Wiebe Sticks Vorobeva in Battle of Olympic Champs

Friday, May 24, 2019 - 20:05 By Eric Olanowski

SASSARI, Italy (May 24) – In arguably the most anticipated women’s wrestling match in the Ranking Series' two-year history, Rio Olympic champion Erica WIEBE (CAN) only needed two minutes to pick up the fall over London Olympic champion Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS).

In the first period of the 76kg finals, Wiebe ducked a front headlock attempt from her Russian opponent and used an unorthodox inside leg hook to throw Vorobeva on her back for the fall. “The secret to my success is I’m pretty dangerous from every position,” Wiebe said when asked out the unconventional maneuver she used to pick up the fall. She went on to say, “Today was a test, and I’m happy with how I competed. I love being creative on the mats, and I love to get to wrestling positions. That’s my bread and butter, so I went for it.”

The Budapest world bronze medalist went on to say “I wanted to go out there and compete. I wanted to make (Vorobeva) uncomfortable. I knew if I got her on her back, I wanted to stick her.” That's exactly what she did to pick up her second career Ranking Series title and first since last year's Poland Open.

Tamyra MENSAH (USA) defeated world runner-up Danielle LAPPAGE (CAN), 4-0 and won her third Ranking Series title of the year. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

In another highly anticipated women’s wrestling matchup on Friday night, Tamyra MENSAH (USA), who hadn’t even been in Italy for 24 hours, capped off her impressive run to a third consecutive Ranking Series title with a 4-0 win over Budapest world runner-up Danielle LAPPAGE (CAN).

The American landed in Italy on Thursday at 22:30, didn’t get to bed until well after midnight, then had to get up before sunrise for her final weight cut before weights.

Mensah fought through all sorts of adversity to get to Sassari, including having to check her weight on a baggage scale at Chicago’s airport - but her coach continued to hammer home that she needed to embrace the adversity and remind herself why she fell in love with the sport.

The second-ranked wrestler in the world didn’t use the long travel as an excuse, nor did she look at her extremely tough draw as a downfall. Mensah drew into Rio Olympic silver medalist Maryia MAMASHUK (BLR) in her first match. She won that match, 10-0. In her second match, she picked up a 5-1 win over Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) and followed that up with a 9-2 semifinals routing of two-time European champion Anastasia BRATCHIKOVA (RUS).

In the finals, Mensah scored a pair of first-period takedowns to defeat Danielle Lappage, who was up from her Budapest weight of 65kg.

Mensah’s Friday night win in Sardinia helped her lock up the No. 2 seed at the Nur-Sultan World Championships.

Grace BULLEN (NOR) shutout Budapest bronze medalist Pooja DHANDA (IND), 5-0 in the 57kg finals. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Bullen Avenges Loss to Dhanda, Wins 57kg Title
Norway’s U23 world champion Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR) avenged her World Championship loss to Budapest bronze medalist Pooja DHANDA (IND), scoring a 5-0 shutout win in the 57kg finals. Bullen won her first Ranking Series title after failing to win a gold at the previous two. ”It feels awesome. I’ve tried twice this year and got third and second.”

Bullen had no problem putting her five points on the board, picking up an inactivity point and a takedown before the end of the first period. In the second period, the Norwegian wrestler planted Dhanda on her back and held her there for nearly the entirety of the second period and scored the 5-0 shutout win.

“I lost to her at the worlds, so it means a lot that I can (wrestle) a match so great.” Bullen added, “I can just see the development that I’ve had in my technical wrestling…I feel like I’m growing every day, so it’s really fun to do that and ultimately perform at such a big competition like this, so it means a lot.”

Henna JOHANSSON (SWE) made her first appearance at 62kg and won the Sassari gold medal. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Sweden Wins Trio of Golds; Johansson Wins Highly Coveted 62kg Titled
Sweden brought a stacked squad to Sardinia and ended up having three champions in Sofia MATTSSON, Henna JOHANSSON, and Jenny FRANSSON. Mattsson won the 55kg gold medal, and Johansson walked away as the 62kg champion.

In the 55kg finals, a matchup of past world champions was supposed to happen – but tenth-ranked Mattsson got her hand raised after seventh-ranked Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) injury defaulted out of the match before the whistle blew.

Mattsson added 14 points to her previous total of 18 and will sit inside the top-4 of the rankings with 32 points heading into the final Ranking Series event of the year.

In her first appearance at 62kg, Henna Johannsson hit a thunderous four-point double leg in the first period, followed by a deep double in the second period, and defeated No. 18 (at 59kg) Elmira GAMBAROVA (AZE), 6-4.

“I feel strong; I feel good, and I feel fast. I think 62kg is perfect for me.”

