wrestleOaxtepec

Sampson of Cuba and Michaelson of USA Win Golden Boots on Day Two of #WrestleOaxtepec

Friday, June 11, 2021 - 01:28 By Taylor Miller

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Photo of Jeisser SAMPSON SANCHEZ (CUB). Photo by Osvaldo Aguilar. 

 

OAXTEPEC, Mexico – 12 new champions across four different styles were crowned on the second day of the Cadet and Junior Pan American Championships in Oaxtepec, Mexico. The four divisions contested on Thursday included Junior Greco-Roman, Junior women’s freestyle, Cadet men’s freestyle and Cadet women’s freestyle.

This week, the top-eight in the Olympic weights of the Junior division will earn bids to the 2021 Junior Pan American Games in Cali, Colombia, in December.

Representatives from three different countries earned gold medals in Junior Greco, including Noah WACHSMUTH (USA) at 77 kg, James BURKS (USA) at 82 kg, Igor ALVES DE QUEIROZ (BRA) at 97 kg and Jeisser SAMPSON SANCHEZ (CUB) at 130 kg. Thanks to his outstanding performance, which featured four wins with two technical superiorities and two pins, Sampson received the Golden Boot.

In the Greco-Roman team race, the USA captured the crown with three champions and 177 points. Mexico came in second with 151 points and Venezuela rounded out the top-three with 102 points.

Photo of Lucia YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU). Photo by Osvaldo Aguilar. 

There were only two weights wrestled today in Junior women’s freestyle. At 50 kg, Lucia YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU) defeated Greili BENCOSME CARVAJAL (CUB) for the gold, and at 53 kg, Laura HERIN AVILA (CUB) took Jaslynn GALLEGOS (USA) in the finals.

The USA claimed gold at the remaining four weight classes in Cadet men’s freestyle to sweep the division. Picking up titles on Thursday were Thor MICHAELSON (USA) at 71 kg, Ryder ROGOTZKE (USA) at 80 kg, Peter CASALE (USA) at 92 kg and James MULLEN (USA) at 110 kg. With four wins on the day and a dominant performance, Michaelson won the Golden Boot.

With 10 gold medals, USA won the team title with 250 points. Mexico took silver with 170 points and Peru earned bronze with 80 points.

In Cadet women’s freestyle, USA won the two weight classes with golds from Gabrielle BRAGG (USA) at 40 kg and Emilie GONZALEZ (USA) at 43 kg.

Wrestling continues Friday at 9 a.m. CT live on uww.org.

Photo of Thor MICHAELSON (USA). Photo by Osvaldo Aguilar.

 

En español
OAXTEPEC, México – El segundo día del campeonato panamericano en Cadete y Juvenil terminó con 12 campeones nuevos entre cuatro estilos: Grecorromana juvenil, estilo libre femenino juvenil, estilo libre masculino cadete y estilo libre femenino cadete.

En los torneos juveniles, los ocho mejores luchadores en las clases de peso olímpico califican para los Juegos Panamericanos Juveniles en diciembre en Cali, Colombia.

Luchadores de tres países diferentes ganaron títulos en Grecorromana juvenil, incluyendo a Noah WACHSMUTH (USA) en 77 kg, James BURKS (USA) en 82 kg, Igor ALVES DE QUEIROZ (BRA) en 97 kg y Jeisser SAMPSON SANCHEZ (CUBA) en 130 kg. Sampson usó dos victorias de puesta espalda y dos de superioridad técnica para asegurar el botín de oro.

En la carrera del equipo en estilo grecorromano, USA ganó con tres campeones y 177 puntos. México fue segundo con 151 puntos y Venezuela fue tercero con 102 puntos.

Photo of the medalists at 53 kg in women's freestyle. Photo by Osvaldo Aguilar. 

Solo se disputaron dos categorías en el estilo libre femenino juvenil. En 50 kg, Lucia YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU) derrotó a Greili BENCOSME CARVAJAL (CUB). Para ganar el título en 53 kg, Laura HERIN AVILA (CUB) superó a Jaslynn GALLEGOS (USA).

