#WrestleTirana

Muhamet Malo 2025: Bumpy ride to gold for Kiyooka in 53kg debut

Sunday, March 2, 2025 - 09:22 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (March 1) -- When Olympic 53kg champion Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) moved up to 57kg last year, Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) emerged as the top wrestler in Japan at 53kg by winning the Emperor's Cup.

On Saturday, Kiyooka made her 53kg debut internationally at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series in Tirana. Though she captured the gold medal, her road to gold was not a smooth sailing.

Kiyooka defeated European champion Andreea ANA (ROU) 6-0 in the final to given Japan its sixth gold medal in Women's Wrestling. The world 55kg champion opened her tournament with two technical superiority wins but come the semifinals, Kiyooka was given a reality check.

Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) opened the scoring in the semifinals and led 6-0 after she used a bow and arrow to turn Kiyooka. A little stunned with start, Miyooka remained calmed and did not allow Malanchuk more openings. She clawed her way back to make it 8-8 but Malanchuk was leading on criteria. It was only after Kiyooka blasted a double-leg and later added more takedowns to 15-8.

"I didn't expect my opponent to score six points in the first place," Kiyooka said. "I was really nervous, and I was also thinking about how I was going to get it from here. There was still time to calm down so I thought that if I continued with my wrestling, I would be able to win. So I just kept in mind that I needed to stay calm without getting anxious."

In the final, Kiyooka wrestled European champion Andreea ANA (ROU) who kept the Japanese world champion quiet for the first period, with only 1-0 lead. But Kiyooka blasted double-legs in the second period, earning a stepout and takedown. A takedown finished things off for Kiyooka.

Kiyooka explained that she may have been victim of overthinking, about her opponents and their styles before the tournament began.

"I was wondering what level the foreign wrestlers in the 53kg class and how well I would be able to compete there," she said. "I researched information about each opponent, match by match, but I thought it was important to win with my own wrestling, so I looked at my opponent."

Kiyooka and other winners of Emperor's Cup will head to Amman for the Asian Championships. The tournament will be without the +2kg allowance which makes it even more difficult for Kiyooka.

"I was able to compete at 55kg this time, which was 2kg over, but I also lost weight," she said. "I'm planning to switch it up as soon as I get back and prepare for the Asian Championship. When it comes to the mat, I have felt that level of competition so high in  previous tournaments. I'm going to reconsider how I can win in wrestling, and I'm going to go back and practice."

Kiyooka's gold was sixth for Japan, which had seven female wrestlers at the Muhamet Malo. Only Nodoka YAMAMOTO (JPN) failed to win a medal at 76kg, a weight class won by Dymond GUILFORD (USA) who defeated Asian Games champion Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ), 2-1, in the final.

Medet Kyzy was not impressed with a few referee calls in the final which only saw activity clock points. Guilford was leading 1-1 on criteria when Medet Kyzy was put on the 30-second clock with a minute left in the match.

Guilford's lead became 2-1 and despite Medet Kyzy's efforts, Guilford did not give up on defense. With 15 seconds on the clock, Guilford was about to be warned for fleeing and at the same time Medet Kyzy hit a leg-attack. But the referee whistle to warn Guilford at the exact moment.

Kyrgyzstan challenged the call and on review Medet Kyzy was seen grabbing Guilford's hair and the American was warned for fleeing. But there was no chance in the score with Guilford leading 2-1 with 10 seconds left.

Guilford would claim the gold with that score, ending Medet Kyzy's great run till the final with a silver medal.

At 57kg, two weeks after winning the 55kg silver medal at the Zagreb Open, Samantha STEWART (CAN) upgraded to gold at 57kg at Muhamet Malo, securing a fall over former U23 European champion Elvira SULEYMAN KAMALOGLU (TUR) with 50 seconds remaining on the clock.

The 34-year-old former world bronze medalist was in stunning form in Tirana, securing a fall over Tamara DOLLAK (HUN) and beating Tokyo Olympian Luisa VALVERDE (ECU) in the semifinals.

"Age is just a number and I don't want to cut weight anymore so I will be staying at 57kg," Stewart said.

With only four wrestlers, the 72kg weight class was a round-robin bracket and three-time world medalist Zhamila BAKBERGENOV (KAZ) emerging as the gold medalist. Three wrestlers ended with two wins each and it wasn't the Round 3 bout between Alla BELINSKA (UKR) and Alexandria GLAUDE (USA) that the medalists were decided.

Bakbergenova pinned Linda MACHUCA (ARG) in her Round 3 bout and finished with 9 classification points from three bouts. Belinska defeated Glaude 4-3 and had 9 classification points as well. However, Bakbergenova had 10 technical points scored while Belinksa had nine. Glaude, who had defeated Bakbergenova in Round 2, finished with a bronze medal.

RESULTS

53kg
GOLD: Moe KIYOOKA (JPN)    df. Andreea ANA (ROU), 6-0

BRONZE: Natalia MALYSHEVA (UWW) df. Zeynep YETGIL (TUR), 7-0
BRONZE: Yuxuan LI (CHN) df. Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR), 10-0

57kg
GOLD: Samantha STEWART (CAN) df. Elvira SULEYMAN KAMALOGLU (TUR), via fall

BRONZE: Amanda MARTINEZ (USA) df. Evelina HULTHEN (SWE), 4-3
BRONZE: Luisa VALVERDE (ECU) df. Tamara DOLLAK (HUN), 5-2

72kg
GOLD: Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
SILVER: Alla BELINSKA (UKR)
BRONZE: Alexendria GLAUDE (USA)

76kg
GOLD: Dymond GUILFORD (USA) df. Medet KYZY AIPERI (KGZ), 2-1

BRONZE: Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) df. Meile ZHANG (CHN), 2-1
BRONZE: Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ) df. YANGLA (CHN), via fall

#WrestleAmman

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

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

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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."