Dominant Hildebrandt leads USA to Pan-Am team title

Sunday, May 8, 2022 - 03:28 By Vinay Siwach

ACAPULCO, Mexico (May 7) -- For three years now, no wrestler has been able to score on Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) at a Pan-American Championships. Such has been her domination on the mat that she is yet to lose a bout at the tournament dating back to 2013, the year she won her first Pan-Am title at 55kg.

She extended her unbeaten record Saturday by winning her seventh Pan-Am title in Acapulco, Mexico and leading team USA to the women's team title on the third day of the tournament. The Tokyo bronze medalist spent only three minutes and 24 seconds on the mat over three bouts, winning all of them by technical superiority.

Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) won her seventh Pan-Am title. (Photos: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

Hildebrandt faced Madison PARKS (CAN) in the 50kg final and finished the bout in less than a minute and celebrated the win by holding up seven fingers, symbolizing the seven titles she has won.

"That was my seventh Pan-Am championships or Games title," Hildebrandt said referring to her one Pan-Am Games gold which she won in 2019. "It's up there. This is exposing my age."

Despite being nine years older since she won her first title in 2013, she has only become more dominant on the mat. In Acapulco, she used her preferred leg lace to win the final against Banks, her opponent in the semifinal from a year ago.

"I love my sweep single which gets me close to my lace," she said. "So I am always out for that. I have a par terre idea these days. I feel I can attack from anywhere and I am comfortable from where the match goes."

In the semifinal against Patricia BERMUDEZ (ARG), she switched to a gut-wrench to get the win and it only shows Hildebrandt's creativity on the mat.

After a near-perfect outing in the tournament, Hildebrant is already thinking about the areas in which she would like to improve going into a busy season ahead.

"There are always things in preparation like nerves, mental games, sleep before," she said. "I am always refining outside wrestling and obviously there's a lot in wrestling too.

"Just today in general I felt a little sluggish on my feet. Things could have been better there. Maybe a little hesitant at times. So I am going to go back, watch the film, I always find stuff to pick apart."

The win Saturday will also serve as a big confidence booster for her before she wrestles in the USA for a spot on the World Championships team.

As a '21 silver medalist, she sits in the final of the tournament and will wait for the winner of a trial to wrestle her in a best-of-three series to determine the spot for Belgrade.

Hildebrant said that it's tricky to prepare for such a weight class and tournament which has a number of talented wrestlers entered but she has picked a few names she will keep her eyes on.

"Next step is solidifying a spot on this team and it's a tricky spot," she said. "I am waiting in the final and have to see at the end of this month who makes it out of the position of the trial to wrestle me off.

"It's exciting but tricky too, preparing for multiple, very talented women. I have my eyes on a few people, start zeroing in on that."

Parrish Dominique PARRISH (USA) celebrates after beating World bronze medalist Samantha STEWART (CAN). (Photo: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

Hildebrandt defending her gold from 2021 was the first of the three the USA won Saturday as Dominique PARRISH (USA) rose above expectations to win the 53kg title while Dymond GUILFORD (USA) came out of an incredibly tough 76kg bracket to win the gold.

Canada added one more gold to the two it had Friday while Cuba and Venezuela crowned a champion each as women's wrestling drew to its close.

The USA won the team title with 190 points, with Canada claiming the second spot with 165 points and host Mexico finishing third with 120 points.

Parrish announced herself to her opponents at team trials by winning the gold at 53kg with a clutch performance. Out of her three bouts, she came from behind in two of them before an asserting win in the final.

"It felt pretty good," Parrish said of her wins. "I don't know if you saw my earlier bouts but they were pretty crazy so it's nice to end that definitively [in the final]."

In her first bout, Parrish was trailing Karla ACOSTA MARTINEZ (MEX) 3-1 but score a buzzer-beating takedown to win. Mexico challenged the takedown call but lost to give a 4-3 win to Parrish.

The semifinal against World bronze medalist Samantha STEWART (CAN) was less dramatic but she still had to mount a comeback after trailing 4-0 at the break.

