European Wrestling Championships

European Wrestling Championships
Status active
Genre sports event
Date(s) February – May
Frequency annual
Location(s) various
Inaugurated 1911
Activity amateur wrestling
Organised by FILA → UWW Europe

The European Wrestling Championships is the second oldest international wrestling competition of the modern world and the main wrestling championships in Europe. It predates World Wrestling Championships and other regional wrestling championships and is second only to the wrestling events at the Olympics. From its inception in 1898 till 1927 only Greco-Roman wrestling was contested. Since 1929 separate freestyle wrestling events were held as well. Since 1970 the two Olympic wrestling styles were contested together during the same unified events. Since 1973 Sambo wrestling was included into the championships programme along with GR and freestyle wrestling (subsequently discontinued and from 1983 contested separately). Since 2014 associated traditional wrestling styles recognized globally by UWW were incorporated into the annual championships schedule.

Summary

Until 2005 there was held separate championships for each wrestling style. First women championships was held in 1988.

Pre 1911

No. Year City Country Date Venue Style Events Winner
1 1898 Vienna Austria-Hungary GR 1 (Open) Russian Empire
2 1902 The Hague Netherlands GR 1 (Open) Denmark
3 1903 Rotterdam Netherlands February 8 GR 1 (Open) Denmark
4 1904 Amsterdam Netherlands January 24 GR 1 (Open) Bohemia
5 1905 Amsterdam Netherlands January 28 – 29 GR 1 (Open) Netherlands
6 1906 The Hague Netherlands January 28 GR 3 German Empire
7 1907 Copenhagen Denmark GR 3 Denmark
Vienna Austria-Hungary GR 1 (Open) Austria
8 1909 Malmö Sweden February GR 4 Sweden
Dresden German Empire September GR 4 German Empire
9 1910 Budapest Austria-Hungary GR 3 Denmark

