Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! May 29, 2018

By Eric Olanowski

Reviewing the 2018 Cadet Pan-American C'ships and the updated list of Youth Olympic Games qualifiers. Also taking a look at next weeks 2018 U23 European Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. 

1. The USA Caps off Pan-American C'ships with Nine Freestyle Gold Medals
The United States of America capped off the final day of competition at the 2018 Pan-American Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala with a 38-1 record and won nine of the possible ten gold medals.

More importantly, the quartet of American gold medals at YOG weights helped the United States punch four tickets to the 2018 Buenos Aires Games in October. Mexico, who won the fifth and final gold medal also locked up their spot for the 2018 Games.

Watch all freestyle matches from the 2018 Pan-American Championships.

Team Scores
GOLD - United States (245 points)
SILVER - Mexico (120 points)
BRONZE - Canada  (100 points)
Fourth - Guatemala (89 points)
Fifth - Dominican Republic  (74 points)

Axel ESQUIVEL (MEX) celebrates after defeating Paxton Liam CREESE (USA) in the 51kg Greco-Roman Pan-American finals. (Photo by Robbert Wijtman)

2. Mexico Qualifies Trio for Youth Olympic Games 
Mexico and the United States each had eight wrestlers vying for Greco-Roman gold medals at the 2018 Cadet Pan-American Championships. The winner of 45kg, 51kg, 60kg, 71kg, and 92kg qualified their nations spot for October’s Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

Although USA wrestlers won five gold medals, none of those came at a Youth Olympic weight class. 

Mexico nabbed three gold medals against American opponents, with all three wins coming in weight categories where there was a Youth Olympic Games spot up for grabs. 

Igor ALVES DE QUEIROZ (BRA) and Jeremy GONZALEZ (ECU) claimed the two remaining YOG spots. 

Watch all Greco-Roman Matches from the 2018 Pan-American Championships.

Team Scores 
GOLD - United States (215 points) 
SILVER - Mexico (190 points) 
BRONZE - Guatemala (99 points) 
Fourth - Ecuador (61 points)
Fifth - Brazil (51 points) 

Tiare IKEI (USA), 49kg Cadet Pan-American champion. (Photo by Robert Wijtman)

3. USA Claims Six Women’s Wrestling Pan-Am Golds 
The United States capped off their impressive run at a Cadet Pan-American Championship team title with six individual championships, which included four births to the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina later this year. 

Venezuela and Cuba grabbed a pair of spots to the YOG, while Brazil and Mexico each had a solo wrestler punch their ticket to Buenos Aires.

Watch all women’s wrestling Matches from the 2018 Pan-American Championships.

TEAM SCORES
GOLD - United States (205 points) 
SILVER – Canada (131 points) 
BRONZE – Mexico (130 points) 
Fourth - Ecuador (80 points)
Fifth - Brazil (60 points) 

 Milaimys POTRILLE (CUB), 73kg Pan-American champion. (Photo by Robbert Wijtman)

4. Youth Olympic Games Qualifiers After the Cadet Asian, European and Pan-American C'ships.
The 2018 Youth Olympic Games will take place October 12-14 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. For qualification purposes, the highest placing athlete from the cadet continental championships will qualify their nations spot for the 2018 Games in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. 

In women's wrestling, the top two athletes from the cadet continental championships will qualify their nations spot for the Buenos Aires Games. 

Qualifiers After the Cadet Asian, European and Pan-American Championships 
Freestyle 
48kg – RUS, USA, and UZB
55kg – JPN, UKR, and USA 
65kg – AZE, IRI, and USA
80kg – IRI, RUS, and USA
110kg – MEX, IRI, and RUS 

Greco-Roman 
45kg – BUL, ECU, and IRI 
51kg – GEO, JPN, and MEX 
60kg – ARM, MEX, and UZB
71kg – JPN, MEX, and RUS 
92kg – IRI, MEX, and RUS 

Women's Wrestling 
43kg – AZE, BLR, BRA, JPN, MGL, and USA
49kg – HUN, JPN, SWE, USA, UZB, and VEN
57kg – HUN, IND, JPN, MDA, USA, and VEN
65kg – CHN, CUB, HUN, JPN, MEX, and UKR
73kg – BLR, CUB, JPN, TUR, USA, and UZB

5. U23 European Championships Begin Next Monday, June 4 
The 2018 U23 European Championships kick off next Monday, June 4 in Istanbul, Turkey. 

Wrestlers between the ages of 19 and 23 years old will compete to qualify for the 2018 U23 World Championships which take place November 12-18 in Bucharest, Romania. 

EVENT SCHEDULE

Weekly FIVE! in Social Media 

1.Big Move Monday! @pascal.eisele @ringen_drb

2. Watch as South Africa’s Madi MPHO tells the @unitednationshumanrights about her journey from orphan to adulthood and how wrestling educated her on having empathy. Incredible story.

