wrestleOaxtepec

Canada, Cuba and USA win Junior Men’s Freestyle Titles at #WrestleOaxtepec

By Taylor Miller

OAXTEPEC, Mexico – Four divisions were contested today in the penultimate day of the Cadet and Junior Pan American Championships in Oaxtepec, Mexico. Champions were crowned in the Junior men’s freestyle, Junior women’s freestyle, Cadet women’s freestyle and Cadet Greco-Roman.

This week, the top-eight in the Olympic weights of the Junior divisions will earn bids to the 2021 Junior Pan American Games in Cali, Colombia, in December.

With Junior men’s freestyle starting today, three countries won gold medals, including Osmany DIVERSENT MARTINEZ (CUB) at 57 kg, Carter YOUNG (USA) at 61 kg, Lachlan MCNEIL (CAN) at 65 kg and Cade DEVOS (USA) at 74 kg.

The Junior women’s freestyle and Cadet women’s freestyle tournaments ended today. Winning the Junior titles were Katerina Sheila LANGE (USA) at 65 kg and Lillian FREITAS (USA) at 72 kg. Champions in the Cadet division included Debanhi TAPIA GARCIA (MEX) at 69 kg and Rose CASSIOPPI (USA) at 73 kg.

Cadet Greco-Roman started today with the USA winning each of the weight classes. Earning titles were Bo BASSETT (USA) at 45 kg, Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) at 48 kg, Alan KOEHLER (USA) at 51 kg and Kael LAURIDSEN (USA) at 55 kg.

The tournament wraps up tomorrow, starting at 9 a.m. CT live on uww.org.

En espanol
OAXTEPEC, Mexico – Cuatro divisiones se disputaron hoy en la penúltima dia del Campeonato Panamericano Cadete y Juvenil en Oaxtepec, México. Los campeones se coronaron en estilo libre masculino juvenil, estilo libre femenino juvenil, estilo libre femenino cadete y grecorromano cadete.

Esta semana, los ocho mejores atletas en los pesos olímpicos de las divisiones Junior ganarán candidaturas para los Juegos Panamericanos Junior 2021 en Cali, Colombia, en diciembre.

Con el estilo libre masculino junior a partir de hoy, tres países ganaron medallas de oro, incluido Osmany DIVERSENT MARTINEZ (CUB) en 57 kg, Carter YOUNG (USA) en 61 kg, Lachlan MCNEIL (CAN) en 65 kg y Cade DEVOS (USA) en 74 kg. .

Los torneos de estilo libre femenino junior y estilo libre femenino cadete terminaron hoy. Las ganadoras de los títulos Junior fueron Katerina Sheila LANGE (USA) en 65 kg y Lillian FREITAS (USA) en 72 kg. Los campeones en la división cadete incluyeron a Debanhi TAPIA GARCIA (MEX) en 69 kg y Rose CASSIOPPI (USA) en 73 kg.

El torneo grecorromano cadete comenzó hoy y USA gano cada una de las categorías de peso. Los títulos ganadores fueron Bo BASSETT (USA) en 45 kg, Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) en 48 kg, Alan KOEHLER (USA) en 51 kg y Kael LAURIDSEN (USA) en 55 kg.

El torneo concluye mañana, a partir de las 9 a.m. CT en vivo en uww.org.

JUNIOR WOMEN’S FREESTYLE RESULTS
65 kg
GOLD - Katerina Sheila LANGE (USA)
SILVER - Aylah Mohammed MAYALI (CAN)
BRONZE - Karime Anel MARTINEZ TERAN (MEX)

72 kg
GOLD - Lillian FREITAS (USA)
SILVER - Fernanda MARQUEZ MARTINEZ (MEX)

JUNIOR MEN’S FREESTYLE RESULTS
57 kg
GOLD - Osmany DIVERSENT MARTINEZ (CUB)
SILVER - Ryan MILLER (USA)
BRONZE - Fotis PAPADOPOULOS (CAN)
BRONZE - Diego ZULUAGA CUEVAS (COL)

61 kg
GOLD – Carter YOUNG (USA)
SILVER - Diego OLVERA RODRIGUEZ (MEX)
BRONZE - Bryan DE OLIVEIRA PEREIRA (BRA)
BRONZE - Kevin CARRASCO ARTEAGA (PAN)

