The US males’s freestyle wrestling workforce positively had one thing to show on the World Championships held in Croatia.
The match, which takes place each two years and successfully serves as an alternate with the Olympics taking place each 4 years, noticed a number of U.S. athletes atop the rostrum with a number of others capturing silver and bronze medals. The wins got here after a disappointing outing on the 2024 Olympics in Paris the place the U.S. males’s freestyle left with out a single gold medal for the primary time in 56 years.
Two-time Olympic medalist Kyle Snyder, not solely captured his fourth World Championship, however he did it by beating the identical opponent who prevented him from profitable a bronze on the 2024 Olympics. Snyder completed his run via the World Championships with a 4-2 victory over Iranian Amirali Azarpira to assert one other gold medal at 97kg.
Snyder stays one of many winningest American wrestlers in historical past with gold and silver medals earned on the Olympics whereas capturing eight complete medals together with 4 golds on the World Championships.
Whereas Snyder returning to the highest of the game wasn’t completely stunning, maybe essentially the most spectacular displaying by an American got here from former Arizona State standout Zahid Valencia, who trounced the competitors on his method to profitable gold at 86kg.
Valencia tore via his opposition and didn’t give up a single level throughout 5 matches whereas in the end capping off his week with a complete rating of 49-0. That features Valencia incomes a 12-0 tech fall win over Hayato Ishiguro from Japan within the gold medal match.
American Trent Hidlay additionally placed on a shocking efficiency on his method to profitable gold at 92kg, which was the third and closing championship for the U.S. males’s freestyle workforce.
General, the American males’s freestyle workforce received 5 medals throughout 10 weight lessons.
Whereas there was quite a lot of success from the U.S. workforce, there have been additionally a few stunning outcomes alongside the way in which.
2024 Olympic silver medalist Spencer Lee suffered a 14-3 loss within the quarterfinals, which in the end eradicated him from the competitors.
Wyatt Hendrickson, who defeated 2020 Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson to assert first place on the NCAA Championships, had a disappointing outing after he was defeated 14-4 in his first and solely match within the match.
On the ladies’s facet, Helen Maroulis received one other gold medal with an outstanding displaying as she continues to cement her legacy as one of many best of all-time. Maroulis first shocked the world along with her gold medal win on the 2016 Olympics and he or she’s gone onto declare two extra bronze medals in 2020 and 2024.
On the World Championships, Maroulis is a four-time gold medalist and eight time medalist total.
2024 Olympic silver medalist Kennedy Blades labored her manner again for a bronze medal after she suffered a shocking loss within the quarterfinals after falling to Japan’s Ami Ishii with a 12-1 rating. Blades bounced again with a win in her subsequent match after which a 12-1 drubbing in her bronze medal match because the 22-year-old phenom continues so as to add to her assortment of medals on the worldwide stage.
0 Feedback
