#WrestleNice

Henri Deglane Grand Prix of France Preview

Tuesday, January 12, 2021 - 13:34 By Eric Olanowski

Share this article

The 47th Annual Henri Deglane Grand Prix of France kicks off January 14-18. The star-studded entry list is headlined by four Olympic champions, five reigning world champions and will feature nearly 300 athletes from 23 different nations.

Potential Showdown of Olympic Champs Sharifov and Snyder
The most intriguing storyline coming into the competition is the potential showdown of Olympic champions Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE) and Kyle SNYDER (USA) at 97kg. If the pair of superstars meet, it'd be a rematch from the ’19 world championship semifinasl, where the London Olympic champion and Rio Olympic bronze medalist defeated the American, 5-2, en route to his world silver-medal run.

Sharifov shut down all 19 of Snyder's attacks, while only surrendered an inactivity point and a step out in their Nur-Sultan meeting. In addition to earning a stepout point, he capitalized on a pair of Snyder's attacks by scoring a takedown off a high crotch and two exposure points. 

In my opinion, the key adjustment for Snyder to even the series: Get to the corner on his straight on attacks.

Gadzhiev Making '21 Debut Down at 65kg
Poland's Magomedmurad GADZHIEV will make his ’21 debut down at the Olympic weight of 65kg and just his third appearance at the weight since ’17. 

Gadzhiev, a two-time world medalist, is fresh off an undefeated ’20 campaign up at 70kg. He claimed consecutive golds at the World Cup, European Championships, and Waclaw Ziolkowski Memorial.

For Gadzhiev to strike gold at his fourth consecutive competition, he’ll have to get through a long list of tough competition – including Olympic champion Vladimir KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO) and fellow two-time world medalist James GREEN (USA). Tokyo Olympian Agustin Alejandro DESTRIBATS (ARG) and rising star John DIAKOMIHALIS (USA) will also compete in the 65kg bracket.


Reigning three-time world champion Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) will compete at 125kg. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

Other Freestyle World Champs Entered 
Freestyle world champions Beka LOMTADZE (GEO), Kyle DAKE (USA), and Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) are the other must-watch wrestlers that'll be in action later this week.

The favorite to win gold at 61kg is reigning world champion Lomtadze. His biggest threat will be '18 world bronze medalist Joseph COLON (USA).

Dake, a two-time world champion at the non-Olympic weight of 79kg, is making his second appearance down at 74kg. In his first showing down at the Olympic weight, he claimed gold at the Matteo Pellicone. Dake dismantled Olympic bronze medalist Soener DEMIRTAS (TUR), 10-0,  is less than a minute to finish atop the Ranking Series podium.

Dake will have to navigate a 74kg field that includes '18 world silver medalist Avtandi lKENTCHADZE (GEO) and '18 junior world champion Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE).

Petriashvili, the reigning three-time world champion, is entered at 125kg. His most credential competition will be two-time world bronze medalist Nicholas GWIAZDOWSKI (USA).

Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA) will take the mat at 68kg. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

Mensah Back in Action After Downing Gray
Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA) will return to action at her normal weight, less than a week after upsetting five-time world champion Adeline GRAY (USA). The reigning 68kg world champion bumped up to 76kg and defeated Gray, 4-0, in the headlining bout of Flo Wrestling’s 10-match card.


Olympic champion Helena MAROULIS (USA) will wrestle at 57kg. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

Olympic Champ Maroulis Leads Shuffled Team USA
Rio Olympic gold medalist Helena MAROULIS (USA) leads a shuffled United States squad that'll see multiple world medalists moving down a weight in preparation for the Olympic Games.

Maroulis will compete at 57kg, while Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) and Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA) are dropping from their Nur-Sultan world championship weights of 53kg and 55kg, respectively. 

Hildebrandt, a '18 world silver medalist at 53kg, will make her third appearance at 50kg. Her first outing at 50kg came at the '20 Matteo Pellicone, where she upset top-ranked Alina VUC (ROU) with a last-second takedown to win her second Ranking Series title. Hildebrandt followed up that performance by qualifying the United States for the Olympic Games with a second-place finish at the '20 Pan-American Olympic Qualifier. 

Winchester, the reigning 55kg world champion, dropped to the Olympic weight of 53kg. She'll make her second appearance at the weight. Winchester's competed at 53kg for the first time at the '20 Pan-American Olympic Qualifier, where she earned the USA a berth to the Olympic Games through her runner-up finish.


'19 world champion Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) is entered at 55kg. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

Tsurtsumia Leads Greco-Roman Entries
Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) is the lone reigning world champion entered in Greco-Roman. He'll face a 55kg field that includes world bronze medalist Ekrem ÖZTÜRK (TUR) and Individual World Cup runner-up Serif KILIÇ (TUR).

The Henri Deglane Grand Prix of France, which will be streamed live on United World Wrestling, begins Friday at 10:30 local time, with women's wrestling qualification rounds at 50kg, 53kg, 57kg, 62kg, 68kg, and 76kg. 

