KORDZAIA (GEO) are sure favourites to take home victory. However, this division has some new power players in the mix this season with Americans Jonovan Darius SMITH and Kyle FERRITER, and Vazha DAIAURI (UKR) who are sure to shake up the sand in Romania.

Time will tell who comes out on top in Timisoara when the sand flies in Roses Park on 20-21 July. With a weekend promising non-stop action, those in the area can expect all the usual thrills and spills in the ring, and for those who can’t join us sandside be sure to tune into the livestream on the Beach Wrestling World Series YouTube Channel. Until then keep an eye out for sneak-peaks across our channels.