Johansson’s win leaves the Swedish coaching staff with a tough decision heading into the European Games and World Championships. Do they go with Johansson or do you go with the bronze medalist at this weight, Malin MATTSSON (SWE)? Mattsson beat Johansson two weeks ago, but Johansson outplaced here in Sardinia. “Of course I’m chasing her, and she’s chasing me. I think that’s making us step up a little bit more.”

When asked if she’s solidified her spot for Sweden at the European Games, Johansson said, “I hope so. I just knew I had to go out today and do my best because I didn’t two weeks ago. But I did what I could, and I hope the spot is going to be mine.”

In closing, the 62kg champion said, “My goal is to go to the World Championships and try to qualify Sweden for the Olympics.”

Sweden third champion was Jenny Fransson. The Olympic bronze medalist tallied three wins in the 72kg Nordic-style bracket.

Seema picked up a 10-0 win over Russia's Daria LEKSINA (RUS) in the 50kg gold-medal bout. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Final Three Non-Nordic Golds Went to India, Russia, and Canada
The last three non-Nordic weight gold medals of the night went to Seema SEEMA (IND), Ekaterina POLESHCHUK (RUS), and Linda MORAIS (CAN), who won the 50kg, 53kg, and 59kg titles respectively.

India’s Seema Seema picked up a statement win over Daria LEKSINA (RUS) in the 50kg gold-medal bout, ending the match early after scoring five takedowns. Seema grabbed a pair of takedowns and led 4-0 after the first period, then tacked on three additional takedowns in period number two to end the match by technical superiority with over 60 seconds left on the clock.

Seema came into the Sassari ranked 30th in the world with 14 points. The Indian wrestlers win on Friday night doubled her Ranking Series point total and catapulted her up the rankings to No. 7 in the world behind sixth-ranked Olympic bronze medalist SUN Yanan (CHN) who has 25 points.

Russia’s Ekaterina POLESHCHUK controlled KIM Hyungjoo (KOR) in the 53kg finals from whistle to whistle and claimed her first gold medal since winning the Alexander Medved Prizes back in 2017. Poleshchuk, the 2018 U23 world bronze medalist, came into the weekend with 8 Ranking Series points, which was good enough for the 39th ranking in the last set of point-based rankings. Her 16 point win on Friday brought her new total to 24 points, moving her up into the eight spots when the next rankings come out.

Linda MORAIS (CAN) sacked Kumari MANJU (IND) in the 59kg finals after being up 9-0 and picked her first care Ranking Series title.

The final day of wrestling at the Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial begins tomorrow at 10:00 (local time) when freestyle takes over.

RESULTS

Team Scores
GOLD – Canada (147 points)
SILVER – Russia (120 points)
BRONZE – Kazakhstan (102 points)
Fourth - Sweden (90 points)
Fifth - India (80 points)

50kg
GOLD - Seema SEEMA (IND) df. Daria LEKSINA (RUS), 10-0
BRONZE - Jacqueline MOLLOCANA ELENO (ECU) df. Kamila BARBOSA VITO DA SILVA (BRA), 10-1
BRONZE - Fredrika PETERSSON (SWE) df. Jade DUFOUR (CAN), 10-0

53kg
GOLD - Ekaterina POLESHCHUK (RUS) df. KIM Hyungjoo (KOR), 6-1
BRONZE – Diana WEICKER (CAN) df. Anzhelika VETOSHKINA (RUS), via fall
BRONZE - Luisa VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU) df. Samantha STEWART (CAN), via fall

55kg (Single bronze)
GOLD - Sofia MATTSSON (SWE) df. Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR), via injury default
BRONZE – Viktoriia VAULINA (RUS) df. Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ), 12-1

57kg
GOLD - Grace BULLEN (NOR) df. Pooja DHANDA (IND), 5-0
BRONZE - Lissette Alexandra ANTES CASTILLO (ECU) df.
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS), 5-4
BRONZE – Alexandria TOWN (CAN) df. Katsiaryna YANUSHKEVICH (BLR), via fall

59kg
GOLD - Linda MORAIS (CAN) df. Kumari MANJU (IND), via fall
BRONZE - Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN) df. Kelsey CAMPBELL (USA), 8-2

62kg
GOLD - Henna Katarina JOHANSSON (SWE) df. Elmira GAMBAROVA (AZE), 6-4
BRONZE – Lais NUNES DE OLIVERIA (BRA) df. Mallory VELTE (USA), 6-4
BRONZE - Malin Johanna MATTSSON (SWE) df. Marwa AMRI (TUN), 7-2

65kg
GOLD – Gabriella SLEISZ (HUN)
SILVER – Aina TEMIRTASSOVA (KAZ)
BRONZE – Braxton STONE (CAN)

