ASportIndependent states
Kyrgyz wrestling
The sport that has won most of Kyrgyzstan's Olympic medals — Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling.
Wrestling is an old Kyrgyz tradition — alysh and horseback wrestling were always favourites at festivities — and it lives on in modern Olympic wrestling.
Kanatbek Begaliev won Greco-Roman silver in Beijing in 2008. At Tokyo 2020 Akzhol Makhmudov and Aisuluu Tynybekova took silver and Meerim Zhumanazarova bronze, and at Paris 2024 five of Kyrgyzstan's six medals came in wrestling.
Kyrgyz women wrestlers are especially strong — Tynybekova and Zhumanazarova have both been world champions — and hundreds of children train in wrestling clubs in Bishkek and the regions.
Sources
Updated: October 3, 2026