Russia’s Yemelin wins 2026 European Wrestling Championship in Albania

TIRANA, April 21. /TASS/. Russian wrestler Sergey Yemelin won gold on Tuesday at the 2026 European Wrestling Championships in Albania’s Tirana, becoming a three-time European champion. In the final bout, the Russian wrestler, who is competing under a neutral status at the European tournament, defeated Vitaly Yeremenko from Moldova in the under-63 kilogram weight category in the men’s Greco-Roman competition. Earlier in the day, another Russian wrestler, Emin Sefershayev, clinched the gold to become a three-time European champion in the Greco-Roman under-55 kg weight category. Yemelin, 30, now has three gold medals at the European championships, previously winning gold at the 2018 and 2021 tournaments. He also won a bronze at the 2018 Tokyo Olympics, as well as a silver at the 2019 Wrestling World Championships. Sefershayev, 28, defeated Vakhtang Lolua of Georgia in the final round. The Russian wrestler previously won golds at the 2021 and 2025 European Championships. He also won the silver and bronze at the World Championships in 2021 and 2024 respectively. The 2026 European Wrestling Championships run between April 20 and 26 in Tirana, Albania. Due to previously imposed sanctions, Russian athletes compete in the tournament under a neutral status flying the insignia of the United World Wrestling (UWW) federation.