#WrestleAcapulco

Saturday Night's Pan-American Finals Set

Saturday, May 7, 2022 - 15:07 By Eric Olanowski

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ACAPULCO, Mexico (May 7) --- The third day of action at the Pan-American Championships is underway in Mexico. Today, fans will see wrestling at FS 79kg and 92kg, and WW 50kg, 53kg, 57kg, 62kg, 68kg and 76kg. 

ICYMI:  Day Two photos | Godinez stuns two world champs for Pan-Am title

Saturday's final matchups:

Women's Wrestling 
50kg: Sarah Ann HILDEBRANDT (USA) vs. Madison Bianca PARKS (CAN) 
53kg:  Luisa Elizabeth VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU) vs. Dominique Olivia PARRISH (USA) 
57kg: Yaynelis SANZ VERDECIA (CUB) vs. Alma Jane VALENCIA ESCOTO (MEX) 
62kg: Kayla Colleen Kiyoko MIRACLE (USA) vs. Ana Paula GODINEZ GONZALEZ (CAN) 
68kg: Hangelen LLANES ECHEVARRIA (CUB) vs. Soleymi Antonieta CARABALLO HERNANDEZ (VEN) 
76kg: Dymond Precious GUILFORD (USA) vs. Genesis Rosangela REASCO VALDEZ (ECU) 

Freestyle
79kg: Nordic-style bracket 
92kg: Nordic-style bracket 

1:45: That'll do it for our morning session coverage. We'll see you back here at 17:00 for the Day Three finals.

1:32: Parrish trailed 4-0 but scored five unanswered points and upset world bronze medalist Stewart, 5-4. She'll wrestle Luisa Elizabeth VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU) in the 53kg finals. 

1:21: Quick note: Gilberto Segundo AYALA RODRIGUEZ (VEN), who is wrestling on Mat A, is 41-years-old.

1:18: Valencia cruised to an 18-7 win over on Mat A. That'll bring up two-time world champion J'den Cox of the United States. 

1:15: JB does it again. He quickly finished Rivera, 10-0. His three wins have been 12-1, pin (up 10-0 at the time) and 10-0. 

1:13: I feel like he's wrestled seven times today already, but Burroughs is back on Mat B. He's wrestling Colombia's Juan Sebastian RIVERA GARCIA (COL).

1:09: Alma Jane VALENCIA ESCOTO (MEX), Mexico's first-ever women's wrestling Olympian, is up now on Mat A. She's wrestling Camila Agustina AMARILLA (ARG) for a spot in the 57kg semifinals. 

1:08: U23 world champ Alexandria Rebekkah TOWN (CAN) started her day with an easy 10-0 tech over Tatiana HURTADO LERMA (COL). She scored a takedown and transitioned into a trapped-arm gut wrench.

12:51: With so many stars in action today, I forgot that Kayla MIRACLE (USA) was wrestling. The reigning world silver medalist just demolished Yolanda Mercedes CORDERO VARGAS (CUB), 10-0, in 63 seconds and reached the 62kg semifinals.

12:44: There's the upset of the day! Reasco closed out the match with a third takedown, ending Di Stasio's hopes of becoming a five-time Pan-Am champion. The Ecuadorian won the match, 10-4.

12:32: What an opening two minutes for Genesis Rosangela REASCO VALDEZ (ECU). She's leading Canada's world champion and four-time Pan-Am gold medalist Justina Di Stasio 7-2 heading into the break.

12:15: World bronze medalist Sam Stewart just suffered a cut on her forehead but is continuing to wrestle. They taped her up and she's back in on a single while holding the 5-0 lead. It looks like she'll hang on and will wrestle Parrish for a spot in the 53kg finals. 

12:04: Dom Parrish just said, "Not today, Karla." The Mexican corning won the challenge, making the score 3-1 with seven ticks left. When the action resumed, the American picked up a takedown and stole the match as time expired. She'll await the winner of Sandy Yalixa PARRA PARRA (COL) and Samantha Leigh STEWART (CAN).

11:57: Things are heating up over on Mat B between Karla Abigail ACOSTA MARTINEZ (MEX) and Dominique Olivia PARRISH (USA), The Mexcian wrestler had the 3-1 lead but there's an exposure under review right now which pushed the American in front on criteria.

11:38: No surprise here. Hildebrandt picked up an early takedown and........four laces to win the match, 10-0.

11:35: We'll go from one Olympic bronze medalist to another. The "Lace Queen" Sarah Ann HILDEBRANDT (USA) is wrestling Shammilka Alondra MIRANDA DIAZ (PUR) on Mat A.

11:32: Cox looks like he's in top shape. He scored three takedowns -- two of which were from counter offense -- a pair of exposures and a stepout to win the bout, 11-0.

11:26: You know there's a star coming up when you see all the photographers scramble to one mat. That star is J'den Michael Tbory COX (USA) and he's wrestling Jeremy Adam POIRIER (CAN) on Mat A.

11:16: That was quick. Burroughs blasts through Victor J SANTOS ACOSTA (PUR) 10-0 in 69 seconds. Classic Burroughs with some solid transition offense. He's moving his feet well today and picking his shots with purpose.

11:05: Justina Renay DI STASIO (CAN) kicked off her quest for a fifth Pan-Am title with a quick 12-0 win over Luz Maria HERNANDEZ HERNANDEZ (MEX). She'll wrestle Genesis Rosangela REASCO VALDEZ (ECU) in her next bout.

10:56: In our premier match of the morning, U23 world runner-up Tatiana RENTERIA RENTERIA (COL) edged junior world champion Milaimys de la Caridad MARIN POTRILLE (CUB), 4-3. The Colombian will take on Emelyn Anyelina BAUTISTA CORCINO (DOM) next.

