#WrestleGuatemalaCity

Cuatro Países Recogen Múltiples Campeonas de Estilo Libre Femenina

By Taylor Miller

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – Cuatro países ganaron más que una campeona en la acción de jueves del Campeonato Panamericano Juvenil en la Ciudad de Guatemala.

USA tuvo tres campeones en el estilo libre femenina, mientras Brasil, Colombia y Cuba ganaron dos campeonas cada uno.

Los Estados Unidos ganó el título del equipo con 210 puntos. En segundo lugar fue Canadá con 134 puntos y Brasil terminó en tercer lugar con 102 puntos.

Final team standings
1. USA – 210
2. Canada – 134
3. Brazil – 102
4. Ecuador – 72
5. Cuba – 70
6. Colombia – 50
7. Peru – 42
8. Panama – 31
9. Guatemala – 24
10. Argentina – 22

50 kg: Lucia YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU) fue impresionante con tres victorias de puesta espalda y una victoria por decisión. En los finales Yépez derrotó a la Campeona Olímpica Juvenil y Campeona Mundial en la categoría cadetes Emily SHILSON (USA), 5-4. Es su tercer título panamericano y primero en el nivel juvenil.

GOLD – Lucia YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU) df. Emily SHILSON (USA), 5-4
BRONZE – Evelyn MATOS SANTOS (BRA) df. Alexia SEAL (CAN), fall 2:27

53 kg: Laura HERIN AVILA (CUB) ganó el oro en 53 kg. Derrotó a la medallista de bronce mundial Tiare IKEI (USA) en su final combate, 10-0.

GOLD – Laura HERIN AVILA (CUB)
SILVER – Tiare IKEI (USA)
BRONZE – Becky CORNEJO MUNOZ (ECU)

55 kg: Alisha HOWK (USA) fue la primera campeona de los Estados Unidos de la noche. Dos de sus cuatro victorias fueron por puesta espalda.

GOLD – Alisha HOWK (USA)
SILVER - Nathaly HERRERA HUACRE (PER)
BRONZE - Virginie KAZE GASCON (CAN)

57 kg: Ana PEREIRA FRANCA (BRA) gano el primer oro del noche para Brasil. Nadie pudo marcarle puntos durante todo el torneo.

GOLD – Ana PEREIRA FRANCA (BRA)
SILVER – Gabrielle SKIDMORE (USA)
BRONZE – Jolie BRISCO (CAN)

59 kg: Katherine RENTERIA CUERO (COL) repitió como campeona panamericana juvenil. Ella recibió la bota de oro por ser la luchadora más destacada del torneo. Ganó cuatro combates con dos puestas espaldas y dos superioridades técnicas.  

GOLD – Katherine RENTERIA CUERO (COL)
SILVER – Emma PARKER (CAN)
BRONZE – Mia MACALUSO (USA)

62 kg: Dayselis RODRIGUEZ GARCIA (CUB) ganó el oro en su primera competencia panamericana. En su final lucha, Rodríguez ganó contra Meiriele CHARAMBA SANTOS HORA (BRA) por puesta espaldas.

GOLD – Dayselis RODRIGUEZ GARCIA (CUB)
SILVER – Alex LILES (USA)
BRONZE – Meiriele CHARAMBA SANTOS HORA (BRA)

65 kg: Cara BROADUS (CAN) tuvo un día fuerte con dos victorias por puesta espalda para ganar su primer título panamericano. Ella fue la segunda campeona de USA.

GOLD – Cara BROADUS (USA)
SILVER – Jamilex CUMBICOS CASTILLO (ECU)
BRONZE – Katie MULKAY (CAN)

68 kg: La segunda campeona brasileña fue Thamires MARTINS MACHADO (BRA). Todas de sus victorias fueron por superioridad técnica. Ha mejorado mucho desde su último torneo panamericano, donde resulto en el sexto lugar en 2017.

GOLD – Thamires MARTINS MACHADO (BRA)
SILVER – Alma MENDOZA (USA)
BRONZE – Berit JOHNSON (CAN)

72 kg: Tatiana RENTERIA (COL) ganó el segundo oro para Colombia. En su final combate, derrotó a Dymond GUILFORD (USA) con una acción de cinco puntos.