68kg
GOLD - Tamyra MENSAH (USA) df. Danielle LAPPAGE (CAN), 4-0
BRONZE - Anastasia BRATCHIKOVA (RUS) df. Mariya MAMASHUK (BLR), 4-3
BRONZE - Divya KAKRAN (IND) df. Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ), 10-5

72kg
GOLD – Jenny FRANSSON (SWE)
SILVER – Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
BRONZE – Tatiana MOROZOVA (RUS)

76kg
GOLD - Erica Elizabeth WIEBE (CAN) df. Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS), via fall
BRONZE – Epp MAE df. Ekaterina BUKINA (RUS), 8-7
BRONZE - Aline FOCKEN (GER) df. Iselin SOLHEIM (NOR), 8-0

#WrestleTirana

Bondar caps off remarkable year with U23 Worlds gold

Saturday, October 26, 2024 - 11:03 By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (October 25) -- Iryna BONDAR (UKR) was at her home in Zhytomyr, watching her teammate Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) win the silver medal at the 62kg weight at the Paris Olympics. Bondar was inspired by her senior and vowed to make the Olympic team for 2028 Los Angeles Games. However, the 20-year-old will have to beat Koliadenko to make that team as both compete in the 62kg weight class.

"We train together and even matches during training," Bondar said. "She wins but with a close score. It is possible for me to win against her. She has won two medals at the Olympics, her hard work brings the results."

On her journey in the new Olympic cycle, Bondar has established herself as one of the biggest stars in 62kg with 2024 being one of the most remarkable years for her.

After finishing eighth in the Zagreb Ranking Series, Bondar has won gold medals at the U23 European Championships, Budapest Ranking Series, U20 World Championships and on Friday, she won the U23 World Championships gold medal, upgrading her silver from last year.

"It was a very intense year," she said. "The main goal for me was to complete the year with the U20 World gold, since this is my last Junior year. I did it."

With two world titles in a one-month span, Bondar is slowly coming to terms with her achievement. Despite coming to Tirana as a heavy favorite, Bondar says she was nervous and still cannot believe that she is a world champion.

"I am always a bit nervous at competitions," she said. "If there is no nervousness, then there is no competition. There is no difference what kind of competition it is. I came up with the idea that I had to win, because I already have two U23 silver medals, and I was coming here for gold only."

In the final, Bondar met two-time world medalist Macey KILTY (USA) who had dominated her competition till the final. An close final was expected by Bondar had different ideas. She used her quick offense and Kilty slumped to a 12-3 loss.

"I know that I have a very experienced opponent in the final but I prepared to wrestle her," Bondar said.

With three more years of U23 eligibility, Bondar may set a unique record of winning the most level at U23 World Championships. However, she said that she will be focused on senior level as well.

"At the end of November we will have qualifiers for the European Championships," she said. "I will be wrestling there but it's still hard to believe that I have won."

U.S. wins team title

While Kilty lost, the U.S. performance was good enough to win it their first-ever U23 team title. U.S. won five medals including three golds to outperform Japan which finished second. U.S. finished with 136 points while Japan had 129 points. Ukraine was third with 124 points.

Kylie WELKER (USA) added another age-group world title after she defeated Vianne ROULEAU (CAN) via fall in the 72kg final. She also has a U20 world title from 2021. Since then, Welker has wrestled at 76kg. For this tournament, she dropped down to 72kg and it proved dividends for her.

Ringaci defends

Paris Olympian and one of the biggest stars in Tirana, Irina RINGACI (MDA) returned to the mat after her medalless campaign at the Paris Olympics. She ended the season by defending her U23 world gold medal at 65kg, beating Alina KASABIEVA (AIN), 10-3.

At one point, Ringaci led only 4-3 and Kasabieva had locked her for a suplex. However, Ringaci used her trademark whizzer and scored a four-pointer. Kasabieva challenged for a stepout but lost, making it 9-3 for Ringaci.

"I came here to win the gold medal because this is my last year competing at the U23 age group," Ringaci said. "I really wanted to win this World Championships to recover from the missing Olympic medal."

Ringaci suffered a 10-6 opening round loss against Pak Sol Gum (PRK) in Paris and returned without a medal.

"My preparation for the Olympic Games was really good," she said. "Days before my first Olympic bout, I got seriously ill. I was taking antibiotics, that’s why I was feeling bad. I was so disappointed because all the preparation stages went perfectly, but something we couldn’t control happened."

"I was wrestling on the first day at the Games, and at first I didn’t realize the Olympics were over for me. Only after the Olympic Games were over, I realized that it had all come to an end. I was completely devastated, because I expected much more. I still can’t recover from that defeat. But this U23 medal has cheered me up a bit and given me a little power."

