#WrestleAcapulco

Pan-Am Olympic Qualifier 2024 Entries

By United World Wrestling Press

ACAPULCO, Mexico (January 30) -- The continental Olympic qualifier -- Pan-American -- will be held in Acapulco, Mexico from February 28 to March 1.

The three-day competition will see wrestlers hoping to win a Paris Olympic ticket for their respective countries in the 18 weight classes — six in each of the three styles.

The countries who won the quota at the 2023 Belgrade World Championships are not eligible to take part in the weight class they won the quota. The qualifier in Acapulco will be held after the Pan-Am Championships, to be held in the same venue from February 21 to 24.

Only those countries that take part in the Pan-Am Championships will be eligible for Pan-Am Olympic Qualifiers. The number of wrestlers in the qualifiers from each country will also depend on their participation in the Championships.

The event will be live on UWW+ on uww.org and UWW's mobile app. The full schedule of the event can be found here -- Pan-Am Olympic Qualifiers.

Freestyle

57kg
Davi SILVA GIOVANNETTI (BRA)
Darthe CAPELLAN (CAN)
Oscar TIGREROS (COL)
Peter HAMMER (CRC)
Osmany DIVERSENT (CUB)
Guesseppe REA VILLARROEL (ECU)
Edwin SEGURA (GUA)
Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX)
Enrique HERRERA (PER)
Darian CRUZ (PUR)
Zane RICHARDS (USA)
Pedro MEJIAS RODRIGUEZ (VEN)

65kg
Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG)
Shannon HANNA (BAH)
Matheus DA LUZ BARRETO (BRA)
Lachlan MCNEIL (CAN)
Matias MUNOZ (CHI)
Elkin ESPANA SANTA (COL)
Alejandro VALDES (CUB)
Albaro RUDECINDO CAMACHO (DOM)
Joshua KRAMER (ECU)
Austin GOMEZ (MEX)
Sixto AUCCAPINA PEDRAGAS (PER)
John DIAKOMIHALIS (USA)

74kg
Cesar BORDEAUX (BRA)
Stone LEWIS (CAN)
Hernan GUZMAN (COL)
Jeandry GARZON (CUB)
Julio RODRIGUEZ (DOM)
Enrique PEREZ (GUA)
Luis BARRIOS (HON)
Raul PALACIOS (MEX)
Angel CORTES (PAN)
Sonny SANTIAGO (PUR)
Dylan PALACIO (URU)
Anthony MONTERO (VEN)

86kg
Jorge LLANO (ARG)
Pedro GONCALVES (BRA)
Alexander MOORE (CAN)
Eduardo GAJARDO (CHI)
Carlos IZQUIERDO (COL)
Yurieski TORREBLANCA (CUB)
Anthony VALENCIA (MEX)
Pool AMBROCIO (PER)
Ethan RAMOS (PUR)
Pedro CEBALLOS (VEN)

97kg
Ricardo BAEZ (ARG)
Ailton BRITO (BRA)
Nishan Preet RANDHAWA (CAN)
Matias URIBE (CHI)
Maxwell LACEY (CRC)
Arturo SILOT (CUB)
Luis PEREZ (DOM)
Cristian SANCHEZ (MEX)
Marcos SANTOS (PUR)
Cristian SARCO (VEN)

125kg
Catriel MURIEL (ARG)
Gabriel DE SOUSA (BRA)
Amarveer DHESI (CAN)
Jhoan OCORO (COL)
Ibrain TORRES (CUB)
Elison ADAMES (DOM)
Gino AVILA (HON)
Aaron JOHNSON (JAM)
Diego MACIAS (MEX)
Jonovan SMITH (PUR)
Jose DIAZ (VEN)

Ana GODINEZ (CAN)Ana GODINEZ (CAN) will look to win a quota at 62kg for Canada. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
Maia CABRERA (ARG)
Kamila BARBOSA (BRA)
Geneviève MORRISON HALEY (CAN)
Javiera ORTEGA (CHI)
Alisson CARDOZO (COL)
Yusneylis GUZMAN (CUB)
Jacqueline MOLLOCANA (ECU)
Karla HERNANDEZ (ESA)
Mariana DIAZ (MEX)
Yorlenis MORAN (PAN)
Mariana ROJAS (VEN)