Post 1911

No. Year City Country Date Venue Style Events Winner
1 1911 Budapest Austria-Hungary GR 4 Austria
2 1921 Offenbach Germany GR 5 Germany
3 1924 Neunkirchen Germany GR 7 Germany
4 1925 Milan Italy GR 6 Hungary
5 1926 Riga Latvia GR 6 Germany
6 1927 Budapest Hungary GR 6 Hungary
7 1929 Paris France February FS 7 Sweden
Dortmund Germany April GR 6 Sweden
8 1930 Stockholm Sweden March GR 7 Sweden
Brussels Belgium May FS 7 Belgium
9 1931 Prague Czechoslovakia March GR 7 Finland
Budapest Hungary October FS 7 Hungary
10 1933 Helsinki Finland March GR 7 Finland
Paris France November FS 7 Switzerland
11 1934 Rome Italy April GR 7 Sweden
Stockholm Sweden October FS 7 Sweden
12 1935 Copenhagen Denmark April GR 7 Nazi Germany
Brussels Belgium September FS 7 Hungary
13 1937 Paris France May GR 7 Sweden
Munchen Nazi Germany October FS 7 Nazi Germany
14 1938 Tallinn Estonia GR 7 Sweden
15 1939 Oslo Norway GR 7 Sweden
16 1946 Stockholm Sweden FS 8 Turkey
17 1947 Prague Czechoslovakia April 11 – 14 GR 8 Sweden
18 1949 Istanbul Turkey FS 8 Turkey
19 1966 Essen West Germany GR 8 Soviet Union
Carlsruhe West Germany FS 8 Soviet Union
20 1967 Minsk Soviet Union Minsk Sports Palace GR 8 Soviet Union
Istanbul Turkey FS 8 Turkey
21 1968 Västerås Sweden June 14 – 16 GR 8 Soviet Union
Skopje Yugoslavia July 2 – 4 FS 8 Bulgaria
22 1969 Modena Italy GR 10 Yugoslavia
Sofia Bulgaria FS 10 Soviet Union
23 1970 East Berlin East Germany June 9 – 14 GR 10 East Germany
FS 10 Soviet Union
24 1972 Katowice Poland May 24 – 30 Spodek Arena GR 10 Soviet Union
FS 10 Soviet Union
25 1973 Losanna Switzerland March FS 10 Soviet Union
Helsinki Finland June GR 10 Bulgaria
26 1974 Madrid Spain June 21 – 29 Palacio de Deportes GR 10 Soviet Union
FS 10 Soviet Union
Sambo 10 Soviet Union
27 1975 Ludwigshafen West Germany GR 10 Soviet Union
FS 10 Soviet Union
Sambo 10 not contested
28 1976 Leningrad Soviet Union April 12 – 23 Yubileyny Sports Palace GR 10 Soviet Union
FS 10 Soviet Union
Sambo 10 Soviet Union
29 1977 Bursa Turkey GR 10 Soviet Union
FS 10 Soviet Union
30 1978 Sofia Bulgaria April 22 – 24 GR 10 Romania
May 5 – 7 FS 10 Bulgaria
31 1979 Bucharest Romania April 16 – 21 GR 10 Romania
FS 10 Soviet Union
32 1980 Prievidza Czechoslovakia April 20 – 27 GR 10 Soviet Union
FS 10 Soviet Union
33 1981 Gothenburg Sweden April 8 – 11 GR 10 Soviet Union
Łódź Poland April 23 – 26 FS 10 Soviet Union
34 1982 Varna Bulgaria April 17 – 25 GR 10 Soviet Union
FS 10 Soviet Union
Sambo 10 Soviet Union
35 1983 Budapest Hungary April GR 10 Bulgaria
Soviet Union
April FS 10 Bulgaria
36 1984 Jönköping Sweden April GR 10 Soviet Union
April FS 10 Soviet Union
37 1985 Leipzig East Germany April GR 10 Soviet Union
April FS 10 Soviet Union
38 1986 Piraeus Greece April 14 – 20 GR 10 Soviet Union
FS 10 Soviet Union
39 1987 Veliko Tarnovo Bulgaria May FS 10 Soviet Union
Tampere Finland May GR 10 Soviet Union
40 1988 Manchester UK April FS 10 Soviet Union
Kolbotn Norway May GR 10 Soviet Union
Dijon France July LF 9 France
41 1989 Oulu Finland May 5 – 7 GR 10 Soviet Union
Ankara Turkey May 12 – 14 FS 10 Soviet Union
42 1990 Poznań Poland May 6 – 8 FS 10 Soviet Union
May 1 – 15 GR 10 Soviet Union
43 1991 Aschaffenburg Germany April GR 10 Soviet Union
