#WrestleBuenosAires

USA runs through Pan-Ams with nine golds

Sunday, May 7, 2023 - 06:54 By Vinay Siwach

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (May 6) -- There was little doubt that the USA will dominate the final day of the Pan-American Championships in Buenos Aires. And barring one weight class out of the eight in action Saturday, wrestlers from the US won gold medals.

The gold rush began with World Championships silver medalist Thomas GILMAN (USA) defending his 57kg Pan-Am title. In a dominating performance in the final, he defeated Darian CRUZ (PUR) 10-0. In his three bouts, Gilman outscored his opponents 32-0 and showed why he is considered one of the best wrestlers in his category.

John DIAKOMIHALIS (USA)John DIAKOMIHALIS (USA) won the 65kg gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Apart from Gilman, two other World Championships silver medalists won gold on Saturday.

John DIAKOMIHALIS (USA) was up against two-time world medalist Alejandro VALDES (CUB) in the 65kg final and dug deep to post a 4-1 victory, claiming the title. Both wrestlers traded passivities but Diakomihalis managed to score a takedown for two points late in the final which Valdes challenged but lost.

In the semifinals, Diakomihalis was in deep trouble as Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG) led 7-7 on criteria. But he shot a double and after a little struggle, managed to lift Destribats on his shoulders before landing him out of the zone to score a point and win a thrilling bout.

At 70kg, Zain RETHERFORD (USA) made no mistakes in his run to the gold medal. In the final against Connor QUINTON (CAN), Retherford won the match via fall.

Kyle DAKE (USA)Kyle DAKE (USA) defended his 74kg Pan-Am title. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Two world champions from the USA added more gold medals to the country's tally as Kyle DAKE (USA) and Kyle SNYDER (USA) won the 74kg and 97kg weight classes respectively.

Outscoring his opponents 40-0 in four bouts, Dake put on a commanding performance at 74kg and defeated Franklin GOMEZ (PUR) 10-0 to defend his title. Even in 2022, Dake defeated Gomez to win gold.

Snyder was a little less dominant in his three bouts but still got the job done, defending his Pan-Am title at 97kg which he won in 2022. He defeated Arturo Silot TORRES (CUB) 14-3 to win the gold medal.

In a round-robin 61kg bracket, Vitali ARUJAU (USA) won the gold medal as he won all four of his bouts with ease. Jason LUNEAU (CAN) was the only wrestler to score a point against Arujau who still won the Round 2 bout 14-4. In the decisive clash, Arujau defeated Joseph SILVA (PUR) 11-0 to confirm his gold.

Winning the ninth gold medal out of 10 for the USA was 24-year-old Dominique BRADLEY (USA). He faced Jose ROBERTTI (VEN) in the final and pulled off a close 2-1 victory to clinch his third Pan-Am title, six years since he won the second.

Yurieski TORREBLANCA (CUB)Yurieski TORREBLANCA (CUB) was the only non-USA champion in freestyle. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Torreblanca denies

Yurieski TORREBLANCA (CUB) defeated Mark HALL (USA) in the semifinal, denying the USA a clean sweep of the gold medals. He went on to win the gold after defeating Alexander MOORE (CAN) in the 86kg final. Moore tried finding a way to score on Torreblanca but fell short as the Cuban won the gold 5-1.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Thomas GILMAN (USA) df. Darian CRUZ (PUR), 10-0

BRONZE: Pedro MEJIAS RODRIGUEZ (VEN) df. Darthe CAPELLAN (CAN), 10-7
BRONZE: Santiago CHAVECO (CUB) df. Hernan ALMENDRA (ARG), 8-3

61kg
GOLD: Vitali ARUJAU (USA)
SILVER: Joseph SILVA (PUR)
BRONZE: Jason LUNEAU (CAN)

65kg
GOLD: John DIAKOMIHALIS (USA) df. Alejandro VALDES (CUB), 4-1

BRONZE: Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG) df. Sixto PEDRAGAS (PER), 11-0
BRONZE: Sebastian RIVERA (PUR) df. Albaro CAMACHO (DOM), 9-2