53kg
Sabrina GAMA (BRA)
Karla GODINEZ (CAN)
Antonia VALDES (CHI)
Eva GONZALEZ (COL)
Laura HERIN (CUB)
Maria GONZALEZ (DOM)
Zeltzin HERNANDEZ (MEX)
Yusneiry AGRAZAL (PAN)
Nathaly HERRERA (PER)
Dominique PARRISH (USA)
Betzabeth ARGUELLO (VEN)

57kg
Camila AMARILLA (ARG)
Giullia PENALBER (BRA)
Hannah TAYLOR (CAN)
Andrea GONZALEZ (COL)
Angela ALVAREZ (CUB)
Yocleidy RAMIREZ (DOM)
Luisa VALVERDE (ECU)
Jacqueline HERNANDEZ (ESA)
Bertha ROJAS (MEX)
Karoline ORTIZ (PUR)
Betzabeth SARCO (VEN)

62kg
Lais NUNES (BRA)
Ana GODINEZ (CAN)
Virginia JIMENEZ (CHI)
Katherine RENTERIA (COL)
Maria SANTANA (CUB)
Eldarah BROWN (JAM)
Melanie JIMENEZ (MEX)
Carina GIANGERUSO (PUR)
Kayla MIRACLE (USA)
Astrid MONTERO (VEN)

68kg
Thamires MARTINS (BRA)
Linda MORAIS (CAN)
Nicoll PARRADO (COL)
Brenda STERLING (CUB)
Leonela AYOVI (ECU)
Ambar GARNICA (MEX)
Forrest MOLINARI (USA)
Soleymi CARABALLO (VEN)

76kg
Linda MACHUCA (ARG)
Meiriele CHARAMBA (BRA)
Justina DI STASIO (CAN)
Emelyn BAUTISTA (DOM)
Genesis REASCO (ECU)
Saidy CHAVEZ (HON)
Atzimba LANDAVERDE (MEX)
Maria ACOSTA (VEN)

Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARG)London Olympic silver medalist Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARG) is making a comeback to UWW competition after five years. He will wrestle for Argentina at 77kg. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

Greco-Roman

60kg
Erivan CONSTANTINO (BRA)
Keeyan TROTMAN (CAN)
Cristobal TORRES (CHI)
Dicther TORO (COL)
Kevin DE ARMAS (CUB)
Yerony LIRIA (DOM)
Jeremy PERALTA (ECU)
Alexis RODRIGUEZ (MEX)
Ildar HAFIZOV (USA)
Raiber RODRIGUEZ (VEN)

67kg
Mauricio LOVERA (ARG)
Calebe CORREA (BRA)
Gavin ELDRIDGE (CAN)
Nestor ALMANZA (CHI)
Julian HORTA (COL)
Starlin LAGUERRE (DOM)
Andres MONTANO (ECU)
Jose VARELA (GUA)
Edsson OLMOS (MEX)
Nilton SOTO (PER)
Luis CENTENO (PUR)
Alejandro SANCHO (USA)

77kg
Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARG)
Joilson RAMOS (BRA)
John YEATS (CAN)
Eduardo BERNAL (CHI)
Jair CUERO (COL)
Yosvanys PENA (CUB)
David CHOC (GUA)
Emmanuel BENITEZ (MEX)
Alvis ALMENDRA (PAN)
Jonathan VIRUET (PUR)
Kamal BEY (USA)
Wuileixis RIVAS (VEN)

87kg
Ronisson BRANDAO (BRA)
Ioannis NARLIDIS (CAN)
Jose MORENO (CHI)
Carlos MUNOZ (COL)
Daniel GREGORICH (CUB)
Ariel ALFONSO (HON)
Daniel VICENTE (MEX)
Spencer WOODS (USA)
Luis AVENDANO (VEN)

97kg
Ricardo GOMEZ (ARG)
Kauan FERREIRA (BRA)
Carlos ADAMES (DOM)
Kevin MEJIA (HON)
Noel TORRES (MEX)
Max MADRID (PAN)
Alan VERA (USA)
Luillys PEREZ (VEN)

130kg
Eduard SOGHOMONYAN (BRA)
Jorawar DHINSA (CAN)
Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI)
Paul MORALES (MEX)
Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA)
Moises PEREZ (VEN)

Iran strikes three golds to close ISG 2025

By Vinay Siwach

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (November 21) -- World champion Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) led an inspiring performance from Iran which captured three out of four gold medal on the final day of the Islamic Solidarity Games 2025 in Riyadh on Friday.