She first scored a takedown before adding a stepout with over a minute remaining. She utilized that and with 39 seconds still on the clock, she got her decisive two points to win 5-4.

"That was big considering that I started off the first period on my back," she said. "I was thinking about it later that she was a World bronze medalist. It's nice to wrestle everybody as if they are the same level as me and not pay attention to their accolades."

The final against '20 Pan-Am champ Luisa VALVERDE (ECU) was much controlled as she pancaked the Ecuadorian to secure the fall at 1:29 on the clock.

Parrish did find a positive and some areas to improve from the tournament before she wrestles for a spot on the USA world team.

"If I am fighting from behind, I at least know I can score," she said. "[I can] get my hand-fight off to make sure I am moving them and they are not moving me."

Dymond GUILFORD (USA) won the 76kg final 1-1 against Genesis REASCO VALDEZ (ECU). (Photo: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

At 76kg, Guilford won the gold medal by beating surprise finalist Genesis REASCO VALDEZ (ECU) 1-1 as the two exchanged activity clock points the USA wrestler got the criteria.

Reasco had stunned world champ and four-time Pan-Am champ Justina DI STASIO (CAN), 10-4, in the quarterfinals before pulling off a nerve-wracking 4-4 win over U23 world silver medalist Tatiana RENTERIA (COL) in the semifinals.

Guilford began the day with a fall over Ruthy PINHAL DOS SANTOS (BRA) before a 10-0 win over Maria ACOSTA (VEN). In the semifinal, she faced Linda MACHUCA (ARG) and secured a 12-2 win.

For the final, she had a clear game plan in her mind and executed it to perfection to win her first Pan-Am title.

"I watched her other matches and knew all she had was doubles," she said. "When she started, I thought I can do this. I thought she has nothing."

That helped Guilford defend all attacks from Reasco including a double-leg blast when she had only three seconds left on the activity clock.

Ana GODINEZ GONZALEZ (CAN) won the 62kg gold at Pan-Am Championships. (Photo: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

USA had a silver medalist as well as defending champion Kayla MIRACLE (USA) injury defaulted against U23 world champion Ana GODINEZ GONZALEZ (CAN) at 62kg.

Godinez's gold makes it two-in-two for the family as her elder sister Kalra had won the 55kg gold Friday.

Despite the gold, the Canadian wrestler did rue the fact that she could not wrestle enough matches in the competition.

"I wish I had more matches but it happens," Godinez said. "Miracle and I are friends. I go to Pheonix to train quite a bit. It sucks because I did want that final match. I only got two matches but I wanted at least three if not four but it's okay. I just felt bad that she got hurt and I hope she feels better."

Godinez did have a testing semifinal against Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA) and had to remove a deficit to win it 7-5. She was trailing 4-1 at the break but scored three takedowns in the second period.

The win marks another pit spot in the Godinez sisters' journey to the Paris Olympics as Canada builds a newer crop of wrestlers.

"I definitely did want to go to the Olympics in 2020 but I couldn't. I couldn't make it. But here's the time to do it. I trained with Danielle [Lappage] and Erica [Wiebe] before Tokyo.

"Karla has been working really hard and has had some injuries and hard times with wrestling. She has not been able to show how good she is. Karla can finally show how good she really is. She is up there right. She can be the best in the world as well."

But Godinez knows that it will require more than just performance on the mat to make it to the Games and win a medal as she becomes a more experienced wrestler.

"It (growth) came with experience," she said. "I needed to feel the Europeans and South Americans to know the difference in how I can wrestle to be the best version of myself and my wrestling. I have moved to having one coach for me, working on myself and not to do anything with anyone else. Now, I have a more solid plan coming in and I know what I want. I am in the matches I am more composed rather than before I was more random and I was still trying to figure out my style and I needed more experience and I got that."

Yaynelis SANZ VERDECIA (CUB) added a 57kg senior Pan-Am title to her resume. (Photo: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

At 57kg, Yaynelis SANZ VERDECIA (CUB) claimed her first senior Pan-Am title by beating Alma VALENCIA ESCOTO (MEX) 5-1 in the final.