10:42: Yes, Mat B will house a lot of the stars, but I'll show Mat A some love. Here are a few wrestlers to pay attention to that'll wrestle on Mat A:

Bout 144 - J'den COX (USA) - World champion and Rio Olympic bronze medalist
Bout 146 - Sarah Ann HILDEBRANDT (USA) - Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist 

10:36: It seems that Mat B is going to be the mat to watch. Here are the upcoming stars that'll be wrestling on the mat:

Bout 181 - Justina Renay DI STASIO (CAN) - '18 world champion
Bout 182 - Milaimys de la Caridad MARIN POTRILLE (CUB) - '19 junior world champ
Bout 185 - Jordan Ernest BURROUGHS (USA) - World and Olympic champion
Bout 190 - Samantha Leigh STEWART (CAN) - '21 world bronze 
Bout 195 - Kayla Colleen Kiyoko MIRACLE (USA) - '21 world silver 
Bout 197 - Ana Paula GODINEZ GONZALEZ (CAN) - '21 U23 world champ

10:29: I'm back to my perch after shooting some rapid-fire question videos with Zahid VALENCIA (USA) and Forrest MOLINARI (USA), so be on the lookout for those on all of our social media channels! 

10:10: Burroughs picks up a quick 10-1 win over Barmish. The 79kg bracket is a Nordic-style chart, so the American will have next round off but will jump back to action in the third round against Juan Sebastian RIVERA GARCIA (COL).

10:00: World and Olympic champion  Jordan Ernest BURROUGHS (USA) will kick off the day against Samuel Jacob BARMISH (CAN) on Mat A.

 

#WrestleLA

UWW announces new Olympic qualification process for LA 2028

Monday, February 2, 2026 - 12:14 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (February 2) -- United World Wrestling has overhauled the qualification process for the Olympic Games.

Beginning with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the 16 wrestlers who qualify per weight class will earn their spots through four routes: the World Championships, Continental Qualifiers, the World Olympic Qualifier, and the UWW Rankings.

The first phase of qualification will be the 2027 World Championships that will award 72 quotas for the Olympics. Each medalist [gold, silver, two bronzes] in the 18 Olympic weight classes will earn LA 2028 spots for their respective National Olympic Committees (NOC).

The second phase will be the UWW Rankings in which the first three wrestlers of the rankings, not qualified in the first phase, will obtain one quota place for their NOC for the LA28 Olympic Games. The UWW Rankings will include the seven main events organized before the LA28 Olympic Games:

- 2027 Senior Continental Championships*
- 2027 Ranking Series (3 events)
- 2027 Senior World Championships
- 2028 Ranking Series (1 event)
- 2028 Senior Continental Championships*

*UWW may include Continental Games for ranking but will only consider best two out of three continental results.

This means that 54 more wrestlers will earn Olympic quotas for their respective NOCs.

Phase three for qualifying will include the Continental Qualifiers -- Europe, Asia, Pan-America, and Africa & Oceania. These tournaments will award two quotas per weight class.

Top two wrestlers, the finalists, in each of the 18 Olympic weights will earn LA 2028 quotas for respective NOCs. A total of 144 wrestlers will be awarded at these continental events.

The fourth and final phase of qualification will be the World Olympic Qualifier which will offer 18 quotas. The gold medal winners in each of the 18 Olympic weight classes will earn the spot for their respective NOCs.

Only the countries that did not obtain a quota place during the previous three phases may participate in the World Olympic Qualifiers. The participating countries may only send two wrestlers across all styles at the World Qualifier.

For the LA 2028 qualifying cycle, UWW will award quotas at the following events:

4 quotas - 2027 World Championships
3 quotas - Ranking Series UWW Rankings
8 quotas - Continental Qualifiers (2 Europe, 2 Asia, 2 Pan-America, 2 Africa & Oceania)
1 quota - World Olympic Qualifier

Furthermore, the 2028 Continental Championships will be held before the Continental Qualifiers, ensuring that the three quotas via ranking are finalized before continental qualification events begin.

Ranking Series Participation Guidelines

Each country may enter a maximum of two wrestlers per weight class and a two-kilogram weight allowance will apply for Ranking Series events, but not for Continental or World Championships where standard weight rules apply.

The point allocation for these Ranking events will also be reviewed.

Seeding Changes

During the Olympic cycle, seeds will be assigned based on the following event tiers:

Four-seed events:
Continental Championships
Continental Qualifiers
World Qualifier

Eight-seed events:
Ranking Series
World Championships
Olympic Games

Seeding for the 2028 Olympic Games will be based on results from:

- Three 2027 Ranking Series events
- 2027 Continental Championships (or Continental Games, if applicable)
- 2027 World Championships
- One 2028 Ranking Series event
- 2028 Continental Championships

These same events will be used to seed wrestlers throughout the 2028 season, including the Ranking Series, Continental Championships and Qualifiers, the World Olympic Qualifier, and the Olympic Games.

For the 2027 Ranking Series events, 2027 Senior Continental Championships and the 2027 Senior World Championships, the results of 2026 Senior World Championships will also be considered to seed the athletes.

As is the rule, the ranking points obtained at the 2026 Senior World Championships will be removed after the 2027 Senior World Championships.

A key change is that at the Olympic Games, the seed belongs to the country, which keeps the seed even if it replaces the athlete who earned it. In all other events, the seed belongs to the wrestler, and a nation loses that seed if a different athlete competes.

For clarification regarding the new Olympic qualification process, all NFs and NOCs can contact sports@uww.org.