SCHEDULE

Thursday
10:00-12:00: Final entries WW-50kg 53kg 57kg 62kg 68kg 76kg (+2kg)
18:00-19:00: Draw WW-50kg 53kg 57kg 62kg 68kg 76kg (+2kg)

Friday 
8:00: Medical control WW-50kg 53kg 57kg 62kg 68kg 76kg (+2kg)
8:30: Weigh-in WW-50kg 53kg 57kg 62kg 68kg 76kg (+2kg)
10:00: Final entries FS–57kg 61kg 65kg 70kg 74kg 79kg 86kg 92kg 97kg 125kg (+2kg)
10:30: Qualification rounds and finals
18:00: Draw Freestyle FS–57kg 61kg 65kg 70kg 74kg 79kg 86kg 92kg 97kg 125kg (+2kg)
20:30: Finals awards ceremony

Saturday 
8:00: Medical control FS–57kg 61kg 65kg 70kg 74kg 79kg 86kg 92kg 97kg 125kg (+2kg)
8:30: Weigh-in FS–57kg 61kg 65kg 70kg 74kg 79kg 86kg 92kg 97kg 125kg (+2kg)
10:00: Final entries GR–55kg 60kg 63kg 67kg 72kg 77kg 82kg 87kg 97kg 130kg (+2kg)
10:30:  Qualification rounds and finals
18:00: Draw GR–55kg 60kg 63kg 67kg 72kg 77kg 82kg 87kg 97kg 130kg (+2kg)
20:30: Finals awards ceremony

Sunday 
8:00: Medical control GR–55kg 60kg 63kg 67kg 72kg 77kg 82kg 87kg 97kg 130kg (+2kg)
8:30: Weigh-in GR–55kg 60kg 63kg 67kg 72kg 77kg 82kg 87kg 97kg 130kg (+2kg)
10:00: Qualification rounds and finals
10:30: Finals awards ceremony

#WrestleAmman

Coles, Canada's first U17 world champ, wants to be an inspiration

Tuesday, December 17, 2024 - 15:38 By Vinay Siwach

Share this article

CANADA (December 16) -- "I am not a natural athlete." That's how Kaura COLES (CAN) describes herself. 

The 17-year-old seems to have as much clarity describing herself as she does wrestling on the mat.

She may not be the be a "natural", but she is the best in the world. At the U17 World Championships in Amman, Jordan, Coles became the first Canadian wrestler to win a gold medal. She won gold in the 53kg women's wrestling weight class.

But the odds did not favor Coles. No Canadian wrestler had reached the final at the U17 Worlds, forget winning gold. The last time Canada had a U20 or U17 world champ was in 2013. Coming into the tournament, Coles had a silver medal from the 2022 U17 Pan-Am Championships and a fifth-place finish at the Spain Grand Prix. 

So Coles wasn't favored to win a medal. Nor were the other seven Canadians entered. However, Coles did it. She was so precise in her wrestling, that her opponents were shocked to see her counter from negative positions.

Coles' win was one of the highlights of international wrestling in 2024 and a big boost for Canada and its wrestling after its medalless Olympics in Paris.

"I did not expect to do as well as I did,” she said later. “I can't predict the outcome of the match. The only thing I know for sure is that I'm going to work as hard as I possibly can every match."

In Amman, Coles began with two pins over Madkhiya USMANOV (KAZ) and Chloe BREWIS (RSA). She then went on to upset MUSKAN (IND) 12-3 in the quarterfinals, Isabelle GONZALES (USA) 8-3 in the semifinals and securing a fall in the finals against Nana KOZUKA (JPN), undeterred by names or a Japanese opponent.

Coles began wrestling when she was 11 years old when her father, Cory, took her to the gym because he did not want her to just sit around all day. Kaura is one of the 11 Coles siblings from Winnipeg. She is number six with five younger siblings and she coaches them as well.

"If you had watched me wrestling four years ago, you would have never thought I could have achieved anything. Worst wrestler by far," Coles told FloWrestling. "But I knew how to do a 2-on-1. So every match, every practice, I would be grabbing a 2-on-1. For six years I have been doing that and just developed and became very good from that position. [I do well] Tying up with people. I don't do well from space since I am a slow wrestler. I want to get an underhook or a 2-on-1."

She worked hard. Having wrestler siblings around her improved her as she had to keep up with the sibling rivalries growing in the house.

"I have to be a tough wrestler just to survive every day [with my brother]," she said. "But they all wrestled, my sisters wrestle too. Everyone works hard and it makes it a lot easier"

But in the beginning, Coles did not like the sport or working hard to be better at it.

“I did not like it at first because it’s a very hard sport," Coles told The Free Press. "Back then, I didn’t really like hard work because it’s hard to like that. But over time, I saw the benefits of putting in the hard work and seeing where it can get you."

Kaura COLES (CAN)Kaura COLES (CAN) defeated Nana KOZUKA (JPN) in the final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

So far, wrestling has made Coles a three-time national wrestling champion, U17 Pan-American silver medalist, North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) champion and of course, world champion.

But Coles wants to do more. As a Métis herself, she wants to inspire, coach, and promote Indigenous groups.

"I want to be an inspiration for the other Indigenous and Métis warriors in Canada," Coles said after winning the gold. "I don't wrestle for myself."

Coles' mother Michelle is a Métis, an Indigenous group in Canada, and has kept their culture in the house including learning French. Coles wore her Métis sash after the medal ceremony at the U17 Worlds.

"I wear my Métis sash whenever I can," she said. "I have other Indigenous people come up to me and tell me how I have inspired them. I'm so glad that I was able to represent."

Another one of Coles' is to be at the Olympics. Canada has won six medals at the Olympics in Women's Wrestling. But the last came in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

"My goal is to go to the next Olympics when I'm 21 years old and then I want to go to the Olympics after that," she said. "Then I will retire."