#development

UWW educational activities prior to the Southeast Asian Games

By United World Wrestling Press

HANOI, Vietnam (May 11) -- With the support of the Olympic Solidarity and the Vietnam National Olympic Committee, technical courses for coaches and referees were organized by United World Wrestling for the Southeast Asian countries prior to the South East Asian Games from May 7 to 14 in Hanoi, Vietnam.

A total of 55 coaches and referees from Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam attended the training. Out of the 30 referees that attended the training course, 18 referees training will officiate at the SEA Games and obtain international refereeing licenses.

An anti-doping workshop was also delivered to the participating coaches by the Vietnam Anti-Doping & Sports Medicine Center on May 10. General anti-doping rules, rights & responsibilities of athletes & coaches, testing procedures, Therapeutic Use Exemptions and clean sports values and ethics were included in this workshop.

DopingThe Vietnam Anti-Doping & Sports Medicine Center present their course on anti-doping rules and ethics to 25 coaches.

"This is a great start for Southeast Asian countries after such a long time of no activity and sporting opportunities in the last two years," Deqa NIAMKEY, UWW Development Director, said. "The SEA Games allowed our smaller national federations to make a strong appearance on the international stage, and the training courses UWW organized prior to the Games help ensure that the wrestling competitions are conducted in a safe and fair manner.

"UWW thrives to provide the best possible training and education opportunities for the development of coaches and referees worldwide."

As part of its commitment to drive global wrestling development and further strengthen and enhance the communication with member federations, UWW has announced a new Regional Development Program to help support wrestling development activities across regions at beginning of the year.

This program contributes to a coherent development strategy and offers hands-on local support and assistance to benefit wrestling growth in countries that are relatively less developed in the sport of wrestling.

Through this flagship development program, UWW is continuing to provide tailored support to its member federations and making a real and lasting impact in driving the development of wrestling around the world.

The training courses prior to the SEA Games set another important milestone for UWW and marked a start of a series of wrestling development programs and projects in the region. Positive feedback was received from the participating nations, and many countries have already expressed their interest in hosting the 2023 UWW Southeast Asia Development Program.

"The training courses for coaches and referees are extremely important and beneficial for the development of wrestling in Vietnam and the whole Southeast Asia region," Manh Van TRAN, the Secretary-General of the Vietnam Olympic Committee, said.

"We have supported a coaching course via Olympic Solidarity back in 2017, and we hope to continue our successful collocation with UWW to grow wrestling in Vietnam," he said.

Lee Jiwoo_Ref course_VIE

"I’m a young coach from Indonesia and I am very happy that UWW offered this chance to further enhance my knowledge of wrestling in both coaching and refereeing," Purnama SURYA, a coach from Indoesia, said. "I attended both training courses, and had great experience learning from renowned international experts in the field. A big thank you to UWW."

#WrestleSantiago

Torreblanca, Valdes repeat as Pan-Am Games champs

By Eric Olanowski

(Photo credit: Ramon Monroy Panam Sports via Xpress Media)

SANTIAGO, Chile (November 2) --- Yurieski TORREBLANCA (CUB) and Alejandro VALDÉS (CUB) repeated as Pan-American Games champions after grabbing golds on Thursday night at the Chilean Olympic Center.

Valdes dominated his three opponents, picking up 10-0 wins over Joseph SILVA (PUR) and Albaro RUDECINDO (DOM) before pinning Nahshon GARRETT (USA) in the gold medal bout.

Valdes now has a pair of Pan-American Games gold medals to go along with his three Pan-American Championship titles.

Fellow Cuban Torreblanca was nearly flawless in his quest to repeat as Pan-Am Games champion, scoring four wins on Thursday—three coming via shutouts. Torreblanca blanked Carlos IZQUIERDO (COL), Rashji MACKEY (BAH) and Pedro CEBALLOS (VEN) (8-0, 10-0 and 4-0, respectively) to reach the 86kg finals.

In the championship bout, Torreblanca controlled the six-minute finals bout against Mark HALL (USA), effectively shutting down the American’s offense. The Cuban stopped Hall’s only real shot attempt of the bout, picking up a counter-offensive takedown. After giving up a reversal to end the first, Torreblanca tacked on an additional step-out point and cruised to the 3-1 win.

Meanwhile, in women's wrestling, Yusneylis GUZMÁN (CUB) became the first Cuban woman to win Pan-American Games gold since Lisset HECHEVARRIA (CUB) and Katherine VIDIAUX (CUB) claimed titles at the 2011 Pan-American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Guzman defeated Erin GOLSTON (USA) and Jacquline MOLLOCANA (ECU) to end Cuba’s 12-year Pan-Am Games gold drought. She defeated Golston, 10-0, then beat Mollocana, 5-1, cementing a spot in her nation’s wrestling history books.

In the bout of the night, Giullia RODRIGUES (BRA) narrowly edged Hannah TAYLOR (CAN) to win the 57kg gold. She hit two inside trips to score her six points—a two-point trip in the first and a four-point trip in the second—to win her third competition of the season. Rodrigues also won gold medals this season at the Poland Open and Ion Corneanu & Ladislau Simon Memorial. 

Rodrigues joins Joice SILVA (BRA) as the only woman from Brazil to win a Pan-American Games gold medal.

The final gold of the night in women’s wrestling went to Forrest MOLINARI (USA), who defeated Soleymi CARABALLO (VEN), 3-2, in the 68kg finals. Molinari surrendered a high-level single-leg takedown in the first period but scored three unanswered points to win her first Pan-Am Games title.

Friday's opening round matches begin at 10:00 (local time), with the bronze and gold-medal bouts beginning at 17:00.

Freestyle

65kg
GOLD - Alejandro VALDÉS (CUB) df. Nahshon GARRETT (USA), via fall
BRONZE - Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG) df. Sixto AUCCAPIÑA (PER), 7-1
BRONZE - Joseph SILVA (PUR) df. Albaro RUDECINDO (DOM), 6-5

86kg 
GOLD - Yurieski TORREBLANCA (CUB) df. Mark HALL (USA), 3-1
BRONZE - Hunter LEE (CAN) df. Ethan RAMOS (PUR), 14-4
BRONZE - Pedro CEBALLOS (VEN) df. Carlos IZQUIERDO (COL), 7-6

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
GOLD - Yusneylis GUZMÁN (CUB) df. Jacquline MOLLOCANA (ECU), 5-1
BRONZE - Mariana ROJAS (VEN) df. Erin GOLSTON (USA), 3-0

57kg
GOLD - Giullia RODRIGUES (BRA) df. Hannah TAYLOR (CAN), 6-6
BRONZE - Angela ALVAREZ (CUB) df. Xochitl MOTA-PETTIS (USA), 10-0

BRONZE - Luisa VALVERDE (ECU) df. Betzabeth SARCO (VEN), via fall

68kg
GOLD - Forrest MOLINARI (USA) df. Soleymi CARABALLO (VEN), 3-2
BRONZE - Nicoll PARRADO (COL) df. Virginia JIMÉNEZ (CHI), 6-0
BRONZE - Olivia DI BACCO (CAN) df. Ambar GARNICA (MEX), 8-6