Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! May 14, 2018

Monday, May 14, 2018 - 12:31 By

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Reviewing Thursday's Beat the Streets, the Youth Olympic Games qualifiers and Yazdani making Iran's world team.  

1. Cadet European Championships Begin Monday 
The 2018 Cadet European Championships begin Monday, May 14 in Skopje, Macedonia. 

The second cadet continental championship will serve as a qualifier for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games which take place this October. 

The first place finisher in freestyle and Greco-Roman will qualify their countries spot in the five designated weight classes, while the first and second place finishers in women's wrestling will qualify their nations spot for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.  

European Championship Schedule

Youth Olympic Weight Classes 
Freestyle - 48kg, 55kg, 65kg, 80kg, and 110kg 
Greco-Roman - 45kg, 51kg, 60kg, 71kg, and 92kg 
Women's Wrestling - 43kg, 49kg, 57kg, 65kg, and 73kg 

Amir ZARE (IRI) closes out the 2018 Cadet Asian Championship with a 10-0 win over Kumar ANIRUDH (IND). (Photo by Sachiko Hotaka)

2. Iran's Cadets Illuminate Uzbekistan 
Iranian freestyle wrestlers left the 2018 Cadet Asian Championships with medals in all but one weight class. 

Iran claimed an impressive six golds and three bronzes to close out the first cadet continental championship of the year. 

Even more impressive, in their six finals bouts, Iranian wrestlers picked up four technical superiority wins and averaged nearly ten points a match! 

Full Cadet Asian Championship Results   

3. Beat the Streets Match-up Order Announced 
The wait is almost over!

Three Olympic champions in Togrul ASGAROV (AZE), Jordan BURROUGHS (USA)  and Helen MAROULIS (USA) are set to compete at Beat the Streets which begins this Thursday, May 17 at 2:30 PM in New York, New York. 

The final two duals, USA vs. Nigeria and USA vs. Cuba start at 6:30 PM.

Women's Freestyle
USA vs. Nigeria 
57kg: Helen MAROULIS (USA) vs. Odunayo ADEKUROYE (NGR)
59 kg: Alli RAGAN (USA) vs. Adeniyi AMINAT (NGR)
68 kg: Tamyra STOCK (USA) vs. Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)

FREESTYLE
USA vs. Cuba
57kg – Josh RODRIGUEZ (USA) vs. Reineri ORTEGA (CUB)
70kg – James GREEN (USA) vs. Franklin MAREN CASTILLO (CUB)
79kg – Kyle DAKE (USA) vs. Livan LOPEZ AZCUY  (CUB)
92kg – J’den COX (USA) vs. Yurieski TORREBLANCA QUERALTA (CUB)
97kg – Kyle SNYDER (USA) vs. Reineris SALAS PEREZ (CUB)
125kg– Nick GWIAZDOWSKI (USA) vs. Yudenny ESTEVEZ (CUB)

Age-level Match-up - Patrick GLORY (USA) vs. Gavin TEASDALE (USA) 

Co-Main Event – Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) vs. Frank CHAMIZO (ITA)
Main Event  – Jordan OLIVER (USA) vs. Togrul ASGAROV (AZE) 

4. Olympic Champion, Yazdani Locks up Another Iranian World Team Spot 
The world and Olympic champion, Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) defeated 2018 Takhti Cup champion, Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) twice in the best of three series to make Iran’s 2018 Asian Games and 2018 World Championship roster. 

In the first match-up, Yazdani was tested early, giving up the first two points. The reigning world champion came back to outscore Ghasempour, 8-0 to take the first match, 8-2. 

The Olympic champion remained undefeated in Iran for the fourth consecutive year with a 5-0 victory in the second match. 

FULL RESULTS

5. Youth Olympic Qualifications by Country 
The 2018 Youth Olympic Games will take place October 12-14 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

The highest placing athlete from the Asian Championships qualified their countries spot for the Games in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. 

In women's wrestling, the top two athletes from the Asian Championships qualified their nations spot for the Buenos Aires Games. 

Qualifiers After the Cadet Asian Championships 
Freestyle 
48kg - UZB
55kg - JPN 
65kg - IRI
80kg - IRI 
110kg - IRI

Greco-Roman 
45kg - IRI 
51kg - JPN  
60kg - UZB
71kg - JPN
92kg - IRI 

Women's Wrestling 
43kg - JPN and MGL 
49kg - JPN and UZB 
57kg - JPN and IND 
65kg - JPN and CHN 
73kg - JPN and UZB 

Full Cadet Asian Championship Results   

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media

1. Big Move Monday! @vlasovroma90 #kaspeuro2018
2. Happy Mother’s Day, wrestling fans!
3. One of the most anticipated matches in years will go down May 17th in NYC. If you live in the area go ahead and support @beatthestreets, which provides wrestling opportunities to disadvantaged youth around the city. —>http://bit.ly/rotr-tix
4. Preparing for the match #wrestling #sportsgirl #cadet #asia #борьба
5. A few Black and Whites from the 2018 European Championships Kaspiysk.  #wrestling #kaspiysk2018 #unitedworldwrestling

67-Year-Old Wrestler Tony Collins Inspires with Lockdown Workouts

Wednesday, June 10, 2020 - 23:18 By Mark Pickering

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England's Tony Collins is not your typical 67-year-old great-grandfather. 

You're more likely to see him in a singlet than in a pair of slippers. 

“When I won [my last tournament] n January, and my family asked if I'd be happy to retire now, I told them I'm too young to retire,” said Collins, who lives in Huyton, a town in Merseyside in the North of England. 

While Britain continues to battle the Coronavirus pandemic, the veteran wrestler -- who competes in both freestyle and Greco-Roman events -- has actually ramped up his training at home and his wrestling drills have been central to him maintaining his health and fitness. 


“I've been training very hard in my garden with kettlebells, tyres, medicine balls, solo wrestling drills and have still been able to do park runs and hill sprints,” said the retired scaffolder.

Knowsley Tigers Wrestling Club member Collins, who has fought and won age group titles in Europe, Asia and the Americas and has also medaled at the Veteran World Championships, only took up the sport at the age of 24 by chance but concedes that wrestling has made him the man, the father, the grandfather and the great-grandfather that he is today.  

“A work colleague asked me to go to the local gym and try wrestling.  I never ran or played football or any other sport when I was a kid. I stumbled upon the story of ancient Greek wrestler Milo of Croton which is now Italy. He was the greatest wrestler in the ancient world, winning all the tournaments in ancient Greece. He would wander around the gymnasiums and watch the young wrestlers train and think I too was like them. This story stayed in my mind ever since.”

Collins' garden has been transformed into a wrestling playground where he diligently and daily hones his skills while the world continues to deal with this pandemic. 


“My goal is still to become the veteran world champion and I've bought or borrowed equipment from a CrossFit gym and I've had help and support from my wrestling friends all over the four corners of the world.

“There are lots of ways to create wrestling drills at home and outside areas, keep going is my attitude and my message, that's what makes a champion.”
 


While the well-traveled Briton naturally pays close attention to ever-changing conditions and government-led restrictions in place, his 40-plus years of wrestling has instilled in him a mindset to stay safe, stay healthy and never lose sight of his goals. 

“Thanks to wrestling I am a different person. I think differently, I approach problems differently to what other people my age would. As soon as we have been given permission to return to the mat I will be banging on the door of our wrestling gym.”