En estilo libre masculino cadete, USA capturo los cuatro pesos restantes para terminar el torneo con 10 medallas de oro en la división. Los campeones del jueves fueron Thor MICHAELSON (USA) en 71 kg, Ryder ROGOTZKE (USA) en 80 kg, Peter CASALE (USA) en 92 kg y James MULLEN (USA) en 110 kg. Michaelson, quien recogió cuatro victorias, recibió el botín de oro.

Con diez medallas de oro, USA ganó el título del equipo cadete con 250 puntos. México fue segundo con 170 puntos y Peru fue tercero con 80 puntos.

En el estilo libre femenino cadete, USA ganó las dos categorías con victorias de Gabrielle BRAGG (USA) en 40 kg y Emilie GONZALEZ (USA) en 43 kg.

Acción sigue mañana a las 9 a.m. CT en uww.org.

JUNIOR GRECO-ROMAN RESULTS
72 kg
GOLD - Noah WACHSMUTH (USA)
SILVER - Wilfredo LOPEZ (PAN)
BRONZE - Leag GUZMAN PADILLA (MEX)

82 kg
GOLD - James BURKS (USA)
SILVER - Christian MEDINA NUNEZ (MEX)
BRONZE - Augusto NIEVA (ARG)

97 kg
GOLD - Igor ALVES DE QUEIROZ (BRA)
SILVER - Daniel Alejandro VELIZ PEREZ (MEX)
BRONZE- Liober BETANCOURT HECHAVARRIA (CUB)
BRONZE - Max MADRID DE LEON (PAN)

130 kg
GOLD - Jeisser SAMPSON SANCHEZ (CUBA)
SILVER - Peter CHRISTENSEN (USA)
BRONZE - Juan CANTILLO TORRES (PAN)
BRONZE - Jami GRUESO NUNEZ (VEN)

JUNIOR WOMEN’S FREESTYLE RESULTS
50 kg
GOLD - Lucia YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU)
SILVER - Greili BENCOSME CARVAJAL (CUB)
BRONZE - Gloria ASCA VILCAPOMA (PER)
BRONZE - Yusmy CHAPARRO URREGO (COL)

53 kg
GOLD - Laura HERIN AVILA (CUB)
SILVER - Jaslynn GALLEGOS (USA)
BRONZE - Mariana ROJAS DIAZ (VEN)
BRONZE - Zeltzin HERNANDEZ GUERRA (MEX)

CADET MEN’S FREESTYLE RESULTS
71 kg
GOLD - Thor MICHAELSON (USA)
SILVER - Carlos SERRANO LOPEZ (MEX)
BRONZE - Darío CUBAS CASTILLO (PER)

80 kg
GOLD - Ryder ROGOTZKE (USA)
SILVER - Alexander CUSINGA GOMEZ (PER)
BRONZE - Miguel Angel GONZALEZ GOMEZ (MEX)

92 kg
GOLD - Peter CASALE (USA)
SILVER - Alan Yahir PEREZ URIBE (MEX)

110 kg
GOLD - James MULLEN (USA)
SILVER - Rhian CAVALINI ENGEL (BRA)
BRONZE - Angel RAMIREZ NAVARRO (MEX)

CADET WOMEN’S FREESTYLE RESULTS
40 kg
GOLD - Gabrielle BRAGG (USA)
SILVER - Veronica AMARO GARCIA (MEX)

43 kg
GOLD - Emilie GONZALEZ (USA)
SILVER - Vicky LEON GOMEZ (ECU)
BRONZE- Ana PALACIOS HERNANDEZ (MEX)

#WrestleTirana

Kayaalp's 13: New Golden Standard Set in Europe

Tuesday, April 21, 2026 - 15:27 By United World Wrestling Press

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TIRANA, Albania (April 20) -- On Tuesday evening in Tirana, Riza KAYAALP (TUR) did something that for years existed and was expected to continue to exist only as a hypothetical.

He won his 13th European title in Tirana on Tuesday, beating Darius VITEK (HUN), 7-1, in the 130kg European Championships. 2026 joined 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2010.