Aliyeva first for Azerbaijan

Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) became the first-ever U23 world champion in women's wrestling by beating Ruka NATAMI (JPN) 10-8 in the 57kg final. She had won the silver medal last year after losing the final to Sara NATAMI (JPN), Ruka's older sister.

Aliyeva was running with the final and at one point she led 10-4. However, with less than a minute to go, Natami mounted a comeback but she failed to get a final turn as time ran out.

Sakamoto's golden debut

Yu SAKAMOTO (JPN) had never competed at any World Championships and when she did, she made sure she won gold. The former U20 Asian champion made her debut in Tirana and won the 53kg gold medal with a resounding 11-0 victory over Serena DI BENEDETTO (CAN).

While the final was one-sided, Sakamoto survived a scare in the semifinal against Otgontuya CHINBOLD (MGL), scoring a takedown in the last five seconds to win 4-4.

"I was injured this past year," Sakamoto said. "I overcame that and the semifinal was a lot harder for me. There were a few times when I couldn't get through the tackle. The Mongolian wrestler was really strong. I didn't move very well, but I was able to seize some chances and make the final tackle, so I'm glad."

Sakamoto suffered an ACL tear last year and had to operate, making her miss a few tournaments. She returned to competition during the selection trials for the World Championships. During her recovery, she realised that returning to 50kg would be a big ask so she moved up to 53kg.

"During the injury period, I thought a lot about my weight. In 50kg, I reduced weight but my strength increased," she said. "I felt like I wasn't using my strength in the competition, so I tried 53kg. I don't cut weight now."

Last month, Sakamoto followed her younger brother and moved to the U.S. While her brother is at Oklahoma State University, Sakamoto chose Northern Michigan University. But she will continue to appear for trials in Japan.

"I wish I could challenge myself through wrestling," she said. "I heard that my younger brother was going to college in the United States, so I thought I'd give it a try as well. So I decided to go to America because there were more matches there and I thought it would be a better fit for me, so I thought I could stick to my favorite style."

RESUTLS

53kg
GOLD: Yu SAKAMOTO (JPN) df. Serena DI BENEDETTO (CAN), 11-0

BRONZE: Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER) df. Xiaomin XIE (CHN), 10-8
BRONZE: Otgontuya CHINBOLD (MGL) df. Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ), 12-2

57kg
GOLD: Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) df. Ruka NATAMI (JPN), 10-8

BRONZE: Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR) df. Sofia MACALUSO (USA), 8-4
BRONZE: Neha SHARMA (IND) df. Mingyue ZHANG (CHN), 5-2

62kg
GOLD: Iryna BONDAR (UKR) df. Macey KILTY (USA), 12-3

BRONZE: Olha PADOSHYK (POL) df. Hanying ZHANG (CHN), via fall
BRONZE: Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR) df. Viktoria VESSO (EST), 10-0

65kg
GOLD: Irina RINGACI (MDA) df. Alina KASABIEVA (AIN), 10-3

BRONZE: Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU) df. Karolina POK (HUN),
BRONZE: SHIKSHA (IND) df. Rin TERAMOTO (JPN), 6-3

72kg
GOLD: Kylie WELKER (USA) df. Vianne ROULEAU (CAN), via fall

BRONZE: Viktoryia RADZKOVA (AIN) df. Olesia BEZUGLOVA (AIN), via fall (4-0)
BRONZE: Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) df. Haticenur SARI (TUR), via fall (11-0)

Freestyle Semifinals

61kg
GOLD: Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN) vs. Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE)

SF 1: Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE) vs. Abhishek DHAKA (IND), 11-1
SF 2: Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN) df. Ebrahim KHARI (IRI), 10-0

74kg
GOLD: Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ) vs. Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN)

SF 1: Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) df. Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN), 5-1
Sf 2: Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ) df. Ismail KHANIEV (AIN), 1-1

86kg
GOLD: Arslan BAGAEV (AIN) vs. Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE)

SF 1: Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) df. Yudai TAKAHASHI (JPN), 2-1
SF 2: Arslan BAGAEV (AIN) df. Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA), 8-1

92kg
GOLD: Jacob CARDENAS (USA) vs. Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI)

SF 1: Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) df. Fatih ALTUNBAS (TUR),
SF 2: Jacob CARDENAS (USA) df. Musza ARSUNKAEV (HUN),

125kg
GOLD: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) vs. Alen KHUBULOV (BUL)

SF 1: Alen KHUBULOV (BUL) df. Aydin AHMADOV (AZE), 10-0
SF 2: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) df. Lucas STODDARD (USA), 10-0

Wiebe Sticks Vorobeva in Battle of Olympic Champs

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Bondar caps off remarkable year with U23 Worlds gold