65 kg
GOLD - Lachlan MCNEIL (CAN)
SILVER - Angel TINOCO TORRES (PER)
BRONZE - Chance LAMER (USA)
BRONZE - Leandro VALLEJO CABRERA (DOM)

74 kg
GOLD - Cade DEVOS (USA)
SILVER - Patrik LEDER (CAN)
BRONZE- Orislandy PERDOMO BROOKS (CUB)
BRONZE - Juan Gabriel MARTINEZ (DOM)

CADET WOMEN’S FREESTYLE RESULTS
69 kg
GOLD - Debanhi TAPIA GARCIA (MEX)
SILVER - Margaret GRAHAM (USA)
BRONZE - Nataly OVANDO ROJAS (CHI)

73 kg
GOLD - Rose CASSIOPPI (USA)
SILVER - Karime CORTES RESENDIZ (MEX)
BROZNE - Maria DE ALMEIDA DOS SANTOS (BRA)

CADET GRECO-ROMAN RESULTS
45 kg
GOLD - Bo BASSETT (USA)
SILVER - Roger KANTUN KU (MEX)
BRONZE - Joao AMORIM DE MOURA (BRA)

48 kg
GOLD - Luke LILLEDAHL (USA)
SILVER - Abel SANCHEZ JUAREZ (PER)
BRONZE - Marco GARCIA ALVAREZ (MEX)

51 kg
GOLD - Alan KOEHLER (USA)
SILVER - Yan LANDIM RIBEIRO (BRA)
BRONZE - Pedro TORIBIO TORRES (PER)

55 kg
GOLD - Kael LAURIDSEN (USA)
SILVER - Diego TERRIQUEZ IBARRA (MEX)
BRONZE - Patrick RODRIGUEZ QUINTO (ECU)

2026 World Championships

Yazdani Interview: 'Changing Weight Classes Difficult, But Ready for 97kg Challenge'

By

- By Amirreza ALIASGARI

KEMRAN, Iran (July 19) -- Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) made his eighth World Championships for Iran on Friday after beating Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI), 4-2 and 5-3, in two straight matches at 97kg.

In 2015, Yazdani was at 70kg and won a silver medal at his debut World Championships. For a decade, he spent his wrestling career at 86kg, winning two Olympic silver medals, three world titles, two world silver and one bronze medal.

Now at 97kg after two shoulder surgeries, a 31-year-old Yazdani is adjusting to the new weight class. As he returns to the World Championships after three years, Yazdani will be chasing his eighth medal and fourth title.

After making the Iran team for the World Championships, to be held in Astana from October 24 to November 1, Yazdani spoke to United World Wrestling about the challenges of 97kg, returning to the World Championships and how his body is holding up.

Excerpts:

- How are you feeling physically after the two tough matches?

Yazdani: I’ve improved in some areas, especially when it comes to my breathing and conditioning. But we didn’t really have enough time to focus on strength training, so we worked on that a bit less than we wanted to. With the time that’s left until the World Championships, I’m going to do everything I can to get myself in the best shape possible and be even better prepared.

- How prepared were you for the wrestle-off against Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)?

Yazdani: For these competitions, I’d say I was about 70 percent ready. It’s hard to be 100 precent prepared for a tournament like this, but by the time the World Championships come around, I’ll definitely be in better shape and more prepared.

- What are your thoughts on competing at 97kg, a weight class that may have four Olympic champions in Astana?

Yazdani: The 97kg weight class is new for me, and of course I have new opponents now. It’s quite different from 86kg. I hope I can put on a good performance in this weight class as well. There are a lot of great champions here, and I hope I get the chance to wrestle against them, challenge myself, and show my best wrestling at the World Championships.

- But will it be challenging for your to be at the top at this weight class?

Yazdani: I already knew how many top wrestlers compete in this weight class. Considering my physical condition, I decided last year to move up to 97kg. Since it’s also an Olympic weight class, I wanted to make the move early so I’d have enough time to fix any weaknesses and adapt before the Olympics. My goal is to be at my very best for both the Olympics and the World Championships, which are just as important.

I wanted to move up sooner so I could get comfortable in this weight class as quickly as possible. Once you get to around 30 years old, things naturally become a little more difficult, and changing weight classes isn’t as easy as it used to be. There are definitely challenges at 97kg, and I’ve thought about all of them. Hopefully, I’ll be able to put on my best performance and come away with a great result.