#WrestleOttawa

Olympic Champions Borrero Molina, Burroughs and Snyder Set for Pan American Championships in Ottawa

Tuesday, March 3, 2020 - 19:06 By Taylor GREGORIO

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Photo of Jordan BURROUGHS (USA). Photo by Tony Rotundo.

The Pan American Championships are set for March 6-9 in Ottawa, Canada, and will feature nearly 200 athletes from 19 different countries, including six World and Olympic champions.

Men’s freestyle (March 8-9)

Leading the field in men’s freestyle are Olympic champions Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) and Kyle SNYDER (USA). Both are two-time Pan Am Games champions as well.

Burroughs, who will compete at 74 kg, is a 2012 Olympic champion and four-time World champ, with his most recent World gold coming in 2017. In 2018 and 2019, he tallied back-to-back World bronze medals.

Looking to knock off Burroughs at 74 kg, is a duo of past World medalists, Jeandry GARZON CABALLERO (CUB), a 2007 World silver medalist and three-time World bronze winner, and Franklin GOMEZ MATOS (PUR), who won silver at the 2011 World Championships.

Burroughs defeated both Garzon Caballero and Gomez Matos en route to his Pan Am Games title. Gomez Matos finished with silver, while Garzon Caballero earned bronze.

Photo of Reineris SALAS PEREZ (CUB) and Kyle SNYDER (USA). Photo by Tony Rotundo. 

Snyder is a 2016 Olympic champion and 2015 and 2017 World champion. He also owns World silver from 2018 and World bronze from 2019. Snyder will compete at 97 kg.

Also at 97 kg is two-time World silver medalist and 2010 World bronze winner Reineris SALAS PEREZ (CUB). Salas Perez is a five-time Pan American Championships gold medalist as well as a 2015 Pan Am Games champion.

Other returning Pan American Games champions expected to compete include Alejandro VALDES TOBIER (CUB) at 65 kg and Yurieski TORREBLANCA QUERALTA (CUB) at 86 kg.

Valdes Tobier enters the tournament with 2017 and 2018 World bronze medals. Joining him at 65 kg with World medals is John (Yianni) DIAKOMIHALIS (USA), who is a two-time Cadet World champion, winning gold in 2015 and 2016.

Aside from Torreblanca Queralta, in the mix at 86 kg is Carlos IZQUIERDO MENDEZ (COL), who was fifth at the 2019 World Championships and was one of only three men’s freestyle athletes from the Pan-American region to qualify their weight for the 2020 Olympics (the other two being Burroughs and Snyder).

Either James Patrick DOWNEY III (USA) or Alex DIERINGER (USA) will represent the United States at 86 kg. Both are Junior World silver medalists with Downey winning his in 2012 and Dieringer claiming his in 2013.

Photo of Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA (CUB). Photo by Sachiko Hotaka. 

Favored at 57 kg is 2017 and 2019 U23 World champion Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA (CUB). In addition to his World golds, Andreu Ortega also owns a gold from the 2018 Pan American Championships and has collected bronzes at the 2019 Pan Am Games as well as the 2017 and 2019 Pan Am Championships.

Leading the field at 125 kg is Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB), who is a three-time World medalist in Greco-Roman, including a silver at the 2019 World Championships to qualify Cuba for the Olympic Games at 130 kg in Greco. Last season, he balanced both styles, competing in freestyle at the Pan American events and wrapping up his season in Greco at Worlds. For 2020, Pino Hinds is expected to compete exclusively in freestyle.

At last year’s Pan American Championships, Pino Hinds won bronze, and just months later, he improved to a silver medal at the Pan American Games.

Looking to challenge him at the weight is 2014 Junior World champion Amarveer DHESI (CAN). This week will mark his first Pan Am event at the Senior level.

While all 10 Worlds weights will be contested, there are few competing at the non-Olympic weights. Some of note include 2019 Senior World fifth-place finisher Tyler GRAFF (USA) at 61 kg, 2019 Pan American Championships gold medalist Anthony ASHNAULT (USA) at 70 kg and 2019 Junior World bronze medalist Hunter LEE (CAN) at 92 kg.

Photo of Adeline GRAY (USA). Photo by Kadir Caliskan. 