But it was not smooth sailing for her before the final as she barely won her quarterfinal against Giullia PENALBER DE OLIVEIRA (BRA) 12-10 using a big four in the final minute of the bout. It was a similar story in the semifinal as she sneaked past Cameron GUERIN (USA) 12-7.

Hangelen LLANES ECHEVARRIA (CUB) could not join her teammate Sanz as a Pan-Am champ as Soleymi CARABALLO HERNANDEZ (VEN) won the 68kg title by winning the final 12-2. This was her first gold medal at the tournament after finishing with a silver in 2018.

Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) is now a five-time Pan-Am champion. (Photo: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

Burrough, Cox win

Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) and J'den COX (USA) got their country's team title defense off to a great start by winning the 79kg and 92kg gold in dominant fashion.

Burroughs outscored his opponents 40-1 in his four bouts in the Nordic-style draw to win his fifth Pan-Am title. He also has three Pan-Am Games titles.

Cox had three bouts in the day and like Burroughs, destroyed his competition with ease. He won the title outscoring 31-0.

Cox J'den COX (USA) won the 92kg gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

RESULTS

Women's wrestling

50kg
GOLD: Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) df. Madison PARKS (CAN), 10-0

BRONZE: Jacqueline MOLLOCANA ELENO (ECU) df. Yoannia PEREZ NUNEZ (CUB), 12-2
BRONZE: Patricia BERMUDEZ (ARG) df. Shammilka MIRANDA DIAZ (PUR), 10-0

53kg
GOLD: Dominique PARRISH (USA) df. Luisa VALVERDE (ECU), via fall

BRONZE: Betzabeth ARGUELLO VILLEGAS (VEN) df. Anny RAMIREZ PEREZ (DOM), via fall
BRONZE: Karla ACOSTA MARTINEZ (MEX) df. Samantha STEWART (CAN), 10-0

57kg
GOLD: Yaynelis SANZ VERDECIA (CUB) df. Alma VALENCIA ESCOTO (MEX), 5-1

BRONZE: Alexandria TOWN (CAN) df. Camila AMARILLA (ARG), 10-0
BRONZE: Giullia RODRIGUES PENALBER DE OLIVEIRA (BRA) df. Cameron GUERIN (USA), 7-7

62kg
GOLD: Ana GODINEZ GONZALEZ (CAN) df. Kayla MIRACLE (USA), via injury default

BRONZE: Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA) df. Andrea GONZALEZ GONGORA (COL), 7-0
BRONZE: Alejandra ROMERO BONILLA (MEX) df. Yolanda CORDERO VARGAS (CUB), 5-2

68kg
GOLD: Soleymi CARABALLO HERNANDEZ (VEN) df. Hangelen LLANES ECHEVARRIA (CUB), 12-2

BRONZE: Yessica OVIEDO PEREZ (DOM) df. Yanet SOVERO NINO (PER), 10-2
BRONZE: Grabriela PEDRO DA ROCHA (BRA) df. Kayla BRODNER (CAN), 6-1

76kg
GOLD: Dymond GUILFORD (USA) df. Genesis REASCO VALDEZ (ECU), 1-1

BRONZE: Maria ACOSTA (VEN) df. Linda MACHUCA (ARG), 13-11
BRONZE: Justina DI STASIO (CAN) df. Tatiana RENTERIA (COL), 3-2

Freestyle

79kg
GOLD: Jordan BURROUGHS (USA)
SILVER: Samuel BARMISH (CAN)
BRONZE: Victor J SANTOS ACOSTA (PUR)

92kg
GOLD: J'den COX (USA)
SILVER: Jeremy POIRIER (CAN)
BRONZE: Cristian SANCHEZ (MEX)

#JapanWrestling

Tanabe moves halfway to historic double victory with Greco 63kg gold

Thursday, December 18, 2025 - 14:47 By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (December 18) -- Kaisei TANABE didn't have to deal with one Olympic champion in moving halfway to his goal of achieving a historic double of national titles in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle. He likely won't be able to avoid another to complete the mission.

Tanabe powered his way to his first national crown in Greco with a victory at 63kg at the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships on Thursday, the opening day of the four-day tournament at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym.

