With medals, ranking points and momentum all at stake, the sport's biggest names largely delivered. The packed stands and passionate Georgian crowd created an atmosphere befitting the country's first-ever Beach Wrestling World Series event, as the in-form athletes continued to set the pace, and the home favourites had their moments in another memorable chapter of the 2026 season.

Let's dive straight into the action, starting with the women's 50 kg division. Ukrainian Viktoriia Slobodeniuk claimed gold, winning two of her three bouts. Even her defeat at the hands of Romania's Ana Rotaru was not enough to deny her the title. She also walked away with the Women's Top Technique award following another impressive performance. Rotaru continued her consistent season to take silver after securing two victories of her own, including a 3–1 win over the eventual champion. Meanwhile, Diana Rysova rounded off the podium with bronze.

The men's 70 kg division then brought the Georgian crowd to life as the host nation secured its first medal of the evening. With the home crowd behind him, Davit Partenadze beat Ukraine's Ivan Semenov 4–2 to win bronze and set off huge celebrations at Batumi Beach Stadium.

In the gold medal bout, Ukraine's Oleksii Boruta faced Iran's Aliakbar Zaroudi in a tense and tactical contest. The pair spent much of the opening period probing for an opportunity to attack, before Zaroudi broke the deadlock with 1 minute and 5 seconds remaining by forcing Boruta out of the circle to take a 1–0 lead. Boruta tried to respond, but with just five seconds left, Zaroudi countered brilliantly, pushing the Ukrainian out of the circle once more to secure a 2–0 victory and the gold medal. Boruta had to settle for silver, seeing his hopes of a third consecutive World Series victory come to an end.

It simply hasn't been Anastasiya Kravchenko's season so far: the defending women's 60 kg champion missed out on the podium for the third consecutive time. This time, it was her fellow Ukrainian, Oksana Moskalova, who ended her medal hopes by claiming bronze with a 4–1 victory.

Having taken silver at the opening two events of the season, there had been a sense that Sofiia Kushnir's breakthrough moment was imminent. The Ukrainian finally climbed to the top of the podium at the third attempt, edging past Spain's Lydia Pérez 1–0 in a tense gold medal bout. Perez once again impressed to claim silver.

Daniel Cardenas impressed throughout the men's 80 kg division to secure his place in the bronze medal match. However, the American was up against an inspired Vusal Aliyev. The Azerbaijani proved to be in a class of his own, racing to a 4–0 victory in just 48 seconds to secure his place on the podium.

In the gold medal bout, Luka Chkhitunidze was attempting to win his third consecutive World Series event after victories in Da Nang and Poreč. Opposing him was Iran's Ali Gholami, one of the weekend's standout performers. In front of a partisan crowd in Batumi, Chkhitunidze won a tense final 2–1 to complete the hat-trick. The Georgian had built a 2–0 lead before Gholami narrowed the gap with just two seconds remaining. However, the late score proved to be little more than a consolation, as the hosts celebrated their first gold medal of the weekend, alongside Davit Partenadze's earlier bronze. At least Gholami left Batumi with the Men's Top Technique award to accompany his silver medal.

Olena Nikitinska has been outstanding this season in the women's 70 kg division, and showed no signs of slowing down her pursuit of the World Series title in Batumi. The Ukrainian won all three of her bouts to claim gold, securing first place with a 3-0 victory over her compatriot, Halyna Oleksiivska. Serbia's Masa Perović returned to the podium for the second event in succession, adding a bronze medal to the silver she won in Poreč.

The men's 90 kg division brought a third medal for the host nation, with Eros Shvelidze adding bronze to Georgia's growing tally after narrowly beating compatriot Tornike Tulashvili 1–0 in a closely contested match.

However, the real drama came in the gold medal match. Iran's Amirhossein Kavousi quickly took a 2–0 lead against Azerbaijan's Ashraf Ashirov, seemingly destined to win the title. Ashirov had other ideas though, storming back to level the score before both wrestlers crashed out of the circle during the decisive exchange. The referee initially awarded the point to Kavousi, but Ashirov challenged the decision. Replays showed that Kavousi's hand had touched the sand outside the ring by the narrowest of margins before Ashirov's, handing the Azerbaijani the decisive point and the gold medal. Kavousi was left to settle for silver after seeing victory slip away in heartbreaking fashion.

Having missed the opening event in Da Nang, three-time Women's +70 kg World Champion Eliana Bommarito has been unbeatable since returning to the tour. After winning gold in Poreč, the American repeated the feat in Batumi, winning all three of her bouts inside the three-minute time limit.

The gold-medal-deciding bout proved to be a winner-takes-all affair against Ukrainian newcomer Mariia Zenkina. However, Bommarito once again showed her class to secure the victory and claim her second consecutive gold medal. Zenkina can take plenty of positives from her World Series debut, however, leaving Batumi with a well-earned silver medal. Meanwhile, Greece's Stefania Zacheila claimed bronze after defeating France's Angelique Gonzalez.

With two gold medals from two appearances this season, Bommarito has gathered significant momentum in her pursuit of a fourth consecutive World Championship title later this year.

Mamuka Kordzaia is a legend in this region of Georgia, and his wife and three children watched him claim a well-deserved bronze medal with a 3–0 victory over his teammate, Tedore Ebanoidze.

Seyedamirreza Sahraeimahali of Iran brought the curtain down on a brilliant weekend of Beach Wrestling by claiming gold in the men's +90kg division. The Iranian produced a dominant performance to defeat Ukraine's Vazha Daiauri 3–0, securing the final gold medal in Batumi.

Georgia's first-ever Beach Wrestling World Series event delivered everything the organisers could have hoped for. From dramatic finals under the lights, to emotional home victories, to the continued success of some of the sport's biggest names, Batumi hosted a weekend that will be remembered for a long time.

The Series now pauses for its summer break, returning on 28–29 August when Baku, Azerbaijan will become the latest city to host the Beach Wrestling World Series for the first time.

Another spectacular weekend on the sand is promised, and as always, if you can't be there in person, you can follow all the action through the Beach Wrestling World Series social media channels and YouTube.

Results Batumi Beach Wrestling World Series
Women
50 kg
1- Viktoriia SLOBODENIUK (UKR)
2- Ana Maria ROTARU (ROU)
3- Diana RYSOVA (UKR)

60 kg
1- Sofiia KUSCHNIR (UKR)
2- Lydia PEREZ (ESP)
3- Oksana MOSKALOVA (UKR)

70 kg
1- Olena NIKITINSKA (UKR)
2- Halyna OLEKSIIVSKA (UKR)
3- Masa PEROVIC (SRB)

+70 kg
1- Eliana BOMMARITO (USA)
2– Mariia ZENKINA (UKR)
3- Stefania ZACHEILA (GRE)

Men
70 kg
1- Aliakbar ZAROUDI (IRI)
2- Oleksii BORUTA (UKR)
3- Davit PARTENADZE (GEO)

80 kg
1- Luka CHKHITUNIDZE (GEO)
2- Ali GHOLAMI (IRI)
3- Vusal ALIYEV (AZE) 

90 kg
1- Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE)
2- Amirhossein KAVOUSI (IRI)
3- Evsem SHVELIDZE (GEO)

+90 kg
1- Seyedamirreza SAHRAEIMAHALI (IRI)
2- Vazha DAIAURI (UKR) 
3- Mamuka KORDZAIA (GEO)

Women’s Top Technique Winner – Viktoriia Slobodeniuk, UKR 50 kg
Men’s Top Technique Winner – Ali Mohammad Gholami, IRI 80 kg

Find the complete results here.