Stuttgart May FS 10 Soviet Union
44 1992 Copenhagen Denmark April 24 GR 10 CIS
Kaposvár Hungary May 1 FS 10 CIS
45 1993 Istanbul Turkey January GR 10 Russia
January FS 10 Turkey
Ivanovo Russia January Ivanovo Sports Palace LF 9 Russia
46 1994 Athens Greece April GR 10 Russia
Ukraine
Rome Italy April FS 10 Russia
47 1995 Besançon France 26–30 April GR 10 Russia
Fribourg Switzerland 8–11 April FS 10 Russia
48 1996 Budapest Hungary 21 March GR 10 Russia
27 March FS 10 Russia
Oslo Norway June LF 9 Russia
49 1997 Kouvola Finland May GR 8 Turkey
Warsaw Poland May FS 8 Russia
LF 6 France
50 1998 Minsk Belarus April Minsk Sports Palace GR 8 Russia
Bratislava Slovakia May FS 8 Ukraine
LF 6 Russia
51 1999 Minsk Belarus April 15 – 18 Minsk Sports Palace FS 8 Russia
Götzis Austria April 24 – May 1 LF 6 France
Sofia Bulgaria May 13 – 16 GR 8 Russia
52 2000 Moscow Russia April 13 – 18 CSKA Arena GR 8 Russia
Budapest Hungary April 9 Népstadion FS 8 Russia
LF 6 Russia
53 2001 Budapest Hungary April FS 8 Russia
LF 6 Russia
Istanbul Turkey May GR 8 Turkey
54 2002 Seinäjoki Finland April GR 7 Russia
LF 7 Russia
Baku Azerbaijan May 1 Heydar Aliyev Sports Complex FS 7 Russia
55 2003 Belgrade Serbia and Montenegro May 1 GR 7 Russia
Riga Latvia May 23 FS 7 Russia
LF 7 Russia
56 2004 Haparanda Sweden April 8 – 11 GR 7 Ukraine
LF 7 Ukraine
Ankara Turkey April 23 – 25 FS 7 Russia
57 2005 Varna Bulgaria April GR 7 Russia
FS 7 Ukraine
LF 7 Russia
58 2006 Moscow Russia April 25 – 30 Megasport Arena GR 7 Turkey
FS 7 Russia
LF 7 Russia
59 2007 Sofia Bulgaria April 17 – 22 Winter Sports Palace GR 7 Russia
FS 7 Ukraine
LF 7 Russia
60 2008 Tampere Finland April 1 – 6 Tampere Sports Centre GR 7 Russia
FS 7 Russia
LF 7 Russia
61 2009 Vilnius Lithuania March 31 – April 5 Utenos pramogų arena GR 7 Russia
FS 7 Azerbaijan
LF 7 Russia
62 2010 Baku Azerbaijan April 13 – 18 Heydar Aliyev Sports Complex GR 7 Russia
FS 7 Russia
LF 7 Russia
63 2011 Dortmund Germany March 29 – April 3 Westfalenhallen GR 7 Russia
FS 7 Russia
LF 7 Ukraine
64 2012 Belgrade Serbia March 8 – 11 Kombank Arena GR 7 Russia
FS 7 Russia
LF 7 Ukraine
65 2013 Tbilisi Georgia March 19 – 24 Tbilisi Sports Palace GR 7 Russia
FS 7 Russia
LF 7 Ukraine
66 2014 Vantaa Finland April 1 – 6 Trio Arena GR 8 Russia
FS 8 Russia
LF 8 Russia
67 2016 Riga Latvia March 8 – 13 Arena Riga GR 8 Russia
FS 8 Georgia
LF 8 Ukraine
68 2017 Novi Sad Serbia May 2 – 7 SPC Vojvodina GR 8 Hungary
FS 8 Azerbaijan
LF 8 Russia
69 2018 Kaspiysk Russia April 30 – May 6 Ali Aliyev Sport Complex GR 10 Russia
FS 10 Russia
LF 10 Russia
70 2019 Bucharest Romania April 8 – 14 Polyvalent Hall GR 10 Russia
FS 10 Russia
LF 10 Ukraine
71 2020 Rome Italy February 10 – 16 PalaPellicone GR 10 Russia
FS 10 Russia
LF 10 Russia
72 2021 Warsaw Poland April 19 – 25 Torwar Hall GR 10 Russia
FS 10 Russia
LF 10 Russia
73 2022 Budapest Hungary March 28 – April 3 Budapest Sports Arena GR 10 Azerbaijan
FS 10 Azerbaijan
LF 10 Turkey
74 2023 Zagreb Croatia April 17 – 23 Arena Zagreb GR 10 Turkey
FS 10 Azerbaijan
LF 10 Ukraine
75 2024 Bucharest Romania February 12 – 18 TBA GR 10 TBD
FS 10 TBD
LF 10 TBD
  • FS : Freestyle / GR : Greco-Roman / LF : Women's Freestyle
  • Until 2018 : 67 GR, 60 FS, 24 LF