"While I feel relieved, I have my 'real job' of freestyle 65kg the day after tomorrow, so I have to get my mind ready and do the best I can," said Tanabe, the defending champion at freestyle 65kg who will face a potential major hurdle this year in Paris Olympic champion Kotaro KIYOOKA.

In other action, another potential future star with Iranian roots emerged on the scene after Waseda University's Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI captured the freestyle 79kg gold, while a clash of reigning world champions between Ami ISHII and Miwa MORIKAWA was set up for the women's 68kg title.

The Emperor's Cup is also serving as the domestic qualifier for next year's Asian Championships, and the first of two qualifiers for the World Championships and Asian Games.

Olympic weight classes are being contested over two days, while non-Olympic divisions are completed in a single day.

Kaisei TANABE, left, works to get behind Ryota KOSHIBA in the Greco 63kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Tanabe acknowledged that he dodged a bullet when Paris 60kg gold medalist Kenichiro FUMITA withdrew on the eve of the tournament due to injury. Fumita was entered at 63kg in what would have been his first competition since his triumph in Paris.

As both are Nippon Sports Science University alumni and still train at the campus, Tanabe said he has spent some time sparring with Fumita.

"Part of me wanted to face him [today]. But in practice, I've never scored a point," he admitted. "It was a crummy feeling. But if we faced each other in an actual match, I would never give up and try my best to win. Without him here, this became my tournament and I felt I had to take the title."

On Thursday, Tanabe showed he was clearly the best of the rest, sailing through the field with three straight technical falls. He capped his day with 4-point throw that finished off an 8-0 victory in the final in just under two minutes over Ryota KOSHIBA, another NSSU alum who happens to also dabble in freestyle.

Tanabe, whose father Chikara TANABE was a freestyle 55kg bronze medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics and is a current NSSU coach, said he likes to integrate techniques from the two styles into each other.

"To put it as simply as I can, Greco is mostly about throws and often has big 4-point moves, while freestyle is mainly precise techniques," Tanabe said. "Amid that, I want to add the fine, small moves to Greco and, amid the small moves in freestyle, aim for the big move that gives me a point spread."

Kaisei TANABE finishes up his victory over Ryota KOSHIBA with a four-point throw in the Greco 63kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

This fall, Tanabe was among a number of Japanese wrestlers who participated in the German Bundesliga, where he said he sometimes worked on Greco with his teammates. And at times for fun, the Greco wrestlers and him would do freestyle.

Tanabe won his first national title at freestyle 61kg in 2024, then moved up to 65kg last year and won the gold in the absence of Kiyooka, who like other Olympic medalists was on an extended post-Olympics hiatus. He just missed out on the two-style double that year when he lost in the Greco 67kg final to Katsuaki ENDO.

Tanabe won the freestyle 65kg gold at the Asian Championships in March, then finally clashed with Kiyooka -- also an NSSU alum -- two months later at the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships, which is the second of the two domestic qualifiers for major international tournaments.

Tanabe held his own in a close 4-3 loss in the final, but Kiyooka dominated a playoff for the team to the World Championships with a one-sided 13-2 victory. Kiyooka went on to take the silver medal in Zagreb.

Should Tanabe manage to capture the gold on Sunday, it would make him the first wrestler to complete the Greco-freestyle double at the same tournament since Mitsuo YOSHIDA did it back in 1973 with victories in the 100kg weight classes.

As it is, Tanabe's victory on Thursday made him the first to achieve a career double since current NSSU head coach Shingo MATSUMOTO, who won nine straight Greco 84/85kg titles from 1999 to 2007, closed his career by taking the freestyle 96kg gold in 2008.

Ironically, another wrestler could beat Tanabe to the punch. Taishi NARIKUNI, the 2022 world champion at freestyle 70kg, is entered in that weight class as well as Greco 72kg. Both divisions will be completed before Sunday, when the freestyle 65kg final will be held.

Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI, right, spins behind Kanata YAMAGUCHI in the freestyle 79kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

At freestyle 79kg, Gharehdaghi used effective counters to score an 8-0 victory in the final over Kanata YAMAGUCHI, a world U20 bronze medalist at 74kg who had beaten him in two previous encounters.