GOLD – Tatiana RENTERIA (COL)
SILVER – Dymond GUILFORD (USA)
BRONZE – Lily FRENCH (CAN)

76 kg: Kenya-Lee SLOAN (USA) fue la tercera campeona estadounidense. En camino a su medalla de oro, Sloan derrotó a la Campeona Olímpica Juvenil Milaimys MARIN POTRILLE (CUB) en la cuarta ronda por puesta espalda.

GOLD – Kenya-Lee SLOAN (USA)
SILVER – Milaimys MARIN POTRILLE (CUB)
BRONZE – Jasmine THEBEAU (CAN)

#UWWAwards

UWW Most Dominant Wrestlers 2025: Amouzad, Motoki, Esmaeili

By Eric Olanowski

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 24) -- There were several dominant performances in 2025 on the wrestling mat. But it was three wrestlers who remained at the top of their weight classes and racked up dominant wins one after another. Two were Olympic champions while one was an Olympic silver medalist. All three became world champions in Zagreb.

Freestyle Most Dominant Wrester: Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI)

- 14–0
- Rank 1 at 65kg 
- 58,000 RS points 
- Outscored world and Olympic medalists 42–4
- World Championships, Tirana RS and ISG golds

Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) was about as perfect as you could be in a season, returning to prominence with title-winning efforts at the World Championships, Islamic Solidarity Games and Muhamet Malo Ranking Series event and finishing the season as the No.1 ranked wrestler in the world at 65kg with 58,000 Ranking Series points.

The Paris silver medalist, collected an unblemished 14-0 record in 2025 -- with five of those wins coming against top-level opponents who have world or Olympic medals on their resumes in Olympic champion Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN), Umidjon JALALOV (UZB), Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) and Real WOODS (USA). The craziest part about those five matches against the world’s best, Amouzad outscored 42-4.

But without a doubt, the highlight of Amouzad’s season came in Zagreb when he finally got his long awaited rematch, beating Kotaro KIYOOKA in a revenge match from the Paris 2024 Olympic finals.

The scariest part about Amouzad’s dominance -- he’s only 23 years old and he’s still getting better.

Women's Wrestling Dominant Wrestler: Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)

- 9-0
- Five pins, two technical superiorities
- 45,000 RS points 
- 8/9 bouts finished before regulation
- Completed Golden Grand Slam (U17, U20, U23, Senior World and Olympic gold)

Coming into the 2025 season, Motoki made her goals crystal clear -- become the third wrestler in history of the sport to win wrestling’s Golden Grand Slam -- and for those who don’t know, that is gold medals at the U17, U20, U23, Senior World Championships and the Olympic Games.

The only two missing from the Olympic champ's resume were the U23 and Senior World golds.

At the 2025 U23 and senior World Championships, Motoki showed that she’s in a league of her own, as she went 9-0, with eight  matches finishing before time expired. She scored five falls and two technical superiority wins.

Her win in the final of the World Championships will be one that will be talked about for ages as the most dramatic win of the season. Motoki scored a buzzer-beating takedown against Ok Ju KIM (PRK) with a 10-second flurry that consisted of a head outside single, arm throw, over-under knee pick, before head locking Kim with four tenths of a second left to keep her history making hopes alive.

In the end, Motoki’s heart and courage under fire helped her close out the year as the third wrestler to complete the Golden Grand Slam and she did it with a level of dominance we may not see again for a very long time.

Greco-Roman Dominant Wrestler: Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI)

- Rank 1 at 67kg 
- 58,000 RS points  
- 11–0 Record
- World Championships, Asian Championships and  ISG golds

In a 2025 campaign that saw him become a world champion, Esmaeili's season was immaculate, as he cemented his place among the sport’s top pound-for-pound wrestler with a season full of titles, stacking gold-medals at the World Championships, Asian Championships and Islamic Solidarity Games, rounding out the season ranked No. 1 in the world at 67kg.

The Paris Olympic champion remained unbeaten in 2025, winning all 11 bouts of his bouts in dominant fashion -- scoring eight shutout wins, with seven technical falls -- including a pair of 9-0 win against world champions Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) and Sebastian NAD (SRB). The reigning Olympic gold medalist also collected two victories over Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE), one in the world final and one in the Islamic Game gold-medal match, where he tossed his Azeri opponent for four as time expired to rob his rival of the title.

His opponents should not ease up because at just 22 years old, Esmaeili is still sharpening his tool set and leveling up his skills.