Gilman Shows Progress, Maturity in Claiming 1st World Championships Gold

Tuesday, October 5, 2021 - 08:10 By Ken Marantz

OSLO, Norway (October 5) -- Winning a first world title confirmed the progress Thomas GILMAN (USA) has made as he continues to learn the international game. Now he hopes to use it in a quest to avenge a recent loss that still lingers.

Gilman showed a new-found maturity and composure when he carved out a 5-3 victory over Alireza SARLAK (IRI) in the freestyle 57kg final on Monday night in Oslo, giving him the gold medal in his third trip to a World Championships.

The victory at Jordal Amfi arena came two months after Gilman was dealt a heartbreaking 5-4 loss in the first round of the Tokyo Olympics by two-time world champion Zavur UGUEV (ROC), who went on to take the gold.

Gilman, who worked his way through the repechage to take home an Olympic bronze, noted the difference in the two matches beyond their outcomes.

"If this was a fist fight with the Iranian, Uguev was like a chess match," Gilman said. "He's very good at winning. Obviously he's a great wrestler, and a great athlete. I think what he's best at is finding a way to win, and he showed that at the Olympic Games."

The 27-year-old Gilman, who won a silver medal in 2017 and placed fifth in 2018 in his previous World Championships, said the loss to Uguev opened his eyes to the need to wrestle depending on the situation, and to not just wantonly try to score points.

Thomas GILMAN (USA), second from left, with the other three medalists at 57kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

"I'm starting to learn how to win as a competitor," Gilman said. "I think I'm a pretty decent wrestler. But I don't know if I know how to really win on a consistent basis yet. Uguev, he can. I'm looking forward to that rematch. I respect him a lot."

In their Olympic showdown at Makuhari Messe, Gilman was leading 4-3 when Uguev managed to conjure up a takedown in the final seconds to snatch the victory.

"It's a mental thing, maybe an emotional thing," Gilman said. "Where instead of just wrestling through the positions, I kind of try to win. When you start trying to win, that's when you lose.

"In the Uguev match, I went from just wrestling to score points to, 'OK, there's 46 seconds left,let's try to win this match,' and I got taken down and lost the match."

Against Sarlak, a 2019 world U23 bronze medalist, Gilman fought his way to a 3-0 lead going into the second period. He used his previous experience facing Iranians and knowledge of their tendencies to then score a well-executed single-leg takedown that gave him a decisive five-point cushion.

"I was pretty familiar with that position," Gilman said, citing past matches with lightweight star Rezi ATRINAGHARCHI (IRI). "Iranians are really good at throwing your head to the outside, bust your lock, focus on those very fundamental things.

"I just kind of chuckled to myself, like, 'This is familiar. This is Iran right here.' If I could describe Iranian wrestling, it would be beyond the underhook and their hand wrestling. It would be fundamental and hard leg defense."

Gilman said he appreciates scrappy wrestlers like Sarlak because they force him to raise his level.

"You always know that when you are wrestling Iranians, they are known for their toughness and their hand fighting. A lot like the way I wrestle, so I was looking forward to the fist fight, the dog fight....I am grateful to him as an opponent to push me and make me better."

Thomas GILMAN (USA) defeated Alireza SARLAK (IRI) in the 57kg final. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

In the post-match interview, Gilman referred to "we" as the winner. Asked to explain, he noted how wrestling, while an individual sport, needs a team for success.

"From me, myself and I, all the way to me and my wife, my dogs, my unborn child, my coaching staff, USA Wrestling, my training partners, my annoying cameraman," said the Iowa native, who moved to the Nittany Lion Club in Pennsylvania in 2020 to prepare for the Olympics under Cael
SANDERSON.

"Don't let this fool you, I did nothing really. I did 20 minutes of work out there, but it's all the people behind the scenes, the people who you don't see, people who would never take credit for anything. That's we."

The support of his wife was vital, particularly when it came to just making the tough decision to enter the World Championships so soon after the Tokyo Olympics.

"I didn't want it to be emotional, I wanted it to be the right decision," Gilman said. "So I got home and talked to my wife, and some of those conversations were a little bit difficult....But she understood, she said, hey, I know you want to do this, you have to do it."

Zavur UGUEV Thomas GILMAN Zavur UGUEV (ROC) defeated Thomas GILMAN (USA) in the opening round at the Tokyo Olympics. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Gilman attended high school in neighboring Nebraska, where he won four state titles. He went to collegiate powerhouse Iowa and twice medaled at the NCAA Championships.