That followed up on Gharehdaghi's victory at the Meiji Cup in May, which was tempered by a loss in the world team playoff to last year's Emperor's Cup champion Ryonosuke KAMIYA, who has moved up to 86kg.

"Losing the playoff was devastating, and I was determined to work hard so that I wouldn't lose again," said the 19-year-old Gharehdaghi, a product of the JOC Elite Academy.

Gharehdaghi was born and raised in Japan to an Iranian father and Japanese mother. Through the influence of his father, who works in the automobile industry, he started wrestling at age 3.

Although he shares a compassion for the sport with his ancestral homeland, he has only been there on visits and cannot speak Persian.

His background is similar to that of one of Japan's top rising stars, world 97kg bronze medalist Arash YOSHIDA, one of six siblings in the sport who use their mother's family name. They all started the sport at a kids wrestling club outside of Tokyo run by their father.

"I'm well aware of them," Gharehdaghi said. "I really respect them. Every one of them is strong. Their father was here today and gave me some advice."

In other finals on the opening day, Asian bronze medalist Takashi ISHIGURO went on the offensive in the second period to notch a 6-3 victory at freestyle 92kg over Daisuke MASUDA to defend his crown and claim a fifth career national title.

Kenta OGUSU won the Greco 55kg gold by completing a 9-1 technical fall with one second left over Mizuki ARAKI, who had knocked off Asian champion Kohei YAMAGIWA in the semifinals.

At women's 65kg, 2024 world U20 champion Nana IKEHATA defeated Haruka KOBARA 6-0 for her first national title, while Mahiro YOSHITAKE defeated Chisato YOSHIDA 7-2 for her third national crown and first at 72kg.

World champion Ami ISHII scores a takedown in the women's 68kg semifinal against Kaede MATSUYAMA. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Ishii, Morikawa set up clash; Kagami sharp in return

In Olympic weight classes that were competed through the semifinals, a blockbuster final was set up at women's 68kg when Ishii, the reigning world champion, advanced to a showdown with Morikawa, the winner at 65kg in Zagreb.

Ishii won both of her matches by one-sided technical falls -- giving up a lone takedown in her opening match when she lost her balance.

"I didn't think my matches went very well," Ishii said. "Especially in the first match, I rushed it too much. I want to be the aggressor and have crushing victories."

Morikawa met some stiff resistance in her semifinal with world U20 champion Ray HOSHINO, scoring two first-period takedowns before holding on for a 6-2 victory. Hoshino had knocked off three-time world medalist Masako FURUICHI 8-6 in the quarterfinals.

Ishii and Morikawa have met three times, with Ishii holding a 2-1 advantage. She won their first meeting 5-2 in the 2022 Emperor's Cup final. They clashed again in the semifinals at the 2023 Meiji Cup, with Morikawa winning 8-5. That set up a world team playoff between the two, which Ishii won 2-1.

Olympic champion Yuka KAGAMI, left, competes for the first time since her victory in Paris. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Meanwhile, Olympic 76kg champion Yuka KAGAMI looked sharp in her first competition since her victory in Paris, scoring a technical fall before beating defending champion and Asian bronze medalist Nodoka YAMAMOTO 13-4 to advance to the final.

Kagami, who was limited to an activity point in the first period by Yamamoto, was being pressured at the edge early in the second when she neatly reversed the tide and dumped her opponent for a 4-point takedown.

Kagami padded the lead and, despite giving up a takedown and roll, she was never in danger. In Friday's final, she will face veteran Yasuha MATSUYUKI.

At Greco 87kg, rising teen star Taizo YOSHIDA, a world senior and U20 bronze medalist at 82kg, posted two technical falls, each inside of two minutes, to advance to the final. Two-time defending champion So SAKABE was a late withdrawal.