All-time medal table

Updated after the 2023 European Wrestling Championships.

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Russia 242 98 95 435
2 Soviet Union 230 107 73 410
3 Bulgaria 145 149 163 457
4 Turkey 112 92 150 354
5 Sweden 85 74 83 242
6 Germany 75 111 126 312
7 Hungary 67 94 96 257
8 Ukraine 63 86 109 258
9 Azerbaijan 63 47 56 166
10 Poland 38 66 88 192
11 Finland 35 35 46 116
12 Georgia 32 48 80 160
13 Romania 31 78 88 197
14 Armenia 31 27 37 95
15 France 27 29 71 127
16 Belarus 21 60 72 153
17 East Germany 16 38 40 94
18 Italy 14 16 37 67
19 Yugoslavia 12 13 15 40
20 Norway 11 18 21 50
21 Switzerland 8 14 10 32
22 Moldova 8 13 27 48
23 CIS 8 3 2 13
24 Greece 6 20 26 52
25 Estonia 6 14 13 33
26 Slovakia 6 4 9 19
27 Austria 5 7 9 21
28 Latvia 5 5 8 18
29 Czechoslovakia 4 11 32 47
30 Belgium 4 11 5 20
31 Denmark 4 7 4 15
32 Serbia 3 5 13 21
33 North Macedonia 2 0 5 7
34 Czech Republic 1 3 6 10
35 San Marino 1 2 1 4
36 Egypt 1 1 2 4
37 Israel 0 7 5 12
38 Great Britain 0 4 4 8
39 Iran 0 4 1 5
40 Lithuania 0 2 7 9
41 Albania 0 2 2 4
42 Spain 0 1 7 8
43 Netherlands 0 1 4 5
44 Monaco 0 1 0 1
45 Croatia 0 0 8 8
46 Slovenia 0 0 1 1
Totals (46 entries) 1422 1428 1757 4607

European U23 Wrestling Championships

The European U23 Wrestling Championships is main wrestling championships in Europe.

Edition Year Host city Host country Events
1 2015 Wałbrzych Poland 24
2 2016 Russe Bulgaria 24
3 2017 Szombathely Hungary 24
4 2018 Istanbul Turkey 30
5 2019 Novi Sad Serbia 30
6 2021 Skopje North Macedonia 30
7 2022 Plovdiv Bulgaria 30
8 2023 Bucharest Romania 30
9 2024 Baku Azerbaijan 30

Medals U23

As of 2023 European U23 Wrestling Championship
Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Russia 53 30 37 120
2 Georgia 27 20 40 87
3 Azerbaijan 26 17 38 81
4 Turkey 22 28 69 119
5 Ukraine 22 24 36 82
6 Hungary 12 7 28 47
7 Moldova 9 8 20 37
8 Poland 9 5 15 29
9 Belarus 6 9 23 38
10 France 6 5 7 18
11 Germany 5 7 23 35
12 Finland 5 2 3 10
13 Armenia 4 12 23 39
14 Romania 4 9 14 27
15 Sweden 4 5 6 15
16 Bulgaria 2 7 15 24
17 Greece 2 1 3 6
18 Serbia 1 3 3 7
19 Denmark 1 2 0 3
20 Italy 1 1 6 8
21 Netherlands 1 0 1 2
22 Croatia 0 4 1 5
23 Lithuania 0 3 4 7
24 Austria 0 3 2 5
25 Slovakia 0 3 1 4
26 Czech Republic 0 3 0 3
27 Norway 0 2 8 10
28 Estonia 0 1 2 3
Israel 0 1 2 3
30 Latvia 0 0 2 2
31 Albania 0 0 1 1
Belgium 0 0 1 1
Great Britain 0 0 1 1
North Macedonia 0 0 1 1
Totals (34 entries) 222 222 436 880

Youth Wrestling

European Espoirs Wrestling Championships (U20)

Main article: European Espoirs Wrestling Championships

The European Espoirs Wrestling Championships is main wrestling championships in Europe.