70kg
GOLD: Zain RETHERFORD (USA) df. Connor QUINTON (CAN), via fall

BRONZE: Mauricio LOVERA (ARG) df. Vinicius DA SILVA JOAQUIM (BRA), 6-4

74kg
GOLD: Kyle DAKE (USA) df. Franklin GOMEZ (PUR), 10-0

BRONZE: Cesar ALVAN (BRA) df. Anthony CHIRINOS (VEN), 4-2
BRONZE: Franklin MAREN (CUB) df. Adam THOMSON (CAN), 4-3

86kg
GOLD: Yurieski TORREBLANCA (CUB) df. Alexander MOORE (CAN), 5-1

BRONZE: Mark HALL (USA) df. Bruno NICOLETTI (BRA), 11-0
BRONZE: Carlos IZQUIERDO (COL) df. Pedro CEBALLOS FUENTES (VEN), 7-6

97kg
GOLD: Kyle SNYDER (USA) df. Arturo SILOT TORRES (CUB), 14-3

BRONZE: Nishan Preet RANDHAWA (CAN) df. Ricardo BAEZ (ARG), 5-1
BRONZE: Luis PEREZ SOSA (DOM) df. Maxwell LACEY (CRC), via fall

125kg
GOLD: Dominique BRADLEY (USA) df. Jose DIAZ ROBERTTI (VEN), 2-1

BRONZE: Catriel MURIEL (ARG) df. Elison GARCIA (DOM), 5-2
BRONZE: Aaron JOHNSON (JAM) df. Reineris SALAS (CUB), via inj. def.

#UWWAwards

UWW Comebacks of the Year 2025: Uguev, Maroulis, Amoyan

Friday, December 19, 2025 - 10:30 By Eric Olanowski

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 18) -- United World Wrestling’s 2025 Comeback Wrestlers of the Year are three wrestlers who refused to let their careers be defined by defeat and setbacks.

Freestyle Comeback Wrestler: Zaur UGUEV (UWW)

There was a time not too long ago where Uguev career trajectory was pointing him in the direction of becoming the greatest lightweight of this generation, but he hit a slump in 2023 and 2024, finishing fifth at the World Championships.

This year, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medalist returned to top form. He went from an afterthought to one of the sport's most dominant wrestlers -- reclaiming world gold for a third time in his career and first time since the 2019 World Championships with a 11-2 win over Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) in the 61kg finals.

"This is a very joyful event in my life -- I am once again on the top of the podium," Uguev said. "I am very happy and grateful to my team, my coach, my sparring partners, our national team -- thanks to everyone who played a part in my victory."

Women’s Wrestling Comeback Wrestler: Helen MAROULIS (USA)

For most, 2021 seems like yesterday. But for Maroulis, it’s been a grueling four years of waiting and working to reclaim her spot a top the world ranks. Despite having to completely change her style of wrestling due to lack of conditioning that stemmed from an allergic reaction to antibiotics before the World Championships, Maroulis found a way to bolster her resume with a fourth world title -- adding to her career wins 2015, 2018, and 2021, not to mention her three Olympic medals.

She did so with three quick pins in Zagreb before inside tripping Il-Sim SON (PRK) in dramatic fashion, stealing the world title as the clock expired.

After the match, the 11-time world and Olympic medalist said, "I had to really, really dig deep for that and, I don't know, before the last exchange started, I just had to dig deep and find it. It was just some scramble flurry and just that it came out my way. I'm grateful."

Greco-Roman Comeback Wrestler: Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)

Like Maroulis’ four-year battle to get back to the top, Amoyan found himself fighting an uphill battle to regain world gold since his last title-winning run in Oslo in 2021. But after moving up from 72kg to 77kg, he struggled. He fell one match short of his goal at the World Championships in 2022 and 2023, and again at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games where he settled for a bronze medal.

But 2025 was different as the 26-year-old put on arguably the greatest Greco-Roman performance of the Zagreb World Championships, capping off his run to a second world title with an unexpected 9-1 thumping of reigning Olympic gold medalist Nao KUSAKA (JPN).

"I became a world champion back in 2021 [at 72kg], but I really wanted to become world champion at 77kg. For two years, I struggled with injuries, and nothing was going as it should. Thankfully, at this World Championships I was prepared -- mentally, physically, and functionally -- and by God's grace I managed to triumph and become a two-time world champion."