#GuatemalaCityWrestle

Rosillo de Cuba Busca su Segundo Oro Panamericano de 2019

By Taylor Miller

Hace dos meses, Gabriel ROSILLO KINDELAN (CUB) ganó el oro en el Campeonato Panamericano de Mayores en 97 kg en grecorromana. Derrotó un luchador experimentado de los Estados Unidos por el título. Y hoy tiene que hacer lo mismo.

Hoy Rosillo está compitiendo en el Campeonato Panamericano Juvenil en la Ciudad de Guatemala, su primera competición de nivel juvenil.

Él sigue ganando en grande, pero hay algo un poco diferente esta vez.

“Hoy me siento bien. No tengo tanta presión porque en Argentina en el Panamericano de Mayores, hubo mucha presión,” dijo Rosillo. “Yo solo tengo 20 años y hoy, no hay ninguna presión.”

Rosillo ha dominado la competencia. De sus cuatro combates hasta el momento, él solo ha luchado menos de 3 minutos en total.

Su victoria más rápida llegó en las semifinales, donde derrotó a Juan CANTILLO TORRES (PAN), 8-0, en 17 segundos.

Por el oro, Rosillo se enfrentará a Braxton AMOS (USA). Ya venció a Amos en la primera sesión de acción, 10-0, en solo 40 segundos, pero se volverán a encontrar esta noche.

Rosillo ya tiene una medalla de oro del Campeonato Panamericano de Mayores de 2019 y también una medalla de bronce del Campeonato Panamericano de Mayores de 2018.

Mira el torneo en vivo en unitedworldwrestling.org. Las finales comienzan a las 6 p.m. CST

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open Flashback: Iran, U.S. opened season with success

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (January 18) -- United World Wrestling's 2026 season will kick off with the Ranking Series in Zagreb February 4. The recent memories of Zagreb may be the September World Championships but the 2025 season also kicked off with the Ranking Series in the Croatian capital.

Iran and the United States had strong performances in the first of the four stops of the Ranking Series, a theme which continued throughout the 2025 season as the U.S. dominated Freestyle while Iran dominated Greco-Roman.

Women's Wrestling participants were less in numbers but still saw U.S. and UWW wrestlers share gold medals.

Here's a drip down the memory lane of the 2025 Zagreb Open Ranking Series before the 2026 season kicks off:

Freestyle

A young Iranian team snapped four gold medals in Zagreb with Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) winning gold at 61kg, Abbas EBRAHIM (IRI) winning at 65kg, Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) became champion at 92kg and Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) winning the 125kg gold.

For the U.S., Spencer LEE (USA) kicked off the season with 57kg with gold, Zahid VALENCIA (USA) won at 86kg and Kyle SNYDER (USA) at 97kg. Both Valencia and Snyder went on to win gold at the World Championships later in the season.

Azerbaijan, Slovakia and France won one gold each, with Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) winning at 70kg for Azerbaijan, Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) winning gold at 74kg, and Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) winning at 79kg for France.

Iran dominance began when Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) won gold at 61kg, beating the likes of Nuraddin NUVROZOV (AZE), Nashon GARRETT (USA), Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO) and Ebrahim KHARI (IRI). Javan would later win a silver medal at the World Championships. At 65kg, Ebrahim held his own in a thrilling final against Joseph MCKENNA (USA) to grab the second gold for Iran.

Young superstars Firouzpour and Masoumi put up a show to win gold medals at 92kg and 125kg respectively.

Lee was making a returning to competition six months after winning the silver medal at the Paris Olympics. He won the Zagreb Open gold with rather ease. For the U.S., Valencia saw himself win gold at 86kg outscoring his opponents 35-4 in four bouts. In the final, Valencia defeated world bronze medalist Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE), 8-0.

Snyder opened his season with a 33-1 scoring run in three bouts at 97kg in Zagreb. In the final, he easily defeated Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI).

Heybatov gave early warnings to the 70kg field by winning gold in Zagreb, a run which included wins over Austin GOMEZ (MEX), two back-to-back wins over Iranian wrestlers including a 12-1 one again Sina KHALILI (IRI) in the final. The two would wrestle again towards the end of the year at the U23 World Championships. Heybatov won that final with a 9-4 score.

Two veterans, Salkazanov and Khadjiev, were at their best in the opening Ranking Series tournament. Salkazanov blanked everyone, including winning 4-0 against David CARR (USA) in the final, to win 74kg gold.

Khadjiev had a tougher bat but managed to win the 79kg gold with a 5-3 win over Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI) in the final. The French wrestler would later win silver at the European Championships.