#WrestleOttawa

Rau and Pena Claim Second Pan Am Titles, Sovero wins gold in 13th Pan Am event

By Taylor GREGORIO

Photo of Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB). By Tony Rotundo. 

OTTAWA, Canada – Greco-Roman action of the Pan American Championships wrapped up on Saturday with the final three weight classes, while the first two women’s weight classes were contested.

The United States won two of the last three Greco gold medals, earning it the team title with 200 points. In second place was Cuba with 105 points. Cuba collected the other gold medal on Saturday.

John STEFANOWICZ (82 kg) and Josef RAU (87 kg) emerged victorious from their respective weight classes for the United States.

Stefanowicz put together a 2-0 record in round-robin action to secure the gold. In his final match of the day, he dominated Marciano ALI (PUR) with a 14-4 technical fall, which featured multiple big throws.

At 87 kg, Rau drew two passivity points from Carlos MUNOZ JARAMILLO (COL) in the gold-medal match and scored gut wrenches each time in par terre for a 6-0 win.

Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB) won his second-consecutive Pan Am Championships title, taking the crown at 77 kg.

Wrestling in a Nordic system bracket, Pena lost earlier in the day to Pat Smith in pool action. The two eventually met up once again in the finals, where the Cuban got his revenge.

Trailing after the first period, Pena got an opportunity on top, where picked up a gut wrench and held on to defeat Smith, 3-1.

Photo of Yanet SOVERO NINO (PER). By Tony Rotundo. 

In women’s freestyle, Yanet SOVERO NINO (PER) impressed at 72 kg, winning her first Pan Am title and sixth overall continental medal. She won her first Senior Pan American medal in 2002.

Sovero went 3-0 on the day, dominating the field. She opened her tournament with back-to-back falls before securing a 10-0 technical fall her final round against Shauna KUEBECK (CAN).

At 59 kg in women’s, 2018 U23 World champion Alexandria TOWN (CAN) swept the field, winning all three of her matches by technical fall. In her last match, she took out Karoline SILVA DE SANTANA (BRA), 10-0.

There were two athletes funded by the United World Wrestling Development Technical Assistance program that won medals today, including a silver medal from Nes Marie RODRIGUEZ TIRADO (PUR) at 57 kg in women’s freestyle and a bronze from Lesyan COUSIN OTOMURO (JAM) at 87 kg in Greco-Roman.

Final Greco Team standings
1. USA – 200
2. Cuba – 105
3. Venezuela – 69
4. Mexico – 68
5. Colombia – 67
6. Brazil – 65
7. Canada – 55
8. Dominican Republic – 42
9. Puerto Rico – 29
10. Honduras - 18

Greco-Roman results
77 kg
GOLD - Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB) df. Patrick SMITH (USA), 3-1
BRONZE - Wuileixis de Jesus RIVAS ESPINOZA (VEN) df. Jair Alexis CUERO MUNOZ (COL), 6-1

82 kg
GOLD - John STEFANOWICZ (USA)
SILVER – Jose Andres VARGAS RUEDA (MEX)
BRONZE - Marciano ALI (PUR)

87 kg
GOLD - Josef RAU (USA) df. Carlos MUNOZ JARAMILLO (COL), 6-0
BRONZE - Lesyan Osvaldo COUSIN OTOMURO (JAM), win by injury default
BRONZE - Ronisson BRANDAO SANTIAGO (BRA), win by injury default

Women’s freestyle results
59 kg
GOLD - Alexandria TOWN (CAN)
SILVER – Nes Marie RODRIGUEZ TIRADO (PUR)
BRONZE – Lauren LOUIVE (USA)

72 kg
GOLD - Yanet SOVERO NINO (PER)
SILVER – Victoria FRANCIS (USA)
BRONZE – Shauna KUEBECK (CAN)

#WrestleParis

Coach Amri on road to Paris 2024 through WISH

By United World Wrestling Press

PARIS (March 29) -- Beyond reaching gender parity for athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is also aiming to increase the number of female coaches through its Women in Sport High-Performance (WISH) pathway. With six participants of the programme already confirmed as coaches in Paris, Elizabeth PIKE, WISH Project Director, explains how the programme is breaking down barriers to fix the system. Only 13 percent of coaches at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 were women.

At the past four editions of the Olympic Games, Marwa AMRI (TUN) represented Tunisia in the women's freestyle wrestling competition, clinching a bronze medal in the 58kg event at Rio 2016. At Paris 2024, she will be bringing all her expertise to Tunisia’s wrestling team as a coach. Although Amri may be outnumbered by her male counterparts at these Games, her very presence indicates a growing number of female coaches.

There are a number of other female coaches still pushing to achieve their Olympic dream, such as Federica TONON, who is currently working with Vanuatu’s beach volleyball team.

Amri and Tonon have something in common – they are both participants of the WISH programme, which is funded by the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity programme, managed and hosted by the University of Hertfordshire and led by Pike.

The programme got underway in May 2022 after a successful pilot from 2019 to 2021. All four cohorts have now embarked on the 21-month programme, a mix of online learning, group tasks, dual mentoring and a residential, with the first cohort already having graduated in January this year. In total, the WISH programme will equip a total of 123 female coaches from 22 sports and 60 countries with the tools needed to take on roles at the highest level of their sport.

Read the full article on olympics.com.