Day 1 Results

Freestyle

57kg (18 entries)
SF 1: Yamato OGAWA df. Kento YUMIYA, 6-4
SF 2: Fuga SASAKI df. Yamato FURUSAWA, 3-1

79kg (19 entries)
GOLD: Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI df. Kanata YAMAGUCHI, 8-0
BRONZE: Kaiyo IMAI df. Hirotaka ABE, 7-0
BRONZE: Subaru TAKAHARA df. Kojiro SHIGA, 5-2

SF 1: Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI df. Hirotaka ABE by TF, 10-0, 2:06
SF 2: Kanata YAMAGUCHI df. Subaru TAKAHARA by TF, 12-2, 3:45

92kg (25 entries)
GOLD: Takashi ISHIGURO df. Daisuke MASUDA, 6-3
BRONZE: Satoshi MIURA df. Sorato KANAZAWA,6-2
BRONZE: Ryogo ASANO df. Takato UCHIDA by Inj. Def.

SF 1: Takashi ISHIGURO df. Sorato KANAZAWA, 7-5
SF 2: Daisuke MASUDA df. Takato UCHIDA, 4-1

125kg (10 entries)
SF 1: Taiki YAMAMOTO df. Akinari ORIYAMA by TF, 10-0, :50
SF 2: Taira SONODA df. Hibiki ITO, 3-2

Greco-Roman

55kg (17 entries)
GOLD: Kenta OGUSU df. Mizuki ARAKI by TF, 9-1, 5:59
BRONZE: Kohei YAMAGIWA df. Daisuke MORISHITA, 5-0
BRONZE: Sanshiro TAKAHASHI vs Taketo NINOMIYA by TF, 9-0, 2:00

SF 1: Mizuki ARAKI df. Kohei YAMAGIWA, 6-5
SF 2: Kenta OGUSU df. Sanshiro TAKAHASHI by TF, 9-1, 4:04

63kg (19 entries)
GOLD: Kaisei TANABE df. Ryota KOSHIBA by TF, 8-0, 1:54
BRONZE: Kazuki YABE df. Shoya ITO, 7-0
BRONZE: Toya MINAMI df. Miruto TOKUHIGA, 7-5

SF 1: Kaisei TANABE df. Kazuki YABE by TF, 8-0, 1:12
SF 2: Ryota KOSHIBA df. Miruto TOKUHIGA by TF, 9-0, 3:56

87kg (9 entries)
SF 1: Taizo YOSHIDA df. Genki YAHAGI by TF, 9-0, 1:59
SF 2: Daisei ISOE df. Chihiro MOTOHASHI, 10-5

97kg (16 entries)
SF 1: Yuri NAKAZATO df. Koki MATSUMOTO by TF, 9-0, 4:12
SF 2: Takahiro TSURUTA df. Kanta SHIOKAWA, 5-0

Women's Wrestling

65kg (9 entries)
GOLD: Nana IKEHATA df. Haruka KOBARA, 6-0
BRONZE: Suzu SASAKI df. Chika AKASHI by TF, 14-4, 2:59
BRONZE: Nanoha YASHIMA df. Rin MIYAJI, by Inj. Def.

SF 1: Nana IKEHATA df. Suzu SASAKI, 10-2
SF 2: Haruka KOBARA df. Nanoha YASHIMA, 6-4

68kg (8 entries)
SF 1: Ami ISHII df. Kaede MATSUYAMA by TF, 10-0, 3:41
SF 2: Miwa MORIKAWA df. Ray HOSHINO, 6-2

72kg (9 entries)
GOLD: Mahiro YOSHITAKE df. Chisato YOSHIDA, 7-2
BRONZE: Ai SAKAI df. Miyu TAKAYAMA, 5-5
BRONZE: Yuka FUJIKURA df. Asahi NAKAMURA, 8-0

SF 1: Chisato YOSHIDA df. Miyu TAKAYAMA by TF, 10-0, 4:56
SF 2: Mahiro YOSHITAKE df. Yuka FUJIKURA, 4-0

76kg (8 entries)
SF 1: Yuka KAGAMI df. Nodoka YAMAMOTO, 13-4
SF 2: Yasuha MATSUYUKI df. Makoto KOMADA, 7-0

Dominant Hildebrandt leads USA to Pan-Am team title

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Tanabe moves halfway to historic double victory with Greco 63kg gold