Riza KAYAALP (TUR)Riza KAYAALP (TUR) turns Darius VITEK (HUN) in the 130kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

As the referee raised his powerfully sculpted right arm in triumph, Kayaalp raised the ceiling in Greco-Roman. He moved past the legendary Aleksandr KARELIN’s 12 European gold medals, the last of which he had won in 2000. Generations of wrestlers had competed, won and lost, knowing all the while that that number would outlast them. Until Kayaalp finally eclipsed it.

The moment itself wasn’t dramatic in the way history is often expected to be. Just a raised hand, a nod and a lap of honor around the mat with the Turkish flag around his shoulders. That’s been the story of Kayaalp’s career.

Riza KAYAALP (TUR)Riza KAYAALP (TUR) speaks to the media after winning the gold medal at the European Championships. (United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Born in Yozgat, in central Turkey, Kayaalp would have inherently understood the role of wrestling in Turkish sporting heritage and the place champions of the sport have historically held in the nation. He would have grown up in the shadow of two-time Olympic and eight-time European champion Hamza YERLIKAYA, who defined Turkish wrestling in the 1990s and like everyone else in the sport, under the global shadow of Karelin.

Slowly and methodically Kayaalp would try to match them. His career has been relentless and consistent rather than spectacular. Since his first European gold in 2010, won as a twenty-year old, Kayaalp has claimed titles across two decades. He’s adapted through rule changes, generations of opponents, and brutal physical wear and tear of time itself.

Apart from his European titles, he has five World Championships gold medals, and three Olympic medals -- a bronze in London 2012, silver in Rio 2016, bronze again in Tokyo 2020. Every time a major medal was to be decided over the past decade and a half, Kayaalp would with almost absurd reliability be counted in the mix.

Riza KAYAALP (TUR)Riza KAYAALP (TUR) with Taha AKGUL (TUR) at the medal ceremony in Tirana. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

For all of Kayaalp’s longevity, his career has always carried the one obvious gap compared to Karelin or Yerlikaya -- no Olympic gold. That absence will still be there. That gap is unlikely to close any time soon. As such the European mark became a milestone within his grasp. Or in the last few years, a milestone just out of grasp.

Indeed, for Kayaalp the title will provide a sense of closure. He had equalled Karelin’s record at the 2023 European championships in Zagreb. Prior to that tournament, he had in an interview with Anadalou Agency spoken of equalling Karelin’s record, breaking it at the 2024 European Championships and finally finishing his career on a high note with a gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

But things would not go as planned. At the 2024 European Championships, Kayaalp was pinned in the final by Sergey SEMENOV (UWW) -- only the second final he had ever lost in Europe. A few months later despite qualifying for the Olympics he was unable to compete due to a medication issue linked to treatment for persistent tinnitus. His appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was upheld, clearing the way for his return. He would describe the period as the toughest of his career.

But the ordeal had left him with a new purpose and a desire to exit the stage on his own terms.

“For an athlete with so many titles, this was the worst thing that could happen,” he said. “Because of a simple issue, we faced a huge problem. But I always believed I would overcome it, return to my job and leave the sport on my own terms,” he had told Anadalou Agency at the start of 2026 when he made his return to international competition at the Zagreb Ranking series earlier this year.

“There was fatigue before. In this 18-month period, my desire to work came back stronger. I was already motivated to be champion. Now it is even greater. I feel renewed,” he had said.

While Kayaalp has said he would compete until the 2028 Olympics, he had also spoken of the unfinished business he had had in Europe. “I was so close,” he said. “Fourteen finals, 12 European titles, one more for the record, and then something unwanted happens. But everything is resolved. To bring that record to my country would mean a lot,” he had said then.

He had come close once and fallen short. That could have been the ending -- a near miss against an immortal number. Instead, with his 13th European title, Kayaalp gets to tell his story. He stands alone as the most decorated European wrestler of all time.

Records though exist to be broken. At some point, inevitably, another wrestler will look at Kayaalp's number and decide to chase it. But at least for some time, records exist to define limits. For over a quarter of a century that limit was Karelin’s 12. Now it’s Kayaalp’s 13.