Wikipedia

Grace Bullen

Grace Jacob Bullen (born 7 February 1997) is a Norwegian freestyle wrestler. She is an Olympic bronze medallist, World Championships silver and bronze medallist, three-time European champion, and European Games bronze medallist. Bullen won a bronze medal in the women's 62 kg event at the 2024 Summer Olympics and the gold medal at the European Championships in 2017, 2020 and 2024.[1][2]

Grace Bullen
Bullen at the 2024 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Full nameGrace Jacob Bullen
Born (1997-02-07) 7 February 1997 (age 27)
Ghinda, Eritrea
Sport
CountryNorway
SportAmateur wrestling
Weight class
  • 57 kg
  • 59 kg
  • 62 kg
EventFreestyle
Coached byZurabi Iakobishvili
Medal record
Women's freestyle wrestling
Representing  Norway
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Paris 62 kg
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2022 Belgrade 59 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Belgrade 62 kg
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Novi Sad 58 kg
Gold medal – first place 2020 Rome 57 kg
Gold medal – first place 2024 Bucharest 62 kg
Silver medal – second place 2016 Riga 58 kg
Silver medal – second place 2023 Zagreb 62 kg
European Games
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Baku 58 kg
Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Krasnoyarsk 57 kg
Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov Tournament
Silver medal – second place 2019 Ruse 57 kg
Grand Prix
Gold medal – first place 2022 Rome 59 kg
Gold medal – first place 2018 Klippan 59 kg
World U23 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2018 Bucharest 59 kg
World Juniors Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Tampere 59 kg
European Juniors Championships
Gold medal – first place 2015 İstanbul 59 kg
Gold medal – first place 2016 Bucharest 59 kg
Gold medal – first place 2017 Dortmund 59 kg
Summer Youth Olympics
Gold medal – first place 2014 Nanjing 60 kg
World Cadets Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Snina 60 kg
European Cadets Championships
Gold medal – first place 2013 Bar 60 kg
Gold medal – first place 2014 Samokov 60 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Katowice 56 kg

Bullen is also a U23 world champion and three-time European junior champion. She won the gold medal at the World U23 Championships in 2018 and the European Juniors Wrestling Championship in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Early life

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Born in a refugee camp in Eritrea to South Sudanese parents, she moved to Fredrikstad, Norway in 2001 at the age of four.[3] Already at the age of four she took up wrestling in the martial arts club Atlas.[3][4]

Career

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At the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics held in Nanjing, China, Bullen represented Norway and she won the gold medal in the girls' 60 kg event.[5][6] In the final, she defeated Pei Xingru of China.[5][6] In 2015, she represented Norway at the European Games held in Baku, Azerbaijan and she won one of the bronze medals in the women's 58 kg event.[7] She lost her first match against Emese Barka of Hungary and entered the repechage.[7] Here she won against Valeria Koblova by walkover and she defeated Irina Netreba of Azerbaijan in the bronze medal match.[7] Bullen also competed in the women's 58 kg event at the 2015 World Wrestling Championships held in Las Vegas, United States where she was eliminated in her second match by Marianna Sastin of Hungary.[8]

In 2016, Bullen won the silver medal in the women's 58 kg at the European Wrestling Championships held in Riga, Latvia.[9] In the final, she lost against Nataliya Synyshyn of Azerbaijan. The following year, she won the gold medal in the same event at the 2017 European Wrestling Championships held in Novi Sad, Serbia.[10][11] In the final, she defeated Mariana Cherdivara of Moldova.[10] In the same year, Bullen was eliminated in her first match in the women's 58 kg event at the 2017 World Wrestling Championships held in Paris, France.[12]

In 2018, Bullen competed in the 57 kg event at the World Wrestling Championships held in Budapest, Hungary.[13] She won her first match against Giullia Penalber of Brazil and her next match against Jong In-sun of North Korea.[13] She then lost her next match against Rong Ningning of China; Rong went on to win the gold medal.[13] Bullen then failed to secure the bronze medal in her match against Pooja Dhanda of India.[13] A month later, at the 2018 World U23 Wrestling Championship held in Bucharest, Romania, she won the gold medal in the women's 59 kg event.[14]

In 2019, Bullen won one of the bronze medals in the women's 57 kg event at the Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin held in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. In the same year, she also competed in the 57 kg event at the 2019 European Games held in Minsk, Belarus where she lost her bronze medal match against Anastasia Nichita of Moldova.[15] In 2020, Bullen won the gold medal in the 57 kg event at the European Wrestling Championships held in Rome, Italy.[16] In the final, she defeated Alina Akobiia of Ukraine.[16]

In March 2021, Bullen competed at the European Qualification Tournament in Budapest, Hungary hoping to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.[17] Her hopes were dashed when she was eliminated in her first match by Bediha Gün of Turkey.[17] A month later, she was eliminated in her second match in the 59 kg event at the 2021 European Wrestling Championships held in Warsaw, Poland.[18] In May 2021, she failed to qualify for the Olympics at the World Qualification Tournament held in Sofia, Bulgaria.[19][20] She won her first two matches but she was then eliminated in the semi-finals by Veronika Chumikova.[19][21] In October 2021, she was eliminated in her first match in the women's 59 kg event at the World Wrestling Championships held in Oslo, Norway.[22]

 
Bullen at the 2021 World Championships.

