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Legendary Turkish wrestler Rıza Kayaalp broke a 27-year-old record by winning his 13th European Wrestling Championship title, while neutral-status athletes from Russia and Belarus led the medal standings after the first finals of the continental championship in Tirana, Albania.
The Bulgarian national team also performed strongly, with Semen Novikov and Stefan Grigorov winning medals, while Kiril Milov advanced to the gold medal match and is set to secure a third medal for the team tomorrow.
Kayaalp had to overcome serious challenges to reach the title in Albania. The Greco-Roman heavyweight (130 kg) was handed a two-year doping ban in March 2025, but after an appeal, the sanction was reduced to January 1, 2026, on the grounds that he had taken the prohibited substance unintentionally. This allowed the Turkish wrestler to compete in Tirana, where his bout was not only the most anticipated but also the most intense.
Kayaalp left no doubt about his dominance in the division, defeating Hungary’s Darius Vitek 7–1 in the final. The bronze medals went to Ukraine’s Mykhailo Vyshnyvetskyi and neutral athlete Pavel Khlinchuk of Belarus.
This marked the 13th European title in the career of the 36-year-old Kayaalp, who first became continental champion in 2010 in Baku. The Turkish star surpassed the achievement of another great legend of European wrestling, Alexander Karelin, who dominated the continental scene between 1988 and 2000.
A key difference between the two remains Olympic gold: Karelin won three titles (Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996), while Kayaalp has three Olympic medals but no gold. This is largely due to another remarkable streak—that of Cuba’s Mijaín López, who won five consecutive Olympic titles before retiring after the Paris Olympics two years ago.
The finals in Tirana began with Russian victories. Emin Sefershaev defeated Georgia’s Vakhtang Lolua 2–1 to defend his 55 kg title, while earlier Stefan Grigorov secured Bulgaria’s first medal with a win over Armenia’s Manvel Khachatryan. The second bronze went to Azerbaijan’s Rashad Mammadov.
Shortly after, Sergey Emelin also retained his European title at 63 kg with a dominant 9–0 victory over Moldova’s Vitalie Eriomenco, while the bronze medals went to Turkey’s Kerem Kamal and Armenia’s Karen Aslanyan.
In the third final, Armenia’s Malkhas Amoyan defeated Georgia’s Ramaz Zoidze on criteria (first point scored) to become European champion for the fifth consecutive time. Bronze medals were won by Hungary’s Róbert Fritsch and Sweden’s Karl Baff.
At 87 kg, Denmark’s Turpal Bisultanov defeated Bulgaria’s Olympic champion Semen Novikov, while the bronze medals went to Ukraine’s Mykhailo Vyshnyvetskyi and neutral athlete Pavel Khlinchuk of Belarus.