Edition Year Host city Host country Events
1 1970 Huskvarna Sweden 20
2 1972 Hvar Yugoslavia 20
3 1974 Haparanda Sweden 20
4 1976 Poznań Poland 20
5 1978 Oulu Finland 20
6 1982 Leipzig East Germany 20
7 1984 Slaghaven Denmark (LL) 10
Fredrikshavn Denmark (GR) 10
8 1986 Lidköping Sweden (LL) 10
Malmö Sweden (GR) 10
9 1988 Wałbrzych Poland 20
10 1990 Unknown Unknown 20
11 1992 Szekesfehervar Hungary 20
12 1994 Kuortane Finland (LL) 10
Istanbul Turkey (GR) 10

LL : Freestyle / GR : Greco-Roman / LF : Women's Freestyle

European Juniors Wrestling Championship (U20)

Main article: European Juniors Wrestling Championships

The European Juniors Wrestling Championships is main wrestling championships in Europe.

Edition Year Host city Host country Events
1 1980 Bursa Turkey 20
2 1981 Unknown Unknown (GR) 10
3 1984 Łódź Poland 20
4 1985 Bologna Italy 20
5 1987 Katowice Poland 20
6 1989 Bursa Turkey (LL) 10
Witten Germany (GR) 10
7 1991 Istanbul Turkey (LL) 10
8 1993 Goetzis Austria 20
9 1995 Witten Germany (LL , GR) 20
Klippan Sweden (LF) 7
10 1996 Sofia Bulgaria (LL , GR) 20
Rodby Denmark (LF) 8
11 1997 Istanbul Turkey (LL , GR) 20
Hradec Králové Czech Republic (LF) 8
12 1998 Radovis North Macedonia (LL) 10
Tirana Albania (GR) 10
Patras Greece (LF) 8
13 1999 Budapest Hungary (GR , LF) 17
Riga Latvia (LL) 9
14 2000 Sofia Bulgaria 26
15 2002 Tirana Albania (LL , LF) 17
Subotica Yugoslavia (GR) 9
Edition Year Host city Host country Events
16 2004 Sofia Bulgaria (LL , LF) 16
Murska Sobota Slovenia (GR) 8
17 2005 Wroclaw Poland 24
18 2006 Szombathely Hungary 24
19 2007 Belgrade Serbia 24
20 2008 Košice Slovakia 24
21 2009 Tbilisi Georgia 24
22 2010 Samokov Bulgaria 24
23 2011 Zrenjanin Serbia 24
24 2012 Zagreb Croatia 24
25 2013 Skopje North Macedonia 24
26 2014 Warsaw Poland 24
27 2015 Istanbul Turkey 24
28 2016 Bucharest Romania 24
29 2017 Dortmund Germany 24
30 2018 Rome Italy 30
31 2019 Pontevedra Spain 30
32 2021 Dortmund Germany 30
33 2022 Rome Italy 30
34 2023 Santiago de Compostela Spain 30
35 2024 Warsaw Poland

LL : Freestyle / GR : Greco-Roman / LF : Women's Freestyle

European Cadets Wrestling Championship (U17)

Main article: European Cadets Wrestling Championships

The European Cadets Wrestling Championships is main wrestling championships in Europe.

Edition Year Host city Host country Events
1 1986 Bursa Turkey 26
2 1988 Izmir Turkey 22
3 2000 Bratislava Slovakia 30
4 2001 Izmir Turkey 30
5 2002 Vilnius Lithuania (LL) 10
Odesa Ukraine (GR) 10
Albena Bulgaria (LF) 10
6 2003 Skopje North Macedonia (LL) 10
Rostov-on-Don Russia (GR) 10
Sevilla Spain (LF) 10
7 2004 Albena Bulgaria (GR , LF) 20
Istanbul Turkey (LL) 10
8 2005 Tirana Albania 30
9 2006 Istanbul Turkey 30
10 2007 Warsaw Poland 30
11 2008 Daugavpils Latvia 30
12 2009 Zrenjanin Serbia 30
13 2010 Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina 30
14 2011 Warsaw Poland 30
15 2012 Katowice Poland 30
16 2013 Bar Montenegro 30
17 2014 Samokov Bulgaria 30
18 2015 Subotica Serbia 30
19 2016 Stockholm Sweden 30
20 2017 Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina 30
21 2018 Skopje North Macedonia 30
22 2019 Faenza Italy 30
23 2021 Samokov Bulgaria 30
24 2022 Bucharest Romania 30
25 2023 Tirana Albania 30
26 2024 Kuortane Finland