His international debut came in 2011 at the world cadets, where he placed 10th. After finishing eighth at the 2013 world juniors, he returned in 2014 and made his first podium by winning a bronze medal.

Three years later, he was in the final of a senior World Championships, taking the silver at Paris 2017 after losing to Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN), who would finish out of the medals at the Tokyo Olympics.

As an Olympic medalist, Gilman's place on the team to Oslo was assured without having to go through the U.S. team trials. But that doesn't mean he didn't have hurdles to get over, including having to get his weight back down again and contracting Covid-19.

"Every competition offers something unique as far as adversity," Gilman said. "Sometimes the adversity is very small, sometimes the adversity is very big. This is no different. It was a quick turnaround."

The bout with the coronovirus three weeks ago posted the greatest threat to his preparations. But he also viewed it as another test of his resilience to overcome hardships.

"I was like, shoot, am I going to be able to go and pass the tests?" Gilman said. "I came to the conclusion that God was telling me, 'You think you're tough? Well let's see how tough you are.'

"It was more mental, emotional and spiritual than physical, because physical you can push through anything. I did and we're here, and now it's time for a break."

Known for being deeply religious and patriotic, Gilman said he had some qualms about taking a victory lap with the American flag draped around his shoulders, saying he considers the act disrespectful.

"But it's a tradition, it's what we do, so I'll deal with my stepfather when I get home," he said. "Just to stand on top of the podium, after being silver, fifth, bronze, now gold, to see our flag the highest where it belongs and hear our national anthem, that's very special to me."

As he aims to continue improving and awaits a second shot at Uguev, Gilman can now sit back and bask in what he has accomplished over the past two months.

"It's a lot coming off the Olympic Games. You're at maybe an all-time high, I was so close to accomplishing one of my lifelong dreams," he said "I was pretty proud of myself. I still am. It's nothing to really slough off, being an Olympic bronze medalist."

#KoreaWrestling

Special referee at national meet part of Japanese efforts to get more women to become officials

Tuesday, January 16, 2024 - 20:32 By Ikuo Higuchi

(Editor's Note: The following appeared on the Japan Wrestling Federation website on Jan. 1. It has been translated and published by permission.)

With its connection to the Paris Olympics, this year's Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships drew a record field of 470 competitors. But history was also made regarding the third person on the mat. For the first time ever, a foreign referee was on the whistle, one specifically invited with the hope of producing long-term effects beyond the outcome of matches.

The Japan federation brought in Ji-Woo LEE, one of six Korean women holding international licenses, as part of its efforts to get more women interested in becoming referees. Lee is a holder of the UWW's highest Category IS License, which qualifies her to officiate at the Olympics and World Championships.

While Japan remains the dominant country in women’s wrestling, in the case of women referees, it can be regarded as “undeveloped.” Of Japan’s 19 international referees, only two are women, putting Japan far behind United World Wrestling’s objective of having equal numbers from both genders.

JPN1 Ji-Woo Lee holds the highest Category IS License. (photo by Japan Wrestling Federation)

"It was a big surprise, and wonderful," Lee said of being asked to officiate at the All-Japan Championships, which was held Dec. 21-24 in Tokyo and was serving as a qualifier for the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament in April. "It is really a joyful [moment] in my life. A big honor, also."

Lee said she was impressed by the large and enthusiastic crowd that packed into Yoyogi No. 2 Gym, saying it reminded her of the atmosphere at the big venues that stage the World Championships and European Championships.

JPN4 Lee faces Saori YOSHIDA at the 2004 Asian Championships in Tokyo. (photo by Takeo Yabuki / Japan Wrestling Federation)

Lee herself was no stranger to Japan. Long before she officiated at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, she came on numerous trips during her career as a wrestler to train at the well-known Oka Wrestling Dojo in the mountains of Niigata Prefecture. Wrestling at 55kg and competing under the name LEE Na-Lae, she faced three-time Olympic champion Saori YOSHIDA three times, in the final at the 2002 Asian Games, and at both the 2004 and 2005 Asian Championships. Lee was the lone Korean woman to appear at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

While she knows a little Japanese, she basically operates in her native Korean or English. As for communicating on the mat at the All-Japan, she said, "I used very simple words. 'Fingers.' 'Open.' Maybe after a foul, I say, 'Next time caution.' Or 'One more time, the match is finished.'" Having Olympic experience both as a wrestler and a referee has given her the confidence to dish out warnings as she sees fit and remain in control on the mat.