Women’s freestyle (March 7-8)

Three World champions highlight the women’s freestyle entries, including 2019 World champs Tamyra MENSAH-STOCK (USA) at 68 kg and Adeline GRAY (USA) at 76 kg and 2018 World champion Justina DI STASIO (CAN) at 76 kg.

Mensah-Stock and Gray are the only two Pan-American athletes in women’s freestyle to qualify their weights for the 2020 Tokyo Games, thanks to their medal-winning performances at the 2019 World Championships.

Mensah-Stock had a breakout year in 2019, winning the Pan Am Championships and Pan American Games titles at 68 kg and finishing off the season with a World gold medal. But looking to stop her hot streak is Yudari SANCHEZ RODRIGUEZ (CUB), a 2018 U23 World champion. Sanchez Rodriguez also owns a 2017 Junior World silver and a 2017 U23 World bronze.

Perhaps one of the most star-studded weights in women’s freestyle is 76 kg.

Last year, Gray became the first athlete in U.S. wrestling history to win five World titles, surpassing legends like John Smith and Tricia Saunders. In every Pan Am event she has competed in, Gray has won gold, including the 2015 Pan Am Games and the 2018 and 2019 Pan Am Championships.

Di Stasio is a three-time Pan American Championships gold medalist (2015, 2016, 2017) as well as a 2019 Pan Am Games champion at the weight class. She won her 2018 World title at 72 kg.

Joining them at 76 kg is 2019 U23 and Junior World champion Malaimys MARIN POTRILE (CUB) and 2014 World silver medalist Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA).

Photo of Jackeline RENTERIA CASTILLO (COL). Photo by Tony Rotundo. 

The 62 kg weight class features a pair of World medalists, including two-time Olympic bronze medalist and 2017 World bronze medalist Jackeline RENTERIA CASTILLO (COL) and 2018 World bronze medalist Mallory VELTE (USA). 

Also in the mix is 2019 Pan American Championships gold medalist and 2019 Pan Am Games bronze medalist Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA).

Competing at 57 kg is reigning Pan Am Games champion Lissette ANTES CASTILLO (ECU), who also won the Pan Am Championship last year in Lima, Peru. Additionally, she owns bronze medals from the 2011 and 2015 Pan Am Games.

Also seeking the top spot at 57 kg is 2018 Senior World bronze medalist Lianna MONTERO HERRERA (CUB) and 2019 U23 World bronze medalist Hannah TAYLOR (CAN).

Athletes to watch at the lower weights include two-time Junior World champion Victoria ANTHONY (USA) at 50 kg, reigning Pan American Championships gold medalist Yusneylys GUZMAN LOPEZ (CUB) at 50 kg and 2011 Junior World bronze medalist Luisa VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU) at 53 kg.

Photo of Ismael BORRERO MOLINA (CUB). Photo by Tony Rotundo. 

Greco-Roman (March 6-7)

Four of the six 2019 Pan American Games champions will compete later this week in Ottawa, highlighted by 2016 Olympic champion and two-time World champion Ismael BORRERO MOLINA (CUB).

Borrero Molina, a five-time Pan American Championships gold medalist, will compete at 67 kg this weekend. He is one of only two Pan-American Greco-Roman athletes to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Games. The other to qualify the weight in Greco was Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB) at 130 kg, who is expected to compete in freestyle for the 2020 season.

The other Pan Am Games champions slated for competition are Patrick SMITH (USA) at 77 kg, Luis AVENDANO ROJAS (VEN) at 87 kg and Gabriel ROSILLO KINDELAN (CUB) at 97 kg.

Photo of Luis AVENDANO ROJAS (VEN). Photo by Tony Rotundo. 

Seeking to dethrone Avendano Rojas at 87 kg is two-time U23 World medalist Daniel GREGORICH HECHAVARRIA (CUB), who won silver at the 2018 U23 Worlds and bronze at the 2019 U23 Worlds.

Rosillo Kindelan appears to be the favorite at 97 kg as he is coming off an impressive 2019 season, where he won Pan American Championships titles in the Junior and Senior divisions, a Pan Am Games title and a Junior World gold.

Also registered at 97 kg is 2016 Junior World bronze medalist G’Angelo HANCOCK (USA), who met up with Rosillo Kindelan in the 2019 Championships and Games finals. Additionally, Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON), a 2011 Cadet World bronze winner, will be at the event.

