#NFRoundup

NF Roundup Blog, Feb. 22 - Feb. 28

By United World Wrestling Press

Moore Defeats Pye, Named Canada's World Olympic Qualification Rep

Alex MOORE (CAN) of the Montreal Wrestling Club defeated Clayton PYE (CAN) in two straight matches to win the 86 kg wrestle-off and earn a spot at the World Olympic Qualification Tournament.

The wrestle-off, which was closed to the public, took place at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre. Moore fell behind early in the first match, trailing 0-4 at the halfway point.

“It’s been a while since I competed, it took some time getting the rust off,” said the 23-year-old.

“I got a pep talk from my coaches and got myself together. I knew I was fine, and I knew I could come back, so I didn’t panic.”

Moore went on to score six straight points to win the first match 6-4.

In the second match, Moore dominated and scored ten points quickly to win by technical superiority.

“It feels good to be back. In practice I’ve been feeling amazing, we’ve been training hard. I just need to transfer that to the tournament.”

“Now I need to go back to practice and find out how I can fix my mistakes, and keep taking it one day at a time.”

The World Olympic Qualification Tournament is the final chance for athletes to qualify for the postponed Tokyo Olympics. At the event, the top two spots in each weight-class will be awarded Olympic qualification.

“Thank you to the staff at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre for their hard work and flexibility to help make this event happen,” added Tamara Medwidsky, Wrestling Canada Lutte’s Executive Director.

1300 Iranian Wrestling Coaches Participate in Scientific Webinar

While the COVID-19 crisis has a devastating impact on the world, the Iranian Wrestling Federation found a united way to reach 1300 coaches. The IWF hosted different education webinars gears towards refereeing, women's wrestling and coaches. The courses helped educate 31 wrestling accusations in all Iranian provinces. 

Meanwhile, during the final webinar, more than 1300 coaches participated in virtual educational courses that touched on coaching principles, training science, sports nutrition and psychology

LIVE BLOG: Pan-American Championships (DAY ONE)

By Eric Olanowski

CORALVILLE, USA (May 7) -- The opening day of the Pan-American Championships is set to kick off this morning at 10:00 (local time) with Greco-Roman action. The eight weight classes that'll take the mat this morning are 55kg, 60kg, 63kg, 67kg, 77kg, 82kg, 87kg and 130kg. 

Start in Action: 
- Luis ORTA (CUB) – Tokyo 2020 gold, Paris 2024 bronze
- Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI) - Paris 2024 silver
- Oscar PINO HINDS - Returning Pan-Am champion, World silver
- Beka MELELASHVILI (USA) - Returning Pan-Am champion
- Jeremy Renzo PERALTA (ECU) - Returning Pan-Am champion

BOUT ORDER | SCHEDULE 

10:31: We have a pair of Pan-Am champions coming up on Mat B next in Beka MELELASHVILI (USA) and Daniel GREGORICH (CUB). The American is the reigning champ, while the Cuban won the event in 2024. 

10:23: Not wrestling related, but Cuban world and Olympic champion Ismael BORRERO (CUB) is corning USA WRESTLING athletes. He is now living in Colorado Springs, USA, where he is an Assistan Greco-Roman Coach.

10:08 - Whistles are ringning through the Xtream Arena here in Iowa, which means wrestling is underway. We;re only running two mats here. The first star that'll be in action will be world and Olympic champion Luis ORTA (CUB). He's currently 16-0 at the Pan-American Championships and is looking for his fifth continental title.