Analysis of the performances of the Ukrainian national freestyle wrestling team at the U23 World and European Championships

Purpose: to analyze the performances of the Ukrainian national team at the U23 World and European Championships. Material and Methods. The following methods were used in the research: analysis of scientific and methodical literature and Internet sources, analysis of competitive activity, methods of mathematical statistics. The performances of the athletes of the national team of Ukraine at all U23 World and European Championships in freestyle wrestling were analyzed. During the international competitions in the U23 age category, seven European Championships (from 2015 to 2023) and five World Championships (from 2017 to 2022) were held. During this time, 64 athletes of the national team of Ukraine took part in the U23 European Championships and 48 athletes in the U23 World Championships. The following indicators were considered: the place taken, the number of athletes and the year of performance. Results: the total number of medalists at the U23 European Championships is 20 (31,3 %) athletes, of which 4 (6,3 %) athletes took the first place, 6 (9,4 %) athletes took the second place and 10 (15,6 %) athletes took the third place. At the same time, a significant number of athletes took fifth place (19 athletes or 29,7 %). From seventh to ninth place, 12 athletes took the seventh place, which is 18,8 % of the total number. The tenth place and below was taken by 13 athletes (or 20,3 %), which is also a significant share of the total number and indicates high competition. According to the analyzed information, at the U23 World Championships in freestyle wrestling, only one athlete out of 48 athletes of the national team of Ukraine took the first place, which is 2,1 % of the total. The 12 athletes who took third place account for 25,0 % of the total number of athletes. The athletes who took fifth and seventh places also make up 25,0 % of the total number. These are also promising athletes who were close to winning prizes. The 3 athletes in eighth place account for 6,25 % of the total number of athletes, and the 4 athletes in ninth place account for 8,33 %. Finally, the 16 athletes who took tenth place and below account for 33,33 % of the total number of athletes. Conclusions. The national team of Ukraine in freestyle wrestling at international U23 competitions has stable results, the athletes have always won prizes at all continental and world championships. The analysis showed that the percentage of winners from the total number of athletes who participated may vary depending on the preparation and performance of the team at a particular tournament. Thus, the percentage of winners at the championships ranged from 25,0 % to 40,0 %, while at the world championships from 20,0 % to 40,0 %.