LL : Freestyle / GR : Greco-Roman / LF : Women's Freestyle

European Schools Wrestling Championship (U15)

Main article: European Schools Wrestling Championships

The European Schools Wrestling Championships is main wrestling championships in Europe.

Edition Year Host city Host country Events
1 2017 Belgrade Serbia 30
2 2018 Győr Hungary 30
3 2019 Kraków Poland 30
4 2021 Sofia Bulgaria 30
5 2022 Zagreb Croatia 30
6 2023 Kaposvár Hungary 30
7 2024 Loutraki Greece

Traditional wrestling

European Sambo Championships

Main article: European Sambo Championships

Among the decisions taken during the 1973 FILA Congress, held under the FILA President Milan Ercegan, Sambo, a special form of wrestling particularly practised in the USSR and Asia, was recognized. Among the decisions taken during the Congress, Sambo for the first time was included in the programme of the 1974 European Wrestling Championships (along with GR and freestyle.) During the Congress, the attribution of the next freestyle wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling and Sambo championships was decided as follows: European Championships: 1974 at Madrid (Spain,) 1975 at Ludwigshafen (West Germany,) 1976 in Turkey. World Championships: 1974 at Tehran. Junior European Championships: 1974 at Poznań (Poland.) Junior World Championships: 1973 at Miami (USA.) After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, anti-Soviet international sentiment led to a discontinuation of Sambo from the Championships programme.

European Grappling Championships

Main article: European Grappling Championships

The European Grappling Championships (GP) is main traditional wrestling championships in Europe.

Edition Year Host venue Events
1 2015 Sassari, Italy 26
2 2016 Rome, Italy 26
3 2017 Novi Sad, Serbia 26
4 2018 Kaspiysk, Russia 26

Sources:

European Pankration Championships

Main article: European Pankration Championships

The European Pankration Championships (PK) is main traditional wrestling championships in Europe.

Edition Year Host venue Events
1 2014 Bucharest, Romania
2 2015 Tbilisi, Georgia
3 2016 Budapest, Hungary
4 2017 Brindisi, Italy
5 2018 Zrenjanin, Serbia

Sources:

European Alysh Championships

Main article: European Alysh Championships

The European Alysh Championships (Belt Wrestling Alysh or BWUWW or AL) is main traditional wrestling championships in Europe.

Edition Year Host venue Events
1 2014 Liepaja, Latvia
2 2017 Novi Sad, Serbia 4
3 2018 Zrenjanin, Serbia

Sources:

European Pahlavani Championships

Main article: European Pahlavani Championships

The European Pahlavani Championships (Pahlavani Wrestling or PW) is main traditional wrestling championships in Europe.

Edition Year Host venue Events
1 2017 Novi Sad, Serbia
2 2019

Sources:

European Kazak Kuresi Championships

Main article: European Kazak Kuresi Championships

The European Kazak Kuresi Championships (Kazakh Wrestling or KK) is main traditional wrestling championships in Europe.

Edition Year Host venue Events
1 2014 Liepaja, Latvia
2 2017 Novi Sad, Serbia

Sources:

European Beach Wrestling Championships

Main article: European Beach Wrestling Championships

The European Beach Wrestling Championships (BW) is main traditional wrestling championships in Europe.

  • Until 2018 no competition.

See also