Freestyle wrestler Magomed Magomaev from Russia has officially been declared the 2024 World Champion in the 79 kg weight division. This elevation occurred because his opponent, Avtandil Kentchadze of Georgia, faced disqualification due to an anti-doping violation. The confirmation of this status was published on the official website of the Wrestling Federation of Russia (WFR).
Initially, Magomaev secured the silver medal at the World Freestyle Wrestling Championships, held in Tirana between October 28th and 31st, 2024. In the final bout, he was defeated by Kentchadze with a score of 4:13. Nevertheless, on March 4th, 2026, the International Testing Agency (ITA) announced a twenty-month ban for Kentchadze, stemming from the detection of clomiphene in samples obtained both during the Tirana tournament and at the Georgian Championship in January 2025.
This testing outcome prompted a ruling by United World Wrestling (UWW) to reassign the medals from the 2024 World Championships. Specifically, in the up to 79 kg category, the gold automatically moved to Magomed Magomaev of Russia. The WFR communicated that they are expecting notification from the UWW regarding the readiness of the medal for handover, along with the official awards procedure, shortly.
Following this recalibration of standings, Mohammad Ashghar Nodalirimali of Iran was proclaimed the new World Vice-Champion, while the bronze medals were awarded to wrestler Akhsarbek Gulayev from Slovakia and Kota Takahashi from Japan.
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