Lima

Surprises Abound Friday Morning at Pan Ams

Friday, May 4, 2018 - 20:14 By Taylor Miller

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LIMA (May 4) – Friday morning’s session of the 2018 Pan American Championships wrapped up with a few surprises as 2017 Junior World champion Kamal BEY (USA) was knocked out of the competition when he suffered a broken rib in his first round of action at 77 kg.

Bey was going back and forth with two-time Pan American silver medalist Jair CUERO MUNOZ (COL) when the setback occurred. Bey was then forced to medical forfeit out of the tournament.

Cuero moved on to the finals at 77 kg and will do battle with 2018 Central American and Caribbean Championships gold medalist Ariel FIS (CUB).

Other notable happenings from Friday morning included 2017 World bronze medalist Becka LEATHERS (USA) sealing a gold medal at 55 kg after she defeated the other two competitors in the field, Lady MORAN VALENZUELA (ECU) and Cara NANIA (CAN). It is her second-consecutive Pan Am title.

Moran Valenzuela and Nania will wrestle for silver tonight.

Also already securing a gold medal is Luis AVENDANO ROJAS (VEN), who has posted a 3-0 record at 82 kg in Greco, so far. Earlier in the day, he defeated the only 3-1 wrestler in the field, Geordan Speiller, a 2016 Pan Am champion, with an 8-0 tech fall.

At 87 kg, the third Greco weight of the day, past Pan American medalists Yorgen COVA PULIDO (VEN) and Daniel GREGORICH (CUB) sailed to the finals and will face each other tonight for the crown.

Gregorich defeated Ben PROVISOR (USA) in a rematch of last year’s Pan Am finals. Their last meeting ended in a 2-2 decision for Provisor. Not only did Gregorich flip the result but he also widened the gap, picking up a 9-0 technical fall.

On the women’s side, Andribeth RIVERA (PUR) knocked off two-time Pan American champion and 2012 Olympian Kelsey CAMPBELL (USA) with an decisive 10-4 win to put herself in position for gold at 59 kg, which is also a round robin weight.

Rivera will face off against Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN) for the top prize in tonight’s session.

There were no matches wrestled at 65 kg in women’s freestyle as there are only two competitors in the bracket, counting 2017 Pan Am bronze winner Forrest MOLINARI (USA) and three-time University World medalist Breanne GRAHAM (CAN). The two will go head to head tonight for gold.

The final round of 72 kg competition will be contested tonight with three in the hunt for the top of the podium. Veronica KEEFE (CAN) leads the pack with a 2-0 record so far. She will take on Diana CRUZ ARROYO (PER), who is 1-1, suffering a loss to Josselyn PORTILLO MEJIA (ESA), who is also 1-1 on the day. Portillo Mejia will meet up with Hannah GLADDEN (USA) tonight.

The finals are set for 7 p.m. ET and can be watched live on unitedworldwrestling.org.

FINALS MATCH UPS

GRECO-ROMAN

77 kg
GOLD - Ariel FIS BATISTA (CUB) vs. Jair Alexis CUERO MUNOZ (COL)
BRONZE - Francisco Albano BARRIO (ARG) vs. Angelo Rafael MARQUES MOREIRA (BRA)
BRONZE - Reinier JIMENEZ TERRY (GUA) vs. Johan Antonio BATISTA (DOM)

82 kg
ROUND 5 - Brayden William AMBO (CAN) vs. Luis Eduardo AVENDANO ROJAS (VEN)
ROUND 5 - Carlos Moises ESPINOZA CASTRO (PER) vs. Adil Hendresson BARROS MACHADO (BRA)

87 kg
GOLD - Yorgen Jose COVA PULIDO (VEN) vs. Daniel GREGORICH HECHAVARRIA (CUB)
BRONZE - Alfonso Antonio LEYVA YEPEZ (MEX) vs. Benjamin Errol PROVISOR (USA)
BRONZE - Phillip Raweriio BARREIRO (CAN) vs. Carlos Alberto ADAMES PALMER (DOM)

WOMEN’S FREESTYLE

55 kg
ROUND 3 - Lady Raysa MORAN VALENZUELA (ECU) vs. Cara Gail NANIA (CAN)

59 kg
ROUND 3 - Andribeth RIVERA BELLIARD (PUR) vs. Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN)
ROUND 3 - Karoline SILVA DE SANTANA (BRA) vs. Kelsey Rene CAMPBELL (USA)

65 kg
GOLD - Breanne Leigh GRAHAM (CAN) vs. Forrest Ann MOLINARI (USA)

72 kg
ROUND 3 - Veronica Helen Frances KEEFE (CAN) vs. Diana Luisa Victoria CRUZ ARROYO (PER)
ROUND 3 - Josselyn Tatiana PORTILLO MEJIA (ESA) vs. Hannah La Shae GLADDEN (USA)

#WrestleBratislava

Adar, the woman of firsts in Turkiye wrestling, retires

Friday, April 11, 2025 - 09:17 By Vinay Siwach

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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 10) -- Turkiye's first-ever Olympic medalist, first-ever world and European champion in Women's Wrestling, Yasemin ADAR (TUR)retired Thursday after 16 years of international wrestling.

A winner of seven gold medals at the European Championships did not have a fairytale ending as she lost the 76kg final against Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) on Thursday at the European Championships in Bratislava.

Despite the loss, Adar undoubtedly retires the trailblazer in Women's Wrestling for Turkiye. In 2016, she won her first European title to create history before adding the world title in 2017. In 2021, she became the first Turkish wrestler in Women's Wrestling to win the bronze medal when she pinned Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) to claim the medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

"I had an incredible career in the 76kg category," Adar said after the European Championships final. "I had many successes and many firsts. I became a two-time world champion. I was at the Olympics with bronze medal. So I have an incredibly beautiful career and I am proud of myself. I can't believe it. It's very difficult to describe. I am very emotional today."

Adar, who had tears in her eyes while was taking off her shoes on the mat to mark her retirement, is aptly called the "woman of firsts" in Türkiye. With her teammates and family in the stands cheering for her, the final match became even more emotional for Adar.

"I finished my wrestling and believe me it was not easy at all," she said. "I even rehearsed it many times before coming here. I said this is where I will finish my career. In my speech, I always wanted to be considered as the legend of 76kilograms. This match was more nervous for me. I had planned it beforehand, I knew that this match was the last match. Even though I couldn't earn the gold medal, I ended it with silver. But believe me, there are really great successes in my career."

On how she came to the decision of retiring at the European Championships, Adar was clear that she wanted to pass on the baton to the younger generation.

"Even if you don't want it, wrestling starts to leave you," she said. "Although there are those who say I am very good, I try to compare it to a situation like this. I am 34-years-old with an 18-year-old athlete and unfortunately we cannot have the same performance."