3.Erica Wiebe: “One thing that comes out in myths is that at the bottom of the abyss comes the voice of salvation. The black moment is the moment when the real message of transformation is going to come. At the darkest moment comes the light.”
.
Feeling like I’m ready to come out of the darkness soon.
I have a love/hate relationship with this part of the process. We push just past the point of breaking in the hopes we will become reborn, renewed, an evolution of who we once were. It’s magical. But it’s simultaneously physically, mentally, emotionally demanding. It’s why I love this sport.
@eweebz ?

4. How about this unusual wrestling singlets?? Как на счет таких необычных борцовских трико?? ?@pincancer #charity#wrestlingsinglet#wrestlers#gucci#louisvuitton#борцовскоетрико

5. Continuing series of wrestling "puzzles"? Продолжаем серию борцовских "головоломок"?
@wow_worldofwrestling #wrestling#coolpic#wrestlers#wow#sport#борцы#борьба#круто

#WrestleAthens

Fernandez earns shot at second world U17 title in Athens

By Vinay Siwach

ATHENS, Greece (July 31) -- Returning world champion Tania FERNANDEZ (USA) earned herself a shot to win second title in a row after making the 61kg final in Athens, Greece.

Fernandez was one of the two United States wrestlers who reached the Women's Wrestling finals on Thursday in the Greek capital.

The two semifinal wins were after two semifinal losses but Fernandez and Epenesa ELISON (USA) kept the U.S. in the race for team title, making the final at 53kg and 61kg respectively.

Elison, who dominated her way to semifinals, was no different there as well. She caught Farida ABDRAKHMANOVA (KAZ) in a lace and led 6-0. She then scored two takedowns and won 10-0.

Jiaqing JIANG (CHN) scored a late takedown to beat Rion OGAWA (JPN), 4-4, and book a place in the final against Elison.

Fernandez went one step better and pinned Miranda KAPANADZE (GEO) using an arm-bar and returned to the finals. She will take on YASHITA (IND) in the final after the Indian blanked Barbara BAGER (HUN), 5-0.

Uzbekistan had its second Women's Wrestling finalist in Athens as Asian U17 champion Shokhista SHONAZAROVA (UZB) blanked Maisei ELLIOTT (USA), 9-0 in the semifinals.

She will face An NAKANISHI (JPN) for the gold medal after the Japanese defeated Asema ASANGARYEVA (KGZ) 11-0 in the other semifinal, in typical Japanese style using a leg lace.

Japan got one more finalist, at 46kg, after Hanano OYA (JPN) denied returning bronze medalist Jaclyn BOUZAKIS (USA), 6-4, in the semifinals. Bouzakis was not able to cover the 6-0 lead Oya had built in the first period.

Oya will now face Janka SILLEI (HUN) in the gold-medal bout on Friday. Sillei dashed hopes of the hosts Greece by beating silver medalist Maria GKIKA (GRE), 10-4 which was eventually called a pin.

European U17 champion Ayla SAHIN (GER) held off Linda MARTINEZ (MEX), 6-0, in the semifinals at 69kg to earn a shot at the world title against Min ZHAO (CHN) who came from behind to beat MANISHA (IND) 6-4.

RESULTS

40kg
GOLD: Shokhista SHONAZAROVA (UZB) vs. An NAKANISHI (JPN)

SF 1: Shokhista SHONAZAROVA (UZB) df. Maisie ELLIOTT (USA), 9-0
SF 2: An NAKANISHI (JPN) df. Asema ASANGARYEVA (KGZ), 11-0

46kg
GOLD: Janka SILLEI (HUN) vs. Hanano OYA (JPN)

SF 1: Janka SILLEI (HUN) df. Maria GKIKA (GRE), via fall (10-4)
SF 2: Hanano OYA (JPN) df. Jaclyn BOUZAKIS (USA), 6-4

53kg
GOLD: Epenesa ELISON (USA) vs. Jiaqing JIANG (CHN)

SF 1: Epenesa ELISON (USA) df. Farida ABDRAKHMANOVA (KAZ), 10-0
SF 2: Jiaqing JIANG (CHN) df. Rion OGAWA (JPN), 4-4

61kg
GOLD: Taina FERNANDEZ (USA) vs. YASHITA (IND)

SF 1: Taina FERNANDEZ (USA) df. Miranda KAPANADZE (GEO), via fall
SF 2: YASHITA (IND) df. Barbara BAGER (HUN), 5-0

69kg
GOLD: Ayla SAHIN (GER) vs. Min ZHAO (CHN)

SF 1: Ayla SAHIN (GER) df. Linda MARTINEZ (MEX), 6-0
SF 2: Min ZHAO (CHN) df. MANISHA (IND), 6-4