Stevan wins first Freestyle Gold for Serbia

With Zaur Uguev (AIN), Zelimkhan Abakarov (ALB) and Rei Higuchi (JPN) Stevan Micic (SRB) defeated three big names of his sport to win Serbia's first Freestyle gold medal at the 2023 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

Stevan on his emotions during the winners ceremony in the Stark Arena:

"This is insane. I can't even explain what it feels like to finally accomplish a lifetime goal of being the best wrestler in the world. What a tournament this was for me, a rollercoaster of emotions and wrestling the very best I could. All praise to the most high, this was won because of God. Thank you so much to all of the support of the Serbian wrestling federation along with the loving care and support from my friends, family, training partners, coaches, etc."

…on his mind set going into the matches with three world champions Uguev, Abakarov and Higuchi:

"Nobody wants to wrestle three world champions in a row but to be the best you have to beat the best when they are their best. That's at least my philosophy. The match with Higuchi was completely different to the other ones as he takes a lot of leg attacks. So I felt the match can explode any second but I just focussed on my wrestling and at the end of that defensive sequence I just knew I am not gonna be taken down here. And it looks like our hard work in my defense system has paid off."

…on winning his first world gold medal on home soil:

"I'm so proud to be able to win the first freestyle world championship for Serbia. Representing my blood and heritage has an immense importance to me and my identity. I couldn't be happier for my country today as this medal also belongs to the people of Serbia who gave me an amazing support."

…on his way to the Olympic Games in Paris 2024

"I was trying not to think too much about Paris but the best wrestlers in the world are here in Belgrade to qualify for the Olympics. I need a break now but Paris is something I need to focus on.The Olympics inTokyo didn't go so well for me as I felt sick and didn't manage my weight very well. So we need to make sure that our preperation is perfect this time as this could be the cance of my life."