Zare, who won gold medal at 125kg in Zagreb in September, dominated his way to the gold in Riyadh outscoring his opponents 28-0 in three bouts.

Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) scores a takedown on Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN) during the 125kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Facing Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN) in the final, Zare combined his skills to score stepouts at win and also scored two takedowns to finish the match 10-0, capturing his fourth gold medal of the season.

Sharipov reached the final after securing a shocking win over world silver medalist Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) 7-6 in the semifinal. Meshvildishvili had to mount a comeback in the second period after he was down 5-1 in the match. He managed to make it 6-6 but trailed on criteria and as he tried to score a stepout in the final 10 seconds, Sharipov managed to remain inside the zone to survive attack.

Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) tries to control Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) during the 97kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At 97kg, a rematch between Olympic champion Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) and world silver medalist Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) was on the cards but Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) denied that as he defeated Tazhudinov 14-3 in the semifinals.

Azarpira and Aitmukhan faced each other in the final but the former was clearly the better wrestler as he blanked Aitmukhan 5-0 to win the gold medal. He scored three stepouts and Aitmukhan was cautioned when aggressively pushed Azarpira. One more stepout was enough for Azarpira to win the gold medal.

Tazhudinov declared himself injured in the bronze medal bout which gave Olympic bronze medalist Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE) the medal.

Younes EMAMI (IRI)Younes EMAMI (IRI) reaches for the leg of Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE) during the 74kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Iran's gold rush began when former Asian champion Younes EMAMI (IRI) completed a 5-0 victory over Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE) at 74kg. Emami scored a takedown to take a 2-0 lead against Novruzov before pushing the Azerbaijan wrestler out of bounds twice before the break.

With a lead of 4-0, Emami began the second period on the aggressive and Novruzov was called passive. He failed to score in the 30-second period and Emami got another point to lead 5-0 which remained the winning score.

To reach the final, Emami had to go through 2024 world 70kg champion Norkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ) in the quarterfinals. The Iranian defeated the Kazakhstan wrestler 6-5 in a thriller.

With the three golds, Iran finished the tournament with four gold medal while Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan won one each.

Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE)Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) celebrates after beating Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) in their opening bout at 86kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Dzhioev's impressive gold

One of Iran's favorite to win gold medal, Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI), suffered a heartbreaking loss at 86kg to Arsenii DIZHOEV (AZE) who capped off an incredible day with gold after beating Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN) 5-1 in the final. 

The win over Ghasempour was quite impressive from Dzhioev. Down 3-0, he scored two takedowns and one point for Ghasempour's passivity to win the bout 5-3.

In the final against Saipudinov, he opened scored a takedown in the opening period after being called passive and giving up a point. He scored two stepouts and one point for passivity in the second period to win the final.

Ghasempour returned to win the bronze medal by beating Magomet EVLOEV (TJK), 7-0, in the bronze-medal bout.

RESULTS

74kg
GOLD: Younes EMAMI (IRI) df. Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE), 5-0

BRONZE: Orozbek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ) df. Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ), 4-2
BRONZE: Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN) df. Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR), 4-3

86kg
GOLD: Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) df. Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN), 5-1

BRONZE: Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) df. Magomet EVLOEV (TJK), 7-0
BRONZE: Osman GOCEN (TUR) df. Bekzat RAKHIMOV (KGZ), 10-2

97kg
GOLD: Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) df. Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ), 5-0

BRONZE: Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE) df. Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Muhammad GULZAR (PAK) df. Rifat GIDAK (TUR), via fall (4-5)

125kg
GOLD: Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) df. Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN), 10-0

BRONZE: Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR) df. Arslanbek TURDUBEKOV (KGZ), 14-3
BRONZE: Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) df. Abdelrahman SHEYATAN (EGY), 5-0