Grace Jacob Bullen (born 7 February 1997) is a Norwegian freestyle wrestler. She won one of the bronze medals in the women's 62 kg event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. She won the silver medal in the 59 kg event at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia.[1][2] Bullen is a five-time medalist, including three gold medals, at the European Wrestling Championships.
She also won a bronze medal for Norway at the 2015 European Games held in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Early life
editBorn 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
editAt 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]
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
editYear | 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
edit- ^ a b Brennan, Eliott (15 September 2022). "Olympic champion Stock-Mensah resumes title success at World Wrestling Championships". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Bovim, Helge (15 January 2019). "Ingen bedre enn Bullen". Demokraten (in Norwegian). pp. 14–15.
- ^ a b "Wrestling: New stars of the mat emerge in Nanjing". Olympic News. 25 September 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
- ^ a b "Wrestling Results Book" (PDF). 2014 Summer Youth Olympics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 June 2020.
- ^ a b c "2015 European Games Results" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 April 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- ^ "2015 World Weightlifting Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 May 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ "2016 European Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- ^ a b Etchells, Daniel (5 May 2017). "Turkey's Akgul reclaims crown at European Wrestling Championships". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
- ^ "2017 European Wrestling Championships Results" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- ^ "2017 World Wrestling Championships" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "2019 European Games Wrestling Results" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ a b "2020 European Wrestling Championships Results" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "2021 European Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
- ^ a b "OL-håpet ute for bryte-Berge og lagkameratene". Nettavisen Sport (in Norwegian). 8 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Shefferd, Neil (7 May 2021). "Chumikova secures emotional win at UWW World Olympic Games qualifier". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ "2021 World Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 October 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
- ^ Lloyd, Owen (21 April 2023). "Ukraine take golden double at European Wrestling Championships after day four disappointment". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
- ^ "2023 European Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
- ^ "2023 World Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 November 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Khalatyan, Rafael (10 August 2024). "Wrestling: Petriashvili finally gets his hands on gold". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Wrestling Results Book" (PDF). 2024 Summer Olympics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
External links
edit- Grace Bullen at the International Wrestling Database
- Grace Bullen at Olympics.com
- Grace Bullen at Olympedia