#WrestleSantiago

WATCH LIVE: 2023 Pan-American Games, Day One

By Eric Olanowski

SANTIAGO, Chile (November 1) --- Kyle SNYDER (USA) and Mason PARRIS (USA) headline the entries for the opening day at the 2023 Pan-American Games in Santiago, Chile.

The first day will feature freestyle action at 57kg, 74kg, 97kg and 125kg.

Snyder, the three-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist, will look to repeat his gold-medal-winning performance from the 2019 Lima Pan-American Games. His biggest threats are Arturo SILOT TORRES (CUB), Nishan RANDHAWA (CAN) and Luis PEREZ (DOM).

Snyder defeated Silot Torres to win gold at the Pan-American Championships in Buenos Aires earlier this year, while Randhawa and Perez finished in third in Argentina.

Parris, the newly minted world medalist, makes his third appearance in the Red, White and Blue singlet. His heavyweight bracket features three reigning Pan-American medalists: Jose DIAZ ROBERTTI (VEN), Aaron JOHNSON (JAM) and Catriel MURIEL (ARG), the silver through bronze medal finishers from this year's Pan-American Championships.

Wednesday’s opening round matches begin at 10:00 (local time), while the gold and bronze-medal bouts begin at 17:00.

Watch Wednesday’s action: Freestyle 57kg, 74kg, 97kg and 125kg.
- 2023 Pan-American Games brackets.

Wednesday’s Entries:

57kg
Hernan David ALMENDRA (ARG)
Oscar Eduardo TIGREROS URBANO (COL)
Osmany DIVERSENT MARTÍNEZ (CUB)
Juan RAMIREZ (DOM)
Edwin Alexi SEGURA GUERRA (EAI)
Darian CRUZ (PUR)
Zane RICHARDS (USA)
Pedro Jesus MEIJIAS RODRIGUEZ (VEN)

74kg
Alvan BORDEAUX REGO (BRA)
Adam THOMSON (CAN)
Leon PERALTA LANAS (CHI)
Franklin MAREN CASTILLO (CUB)
Luis BARRIOS ROCHEZ (HON)
Anthony VALENCIA (MEX)
Shane JONES (PUR)
Tyler BERGER (USA)
Anthony Jose MONTERO CHIRINOS (VEN)

97kg
Ricardo BAEZ (ARG)
Nishan RANDHAWA (CAN)
Matias Ignacio URIBE SEPULVEDA (CHI)
Carlos Hernan ANGULO MURILLO (COL)
Maxwell LACEY GARITA (CRC)
Arturo SILOT TORRES (CUB)
Luis PEREZ (DOM)
Kyle SNYDER (USA)
Cristian SARCO COLMENAREZ (VEN)

125kg
Catriel MURIEL (ARG)
Ibrain TORRES ESPINOSA (CUB)
Elison ADAMES (DOM)
Aaron JOHNSON (JAM)
Jonovan SMITH (PUR)
Mason PARRIS (USA)
Jose DIAZ ROBERTTI (VEN)

#WrestleParis

Olympic champion Focken carries Olympic torch for Paris 2024

By Vinay Siwach

ALSACE, France (June 27) -- Tokyo Olympic champion Aline FOCKEN (GER) was part of the Olympic Torch Relay on Wednesday in Alsace, stage 41 of the relay for the 2024 Paris Games.

"It was magical," Focken said. "It was a short run for only a few minutes but I enjoyed it. I felt the Olympic spirit and pride to run with the torch. We were briefed a lot, about the significance of the torch and it's for peace and I felt it all the time. It was special."

The relay began from the European Parliament and then passed in front of the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe. It also lit up the city’s covered bridges, the Grande île district, the Alsatian Museum and the Notre Dame gothic cathedral before finishing at Place Kléber, in the city’s heart, where the celebration venue was located.

 

The Olympic Torch Relay continued its voyage through eastern France with a distinctly European tone. In addition to putting the spotlight on the gems of Alsace, the Olympic Torch Relay also highlighted fraternity between people, such as Franco-German links, which were celebrated during an exceptional collective relay on the Three Countries Bridge in Huningue. Another collective relay took place in Strasbourg, dedicated, as each day, to a specific sport.

Focken carried the torch at the start of the three country bridge for 250 metres. The starting point of Focken's run was in Germany while her finish was in France. She then handed over the Olympic Torch to Frenchman Eric Kueny, representative of the host country in Huningue.

Aline FOCKEN (GER)Aline FOCKEN (GER) with the Olympic torch on Wednesday. (Photo: Lewis Joly)

Focken, who won the gold medal in 76kg weight class in Tokyo, became the first woman from Germany to win gold at the Olympics in wrestling. She said her feeling was similar to Olympic Games but she was nervous before the run.

"I was nervous," she said. "It's different and all the TV is around you. I was relaxed but nervous. It was a really special moment and I thought that this may be the last Olympic moment for you so just enjoy it. I took my family with me to the relay."