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Bravo-Young and Team USA Seek to Finish Strong on Final Day of #WrestleGuatemalaCity

Friday, June 7, 2019 - 23:18 By Taylor Miller

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Roman BRAVO-YOUNG (USA) and eight of his teammates will wrestle for gold tonight in the Junior Pan American Championships.

Competing at 61 kg in men’s freestyle, this is Bravo-Young’s first international tournament since the 2016 Cadet World Championships.

“International competition is good,” Bravo-Young said. “You get to wrestle different people. In the U.S., we wrestle the same people all the time. Getting a different feel while being able to experience a new country is good. I’m having a good time so far.”

In today’s action, Bravo-Young has collected three wins by technical fall. Tonight he will wrestle Carlos MENDOZA PENA (MEX) in his final match of the round-robin bracket.

If he continues his impressive performance without giving up a point, he will be in the running for the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler award.

As he seeks gold, RBY, as he is called in the U.S., draws some of his motivation for international glory from his college wrestling room at Penn State University.

“Being in the Penn State room and being around David TAYLOR, watching him practice and knowing that he’s a world champion and has reached the pinacle just makes me look up to him. Being around Cael SANDERSON and all the talent and success in that room is definitely a good time.”

Bravo-Young and the rest of Team USA had goals of matching the success of USA’s Senior Pan Am team, which won all 10 gold medals in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in April.

“We just want to see the momentum keep going,” he said. “Nine out of 10 going for gold is pretty good. We wanted to get all 10 like our Senior team, but we’re just going to keep moving forward.”

En español

Roman BRAVO-YOUNG (USA) y ocho de sus compañeros de equipo lucharán por el oro esta noche en el Campeonato Panamericano Juvenil.

Compitiendo en los 61kg del estilo libre masculino, este es el primer torneo internacional de Bravo-Young desde el Campeonato Mundial de Cadetes 2016.

"Es una buena experiencia competir a nivel internacional” dijo Bravo-Young. "Tienes la oportunidad de luchar con diferentes personas. En los Estados Unidos, luchamos con las mismas personas todo el tiempo. La sensación diferente y explorar un nuevo país es interesante. Lo estoy pasando bien hasta ahora.”

En los combates de hoy, Bravo-Young ha ganado por superioridad técnica las tres veces. Esta noche se enfrentara a Carlos MENDOZA PENA (MEX) en su último combate.

Si continua con su actuación destacada y sin que sus oponentes puedan marcarle algún punto, el es el favorito a la Bota de Oro.

Mientras va en camino a obtener la medalla de oro, RBY, como se le llama en los EE. UU., extrae parte de su motivación para la gloria internacional de su gimnasio de lucha universitaria en la Universidad de Penn State.

"Estar en gimnasio de Penn State y estar cerca de David TAYLOR, verlo practicar y saber que es un campeón del mundo y que ha alcanzado el punto más alto en nuestro deporte, me hace admirarlo,” dijo Bravo-Young. “Estar cerca de Cael SANDERSON y todo el talento y el éxito en ese gimnasio es definitivamente una experienca única.”

Bravo-Young y el resto del equipo de EE. UU. tenían como meta igualar el éxito del equipo Panamericano de Mayores de EE. UU., que ganó 10 medallas de oro en Buenos Aires, Argentina, en abril.

"Solo queremos ver que el impulso continúe,” dijo. "Nueve de 10 vamos por el oro es bastante bueno. Queríamos tener a los 10 como nuestro equipo de mayores, pero seguiremos avanzando.”

 

Austria Develops Wrestling Future at UWW Performance Centre A.C. Wals

Wednesday, June 17, 2026 - 08:50 By Jörg Richter

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WALS-SIEZENHEIM, Austria (June 16) -- Anyone in Wals-Siezenheim, Austria, looking for the local wrestling centre is directed towards the fire station. Standing in front of it, you look up at the tall tower where the hoses are hung up to dry after call-outs, and at the garages housing the emergency vehicles. But the floor above the firefighters belongs to the wrestlers.

The training centre of wrestling champions A.C. Wals was inaugurated in 1994, completely renovated in 2022 and, a year later, declared the sixth United World Wrestling training centre worldwide by UWW President Nenad LALOVIC.

The former mayor of Wals-Siezenheim, Ludwig BIERINGER, visits the training centre almost daily and can recount stories about the development of the wrestling venue, as well as the sporting stronghold of Wals-Siezenheim, home to the Red Bull family.

His words, "if, by building the wrestling centre, we manage to keep even one young person away from drugs, then this investment will have been worth it,” are likely to hold just as much significance today as they did 32 years ago, when the training hall was completed.

h In Austria, wrestlers are battling against the dominance of winter sports; whilst every child knows the ski jumpers, downhill and slalom skiers, wrestlers have to work incredibly hard to also make it into the spotlight of the mainstream media.

In Toni MARCHL, the Austrian Wrestling Federation has a dedicated and passionate leader who has given himself fully to the growth of the sport. His extensive network spans business, politics, and the highest levels of international sport, including UWW European Council President Karl Martin Dittmann and UWW President Lalovic, with whom he has built a strong and trusted relationship.

AC WalsFitness centre at A.C. Wals. (Photo: Austrian National Wrestling Centre)

Back to the training centre in Wals, which was designated a UWW higperformance centre in 2022, wrestlers from all over the world now come together to train. This naturally also benefits the ORSV wrestlers, who can now train alongside the world’s best on a selective basis – and do so at home, on their own mats. What’s more, thanks to the efforts of ORSV wrestlers can now be found in positions supported by the sports programme within the army, as well as in the police, judiciary and customs services.

A small boarding school accommodates male and female athletes from all over Austria who combine school, vocational training or work with the demands of competitive sport in Wals-Siezenheim, whilst also travelling there on an ad hoc basis for centralised training sessions.

A large team of coaches has also been established to pass on their experience to the wrestlers. Georg MARCHL (Freestyle), Jeno BODI and Amer HRUSTANOVIC (Greco-Roman), and Elena PITTL (Women's Wrestling) lead a well-trained and dedicated team of coaches, supported and supervised by sports director Benedikt ERNST, and trained in collaboration with former German heavyweight wrestler Sven THIELE. The medical sector is also well-equipped in Wals-Siezenheim, with physiotherapy and sports medicine staff.

AC WalsA.C. Wals

The UWW Performance Centre is having an impact on the larger Austrian clubs and federations, which are following its example in developing talent under ever-improving conditions, so that an ever-stronger elite is emerging from the existing base. But no champion falls from the sky, no talent becomes a world champion overnight; everything takes time.

The ORSV is firmly committed to the long-term development of its athletes, investing in homegrown talent and building a sustainable future for Austrian wrestling. This philosophy is reflected in the growth of wrestlers such as Markus RAGGINER, Daniel GASTL, Simon MARCHL, Benjamin GREIL, Johannes LUDESCHER, Aker ACHMIDT and, last but not least, 10-time international medallist Martina KUENZ.

Projects like the UWW Performance Centre in Wals-Siezenheim represent exactly the kind of investment that nurtures the next generation, creates lasting foundations for the sport, and ensures that Austria's wrestling future is built from within.

 - by Jorg RITCHER, Ringsport Magazine