Kan-Demir Kuular, famous Tuvan wrestler and Russian sumo champion in 2006 (under 85 kg), has come third in the European Sumo Championship, which has just finished in Riesa, Germany. Another Tuvan, Adar Kuular, was a championship referee.
In the present championship, already Riesa’s 4th European Sumo-Wrestling Championship, a total of 110 athletes from 15 European nations have taken part, 69 men and 41 women. The dominating wrestlers were, as usual, from the Russian Federation, whose athletes, especially their women, have garnered most of the medals.
In men's team contest the Russian Federation won a gold medal, Bulgaria the silver, and the third place was shared by Netherlands and Poland. Russian women came first in team contest with Ukraine as runner-up, and Germany and Bulgaria came third.
The city of Riesa was founded in 1119 A.D. and has today 37.000 inhabitants. Prior to the fall of the “iron curtain” in 1990, Riesa was known for its heavy industry and steelworks. Nowadays it still is home for a steelworking plant, a tire manufacturer, and respective sub-contractors.
For ten to twelve years, Riesa has also become a well-known sports city with the respective infrastructure for large sporting events, of which the major indoor facility is the Erdgas-Arena (with up to 9.000 seats). Riesa was the first city outside of Japan to hold a Sumo-Wrestling World Championship in 1999, and was again selected for this yearly event in 2004.