In 2022, Bullen won the gold medal in her event at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2022 held in Rome, Italy.[23] She won the silver medal in the 59 kg event at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia.[1][2]

Bullen won the silver medal in the 62 kg event at the 2023 European Wrestling Championships held in Zagreb, Croatia.[24][25] She won one of the bronze medals in the 62 kg event at the 2023 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia.[26] As a result, she earned a quota place for Norway for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.[27]

Bullen won the gold medal in the 62 kg event at the 2024 European Wrestling Championships held in Bucharest, Romania.[28][29] She defeated Luisa Niemesch of Germany in her gold medal match.[28][29]

Bullen won one of the bronze medals in the women's 62 kg event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.[30][31] She defeated Ana Godinez of Canada in her bronze medal match.[31]

Achievements

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Year Tournament Location Result Event
2015 European Games Baku, Azerbaijan 3rd Freestyle 58 kg
2016 European Championships Riga, Latvia 2nd Freestyle 58 kg
2017 European Championships Novi Sad, Serbia 1st Freestyle 58 kg
2020 European Championships Rome, Italy 1st Freestyle 57 kg
2022 World Championships Belgrade, Serbia 2nd Freestyle 59 kg
2023 European Championships Zagreb, Croatia 2nd Freestyle 62 kg
World Championships Belgrade, Serbia 3rd Freestyle 62 kg
2024 European Championships Bucharest, Romania 1st Freestyle 62 kg
Summer Olympics Paris, France 3rd Freestyle 62 kg

References

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  1. ^ a b Brennan, Eliott (15 September 2022). "Olympic champion Stock-Mensah resumes title success at World Wrestling Championships". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  2. ^ a b "2022 World Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Grace Bullen is fighting for a medal in the Olympics". Scandinavian Traveler. 19 March 2020. Archived from the original on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  4. ^ Bovim, Helge (15 January 2019). "Ingen bedre enn Bullen". Demokraten (in Norwegian). pp. 14–15.
  5. ^ a b "Wrestling: New stars of the mat emerge in Nanjing". Olympic News. 25 September 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Wrestling Results Book" (PDF). 2014 Summer Youth Olympics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 June 2020.
  7. ^ a b c "2015 European Games Results" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 April 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  8. ^ "2015 World Weightlifting Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 May 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  9. ^ "2016 European Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  10. ^ a b Etchells, Daniel (5 May 2017). "Turkey's Akgul reclaims crown at European Wrestling Championships". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  11. ^ "2017 European Wrestling Championships Results" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  12. ^ "2017 World Wrestling Championships" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  13. ^ a b c d "2018 World Wrestling Championships Results" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 April 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  14. ^ Rowbottom, Mike (15 November 2018). "Norway's Bullen beats China's senior world champion to lift UWW under-23 title". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  15. ^ "2019 European Games Wrestling Results" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  16. ^ a b "2020 European Wrestling Championships Results" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  17. ^ a b "2021 European Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  18. ^ "2021 European Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  19. ^ a b "OL-håpet ute for bryte-Berge og lagkameratene". Nettavisen Sport (in Norwegian). 8 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  20. ^ "2021 World Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  21. ^ Shefferd, Neil (7 May 2021). "Chumikova secures emotional win at UWW World Olympic Games qualifier". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  22. ^ "2021 World Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 October 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  23. ^ "Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2022 Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  24. ^ Lloyd, Owen (21 April 2023). "Ukraine take golden double at European Wrestling Championships after day four disappointment". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  25. ^ "2023 European Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  26. ^ "2023 World Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 November 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  27. ^ "Qualification System – Games of the XXXIII Olympiad – Paris 2024 – Wrestling" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 January 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  28. ^ a b Khalatyan, Rafael (17 February 2024). "Bucharest 2024 Day 5: Ukraine wins team title in women's wrestling". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  29. ^ a b "2024 European Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  30. ^ Khalatyan, Rafael (10 August 2024). "Wrestling: Petriashvili finally gets his hands on gold". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  31. ^ a b "Wrestling Results Book" (PDF). 2024 Summer Olympics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
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