#WrestleOttawa

USA Wins Six Gold Medals, Cuba Claims Two in Last Day of #WrestleOttawa C'ships

Tuesday, March 10, 2020 - 01:07 By Taylor GREGORIO

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Photo of Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) by Tony Rotundo. 

OTTAWA, Canada – The United States claimed six gold medals on Monday night, and Cuba collected two in the final session of the Pan American Championships in Ottawa, Canada.

Among those winning gold for USA were Olympic champions Jordan BURROUGHS (74 kg) and Kyle SNYDER (97 kg).

Burroughs went toe-to-toe with 2011 World silver medalist Franklin GOMEZ MATOS (PUR) in the finals bout at 74 kg. Burroughs led 2-0 at break and kicked up his offense in the second period with a pair of takedowns and a leg lace for an eventual 8-1 victory.

The win marks Burroughs’ fourth Pan Am Championships title. He is also a three-time Pan Am Games champion.

For gold at 97 kg, Snyder looked solid against three-time World medalist Reineris SALAS PEREZ (CUB), using a series of takedowns and gut wrenches for a dominant 11-1 win.

The United States produced back-to-back falls in the finals at 65 kg and 70 kg.

John Michael DIAKOMIHALIS (USA) pinned Mauricio SANCHEZ SALTOS (ECU), locking up a cradle from a snap-down to end the bout in 49 seconds.

Reigning Pan American champion at 70 kg Anthony ASHNAULT (USA) barely spent any longer on the mat, when he faced Hugo DE LIMA VIANA DE SOUZA (BRA) in round five of round-robin action.

Ashnault scored on a takedown, then from a gut wrench, pinned de Lima in 51 seconds for his second Pan Am title. It was Ashnault’s third pin of the day and he was named the Outstanding Wrestler.

Tyler GRAFF (USA), who was fifth at the 2019 World Championships, secured the crown at 61 kg, beating Scott SCHILLER (CAN) in the finals with a decisive 11-0 tech fall. It was the only bout of the day contested at 61 kg.

At 125 kg, Anthony NELSON (USA) won the title with an injury forfeit from Amarveer DHESI (CAN). It is his first Pan Am gold.

Photo of Yurieski TORREBLANCA QUERALTA (CUB) by Tony Rotundo. 

Two-time U23 World champion Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA (CUB) claimed his second Pan American Championships title, emerging from the 57 kg bracket.

In the finals, Andreu trailed Pedro MEJIAS RODRIGUEZ (VEN) at the break, but broke away in the second period with a pair of takedowns for an eventual 4-2 victory.

Also winning a gold medal for Cuba was Yurieski TORREBLANCA QUERALTA at 86 kg.

Taking on Pool AMBROCIO GREIFO (PER) in the gold medal match, Torreblanca went up 6-0 before Ambrocio suffered an injury that kept him from completing the match.

The Pan American Olympic Qualifier will take place March 13-15 in Ottawa, Canada.

Freestyle team results
1. USA – 205
2. Canada – 120
3. Cuba – 100
4. Venezuela – 66
5. Mexico – 59
6. Puerto Rico – 57
7. Dominican Republic – 44
8. Peru – 35
9. Argentina – 35
10. Brazil – 30

Final men’s freestyle results
57 kg
GOLD – Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA (CUB) df. Pedro MEJIAS RODRIGUEZ (VEN), 4-2
BRONZE – Darian CRUZ (USA) df. Edwin SEGURA GUERRA (GUA), 10-0
BRONZE - Juan Rubelin RAMIREZ BELTRE (DOM) df. Ligrit SADIKU (CAN), injury default

61 kg
GOLD – Tyler GRAFF (USA)
SILVER – Scott SCHILLER (CAN)

70 kg
GOLD – Yianni DIAKOMIHALIS (USA) df. Mauricio Javier SANCHEZ SALTOS (ECU), fall
BRONZE – Sixto AUCCAPINA PEDRAGAS (PER) df. David DOS SANTOS MOREIRA (BRA), 9-0
BRONZE - Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG) df. Jose Javier RODRIGUEZ COLON (PUR), 10-0

74 kg
GOLD – Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) df. Franklin GOMEZ (PUR), 8-1
BRONZE – Anthony MONTERO CHIRINOS (VEN) df. Enrique PEREZ CASTELLANOS (GUA), 12-2
BRONZE - Jeandry GARZON CABALLERO (CUB) df. Jorge Ivan LLANO (ARG), 11-0