While 2019 World silver medalist Pino Hinds will not be competing in Greco, the 130 kg weight class will still have exciting competition, including World medalists Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI) and Adam COON (USA).

Coon is a 2018 World runner-up, while Acosta Fernandez is a 2017 World bronze medalist. Additionally, Acosta Fernandez is a 2019 Pan Am Games bronze winner.

Others to watch out for in Greco are 2019 Pan American Championships gold medalists Max NOWRY (USA) at 55 kg and Luis ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB) at 60 kg.

Schedule (U.S. Eastern Time)
Friday, March 6
10:30 a.m. – Qualification and repechage (GR 55-6-63-67-72-97-130 kg)
4 p.m. – Opening Ceremony
5 p.m. – Finals (GR 55-6-63-67-72-97-130 kg)

Saturday, March 7
10:30 a.m. – Qualification and repechage (GR 77-82-87 kg, WFS 55-59-65-72 kg)
5 p.m. – Finals (GR 77-82-87 kg, WFS 55-59-65-72 kg)

Sunday, March 8
10:30 a.m. – Qualification and repechage (WFS 50-53-57-62-68-76 kg, MFS 79-92 kg)
5 p.m. – Finals (WFS 50-53-57-62-68-76 kg, MFS 79-92 kg)

Monday, March 9
10:30 a.m. – Qualification and repechage (MFS 57-61-65-70-74-86-97-125 kg)
5 p.m. – Finals (MFS 57-61-65-70-74-86-97-125 kg)

 

#JapanWrestling

Ono entered at 57kg, Susaki at 50kg for All-Japan Championships

Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 15:34 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO (December 4) -- After winning both the U20 and senior world titles at freestyle 61kg within a two-month span in the autumn of 2024, Masanosuke ONO all but disappeared from the Japanese wrestling scene.

That culminated with his announcement in March this year that, having left Yamanashi Gakuin University, he had committed to wrestle at U.S. collegiate powerhouse Penn State. He has not been seen on the mats of Japan since.

Ono will compete once again in his home country, dropping down from 61kg to 57kg for the upcoming Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym, according to the entry list announced Thursday by the Japan Wrestling Federation.

The tournament, to be held December 18-21, will also serve as the domestic qualifier for next year's Asian Championships, and the first of two qualifiers for the Asian Games and World Championships in 2026.

Yui SUSAKI (JPN)Yui SUSAKI (JPN) will compete at 50kg at the Emperor's Cup. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Among other notable recent absentees appearing on the entry list is Yui SUSAKI, the 2021 Tokyo Olympic champion at 50kg who had to settle for a bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She will compete at 50kg, putting to bed speculation that she might move up to the 53kg division.

"This will be a tournament to start me anew on the road to the Los Angeles Olympics," Susaki said in an online press conference with the Japanese media, as reported by Wrestling-Spirits.jp.

"In order to reclaim the gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics, as a challenger starting from scratch, I want to win in a Yui Susaki-esque way of wrestling."

The 21-year-old Ono had been a question mark with the tournament falling in the middle of the Penn State season. But the decision to redshirt Ono -- the system of allowing him to train with the team while withholding him from competition to maintain an extra year of eligibility -- opened the door for him to make the trip back to Japan.

Assuming he does not have trouble making weight, he should be the class of the 57kg field, with his toughest competition most likely coming from two-time Asian bronze medalist Rikuto ARAI.

One opponent he won't have to contend with is Paris Olympic champion Rei HIGUCHI, who decided to continue delaying his return to action. Also missing is defending champion Rin SAKAMOTO, who was injured at the World Championships. With Sakamoto also across the Pacific at Oklahoma State University, it prevents a rare clash of U.S.-based wrestlers.

Susaki only returned to action in September, and both of her forays were at 53kg. That, and the well-publicized move up to 57kg by Akari FUJINAMI, the 53kg champion in Paris, fueled conjecture that Susaki might also move up.

Susaki started at the National Sports Festival, where she competed at 53kg if for no other reason that it was one of only two women's weight classes in the competition. She lost a defensive-oriented 2-1 decision to 2024 world 55kg champion Moe KIYOOKA in the quarterfinals, marking her first loss to a Japanese opponent in six years.

