The key facts

  • Russia — first place in the medal standings of the Sambo World Championship: 25 medals, including 18 gold
  • The tournament was held from November 6 to 8 in Tashkent
  • The Russian sambo athletes competed under the flag and anthem, unlike their neutral status at the Olympics

First place in the medal standings

The Russian team took first place in the medal standings of the Sambo World Championship, held in Tashkent from November 6 to 8. According to Gazeta.Ru, the Russians won 25 medals: 18 gold, three silver and four bronze.

How the medals were distributed

The team took most of its gold in combat sambo — ten medals. The Russians won six more gold medals in sport sambo and two in sambo among blind athletes. The tournament went well for the national team from the very start: over the first two days the team took 15 medals, and added another ten on the final day.

Context: the status of Russian athletes

The performance in Tashkent took place under national state symbols. This distinguishes sambo from the Olympic Games: after the IOC recommendation at the end of February 2022 not to admit Russian and Belarusian athletes to competitions, at the 2024 and 2026 Games Russians competed in a neutral status. At the same time, a number of international federations, including sambo, judo and boxing, have returned to Russian athletes the right to compete under the flag and anthem.

Youth success in October

The senior team's success follows an October result: at the youth world championship Russian sambo athletes won 51 medals — 33 gold, 11 silver and 7 bronze, also competing under national symbols. In addition, earlier the Russian team won gold at the European Judo Team Championship.