86 kg
GOLD – Yurieski TORREBLANCA QUERALTA (CUB) df. Pool AMBROCIO GREIFO (PER), injury default
BRONZE – Alex DIERINGER (USA) df. Carlos Arturo IZQUIERDO MENDEZ (COL), 11-1
BRONZE – Clayton PYE (CAN) df. Ricardo Adrian BAEZ (ARG), 11-0

97 kg
GOLD – Kyle SNYDER (USA) df. Reineris SALAS PEREZ (CUB), 11-1
BRONZE – Luis Miguel PEREZ SOSA (DOM) df. Jose Daniel DIAZ ROBERTTI (VEN), 5-3

125 kg
GOLD – Anthony NELSON (USA) df. Amarveer DHESI (CAN), injury default
BRONZE – Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB) df. Brandon AGUIANO FLORES (MEX), 10-0

2026 World Championships

Yazdani Returns to World Championships After Beating Azarpira

Friday, June 19, 2026 - 11:56 By Vinay Siwach

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KEMRAN, Iran (July 19) -- Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) made his World Championships debut at 70kg in 2015. The Olympic champion will be at 97kg for his eighth World Championships, 11 years later.

Yazdani, a three-time world champion, booked his spot on Iran's team for the 2026 World Championships after beating world silver medalist Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) in two straight matches in Kemran on Friday.

Azarpira needed to win only one bout to earn his spot as he was a returning world medalist but Yazdani secured two wins, 4-2 and 5-3, to end Azarpira's hopes. 

According to selection criteria set by Iran, a returning world medalist needed to win only one bout while the opponent needed two straight wins to claim the spot.

Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)Hassan YAZDANI (IRI), blue, shakes hands with Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) after beating him in the second bout. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

In the first bout, Yazdani scored three stepouts and a point for passivity while Azarpira managed a takedown to the lead but he could not find another takedown or two one-point scoring actions needed to win.

An hour later, the two wrestlers returned for their second bout. Azapira, needed just a win to secure his place, led 3-3 on criteria in the second period. After Yazdani led 3-0, Azarpira fired back a takedown and stepout to earn the criteria.

In the final minute, Azarpira pressured Yazdani towards the zone and just went it seemed that he has scored a stepout, Yazdani circled back and scored a takedown to take a 5-3 lead. A shocked Azarpira protested the decision but he had no challenge left as he had used and lost the challenge in the first period.

Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) tries to score on Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) during the 97kg bout. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Yazdani, with all his experience, managed to hold on to his two point lead and confirm that he will return to the World Championships three years later. The Iranian will be chasing his eighth medal as he already has medals from every edition he has participated in.

The 31-year-old began with a silver medal at 70kg in 2015, won gold at 86kg in 2017, 2019 and 2021, and won bronze in 2018. At the 2022 and 2023 World Championships, he finished silver medals, losing those finals to David TAYLOR (USA).

This, however, won't be Yazdani's debut at 97kg. He wrestled at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series in February and reached the final before Stephen BUCHANAN (USA) defeated him, 13-3.

Yazdani's next challenge will be to win a medal at the October 24-November 1 World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan. The 97kg weight class will most likely have returning world champion Kyle SNYDER (USA), Paris Olympic champion and world bronze medalist Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) and world bronze medalist Arash YOSHIDA (JPN).

Former Olympic and world champion Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) will also be in the mix if he makes the Russian team. Olympic silver medalist Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO), former world champion Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ), will also be challenging for the three-time Olympic medalist Iranian.

Yazdani, Firouzpour Win

Two other weight classes, 74kg and 97kg, were also contested to confirm the Iran Freestyle team for the World Championships.

Former world silver medalist Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI) defeated Yones EMAMI (IRI) in two straight bouts to clinch the spot at 74kg, a weight class that Emami has ruled in Iran for quite a few years now.

In two high-scoring bouts, Yazdani won 10-6 and 11-7, mostly using his counters in the zone to book his spot.

At 92kg, world bronze medalist Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) defeated Mobin AZIMI (IRI), 2-1, in the second bout of the series to claim the spot. As he was the returning world medalist, Firouzpour needed only one win to qualify.

Azimi won the first bout 2-2 on criteria, scoring a late stepout after three points were awarded for passivity. However, there was no such comeback in the second bout as Firouzpour kept his lead.

On Tuesday, a wrestle-off was held in Greco-Roman in which Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) defeated world champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI), 5-1, at 130kg to secure his spot for the World Championships.

Iran's Freestyle Team for 2026 World Championships

57kg: Milad VALIZADEH (IRI)
61kg: Ahmad JAVAN (IRI)
65kg: Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI)
70kg: Sina KHALILI (IRI)
74kg: Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI)
79kg: Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI)
86kg: Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI)
92kg: Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI)
97kg: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)
125kg: Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)