"Losing at the National Sports Festival gave me the chance to look inside myself," Susaki said. "The result was really disappointing, but I'm glad I took part and was grateful for the opportunity."

Now 26, the four-time world champion is firmly determined to regain the Olympic gold that eluded her in Paris with a heart-breaking last-second loss to Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) in the opening round.

"I truly was shown just how difficult and challenging it was to win at the Paris Olympics. It also gave me a chance to reflect on the preparation process leading up to the competition and what was needed mentally for the Olympics. I will work hard to use that experience to make sure I win the gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics."

Susaki's top challengers at the Emperor's Cup appear to be world U23 bronze medalist Umi ITO and Haruna MORIKAWA, the world U23 champion at 53kg.

Meanwhile the presence of Fujinami, who added the world U23 title in October to her burgeoning resume, has been immediately felt at 57kg. Despite being an Olympic weight class, the division drew just nine others who will look to end the 21-year-old superstar's 147-match winning streak.

Her most potentially dangerous opponent could be Asian champion Sara NATAMI. At the National Sports Festival, she was losing 8-1 at 62kg to world 59kg champion Sakura ONISHI when she countered a takedown attempt by slamming her to her back for a fall.

Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)Paris Olympic and 2025 world champion Sakura MOTOKI (JPN). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari) 

Golden trio at women's 62kg; returns of Paris champs Fumita, Kagami

As with any Japan competition that has world or Olympic berths at stake, a number of weight classes could see clashes between multiple wrestlers with global successes as they jockey for position in the run-up to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

And in one case, there are three at once, while two other weight classes could have direct clashes of champions from this year's worlds in Zagreb, Croatia.

At women's 62kg, Paris and 2025 world gold medalist Sakura MOTOKI will renew her rivalry with two-time former world champion Nonoka OZAKI, while Onishi moves up from 59kg to join the mix and can't be overlooked.

At women’s 68kg, reigning world champion Ami ISHII could lock horns with Miwa MORIKAWA, the gold medalist at 65kg, while at freestyle 74kg, we could see a battle between Zagreb winner Kota TAKAHASHI and 70kg titlist Yoshinosuke AOYAGI.

Like Susaki, all of Japan's large group of Paris medalists took some time off to bask in the spotlight before gradually returning to the mat over the past two years.

Two of the remaining gold medalist holdouts -- Kenichiro FUMITA and Yuka KAGAMI -- will both take the mat for the first time since their Paris victories at the Emperor's Cup.

Fumita, who won an elusive gold medal in Paris at Greco 60kg after taking the silver at Tokyo 2021, is entered at 63kg, where he will aim for a fifth national title and first since 2022. Kagami is entered at her gold medal-winning weight of women's 76kg. Their own rustiness may be more of a factor then the opponents.

While away from competition, Fumita spent the ensuing time experimenting with different methods as he looks to expand his reportoire.

"I have some anxiety, but I'm also looking forward to it," Fumita told Wrestling-Spirits.jp. "I achieved my goal in Paris, and on top of that, I've been taking a good look at wrestling. it. It was a year and four months full of new experiences. This will be a battlefield to reveal my new wrestling. I want to show wrestling that is free and unrestrained."

Fumita said he observed the nerves shown by fellow Paris gold medalists Nao KUSAKA (Greco 77kg) and Kotaro KIYOOKA (freestyle 65kg) when they returned to mat ahead of him at the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships last spring.

"Before their matches, both of them looked pale," Fumita said. "I want to focus on fighting without putting too much pressure on myself. For better or worse, I want to fight thinking of myself as a different person than I was in Paris."

Other intriguing weight classes include freestyle 65kg, where Kiyooka may have to contend with Asian champion Kaisei TANABE, Asian 61kg champion Takara SUDA and two-time world U20 champion Yuto NISHIUCHI.

Two gold medalists from Tokyo who took time off for marriage and childbirth are back, with Mayu SHIDOCHI (nee MUKAIDA) challenging Moe Kiyooka at women's 55kg and Yukako INAMURA (nee KAWAI) entered at 59kg.

In Greco, rising star Taizo YOSHIDA, a bronze medalist at both the U20 and senior worlds this year at 82kg, has moved up to 87kg, where he will challenge two-time defending champion So SAKABE.