JPN2 Lee made her Olympic refereeing debut at the Tokyo Games in 2021. (Photo by Japan Wrestling Federation)

Handling the big matches

After retiring as a wrestler, Lee went to the 2012 London Olympics as a national team coach, then changed course and embarked on a new path to become a referee, while also earning a doctorate and becoming a professor at Yong-In University. She obtained the Category IS License just before the 2019 World Championships, and was among the officiating crew at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

It was Isao OKIYAMA, head of the Japan Federation's refereeing commission, who suggested inviting Lee to the All-Japan. Okiyama's thinking took a two-pronged approach. In the big matches with so much at stake, the federation would get a neutral official completely free of any suspicions -- justified or not -- about college affiliations and other links that are so strong in Japanese wrestling.

And, by having a female Category IS official at Japan's highest-level tournament, it would bring national attention on the existence of female referees and further motivate more women to want to become one.

JPN5 Lee was on the whistle when Nonoka OZAKI defeated Ami ISHII in a vital 68kg match with Olympic implications. (photo by Takeo Yabuki / Japan Wrestling Federation)

At this year's All-Japan, three matches in particular stood out, each with global implications: 1) the first-round match at women's 68kg in which Nonoka OZAKI defeated Ami ISHII, who had needed to win the title to fill the Paris Olympic berth she secured for Japan at the World Championships; 2) the freestyle 65kg semifinal between Tokyo Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO and collegian Kotaro KIYOOKA, which Otoguro lost to end his chances of a repeat in Paris; and 3) the 68kg final between Ozaki and Miwa MORIKAWA, which Ozaki won to advance to a future playoff with Ishii for the Paris ticket.

Lee was the mat official for all three. Asked if she was nervous, she replied, "I'm never nervous. I know this championships is very important for Japan, also in the world because the champions [can go to the Olympic qualifier]. More than being nervous, I was concerned with doing my best to make fair and clear decisions."

She admits she did feel jittery at her first major tournament at the 2019 World Championships in Nur-Sultan (now Astana). She particularly recalled a bronze-medal match between Iranian and Azerbaijan wrestlers where it seemed the entire crowd turned against her. "I was very nervous. One time [I made a] mistake, just a warning, and everyone goes, 'Boooooo,'"she recalled with a laugh.

JPN4 Lee poses with the three Japanese female referees at the All-Japan Championships, from right, Mariko SHIMIZU, Airi FURUSATO and Honoka SAITO. (photo courtesy of Airi FURUSATO)

Getting more women involved

At the All-Japan, there were only three other women referees, Airi FURUSATO, Mariko SHIMIZU and Honoka SAITO, putting them well in the minority. Only Furusato and Haruka WATANABE, currently on maternity leave, hold international licenses, and neither is at the Category IS level.

Of the 393 referees registered domestically in Japan, just 19 are women, or 4.8%. The percentage is even lower for those with a Class A license, which is required for officiating at the All-Japan — just seven out of 197, or 3.6%.

In its Global Gender Gap Report released in June last year by the World Economic Forum, Japan ranked 125th out of 146 countries in terms of achieving gender equality. While Japan is on top in women's wrestling, when it comes to women referees, it unfortunately aligns with the gender gap ranking.

JPN6 World champion Akari FUJINAMI tries her hand as a referee at a men's collegiate event last May. ((photo by Ikuo Higuchi / Japan Wrestling Federation)

Among recent moves to cultivate women referees was having world champions Akari FUJINAMI and Yuka KAGAMI serve as referees at the men's East Japan Collegiate League last May. Officials hope that seeing the female stars filling such roles will appeal to more women to consider becoming referees.

Lee said she hopes to see more Japanese women entering the referee ranks and believes that with the right training and support, they can become as much as factor as their wrestling sisters. In fact, it was Japan's Osamu SAITO, a former member of the UWW Refereeing Commission, who encouraged and mentored her and to whom she credits her advancement.

"I am waiting for the day when I can work with Japanese women referees," Lee said. "We are professionals with skills. I support the development of women referees."

--Translation and editing by Ken Marantz

Gilman Shows Progress, Maturity in Claiming 1st World Championships Gold

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Special referee at national meet part of Japanese efforts to get more women to become officials