UPDATED: Schlatter, Chun, Medina eliminated on Day 3 of World Championships
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by Craig Sesker
Jessica Medina competing at 51 kg at the World Championships in Herning, Denmark. Tony Rotundo photo
HERNING, Denmark - The momentum the U.S. wrestling team built with a two-medal performance on Tuesday quickly vanished on Wednesday at the World Championships.
Three U.S. wrestlers - Dustin Schlatter, Clarissa Chun and Jessica Medina - fell short of placing on Day 3 of the seven-day event at the MesseCenter Herning.
Chun, a 2008 World champion who was wrestling with an injured shoulder, dropped a three-period decision to 17-year-old North Korean Sim Hyang So in the second round at 48 kg/105.5 lbs.
Chun dropped the first period 4-0 to So, a powerful, young wrestler. Chun fought back gamely, firing in on a leg attack to score a takedown with two seconds left in the period to send the bout to a third period.
Nobody was able to score in the third period and the match went to the ball draw. So won the draw and quickly finished for a takedown to win the match.
"I thought I was ready to go, regardless of what injury I had," said Chun, who placed fifth in the 2008 Olympics. "I kept fighting. I didn't want to lose. I definitely dropped the ball in the third period. I got too comfortable. I should have attacked her like I was losing. I should have come after her and not let it go (to the ball draw)."
So reached the semifinals, but lost to World champion Iorisa Oorzhak of Russia. That knocked Chun out of the event since So did not reach the finals.
Chun placed ninth in the final standings at her weight class.
Medina won her first match before falling to eventual finalist Sofia Mattsson of Sweden in the second round. Mattsson reached the finals to pull Medina back in for the repechage at 51 kg/112.25 lbs. Medina was eliminated from medal contention with a two-period loss to China's Di Hong.
It's been a breakthrough year for Medina, who placed fourth in the U.S. Nationals before rebounding to win the U.S. World Team Trials. Medina was wrestling with a sprained ankle she suffered five days ago in training.
"This whole year has been amazing," Medina said. "I just keep improving. I'm so excited about going through this experience. I feel so much more confident now. I've come a long way and I have a lot more to improve on. Of course, I'm disappointed. I am going to come back and train hard, and come back strong year next year."
Schlatter dropped a tough first-round match to Ramash Kumar of India in three periods at 74 kg/163 lbs. Kumar rattled off two more wins before falling in the semifinals. That knocked Schlatter out of the event.
Individual champions on Wednesday were Denis Tsargush of Russia at 74 kg/163 lbs. in men's freestyle, and Mariya Stadnyk of Azerbaijan at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. and Sofia Mattsson of Sweden at 51 kg/112.25 lbs. in women's freestyle. All three were first-time World champions.
The United States placed seventh in the final team standings with 19 points. The top three teams were Russia in first place with 63 points, Azerbaijan in second place with 48 points and Iran in third place with 40 points.
Three U.S. women - Tatiana Padilla (55 kg/121 lbs.), Deanna Rix (59 kg/130 lbs.) and Elena Pirozhkova (63 kg/138.75 lbs.) - weighed in and received their draws for Thursday's competition.
U.S. FREESTYLE, WOMEN'S FREESTYLE RESULTS FROM WEDNESDAY'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Women's freestyle
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Clarissa Chun, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids), 9th
WIN Mehvynna Tambunan (Singapore), 6-0, 6-0
LOSS Sim Hyang So (North Korea), 4-0, 2-2, 1-0
51 kg/112.25 lbs. - Jessica Medina, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC), dnp/15th
WIN Thie Dieu Ninh Tran (Vietnam), 3-0, 3-3
LOSS Sofia Mattsson (Sweden), 6-0, 1-0
LOSS Di Hong (China), 1-0, 1-0
Freestyle
74 kg/163 lbs. - Dustin Schlatter, Massillon, Ohio (Minnesota Storm), dnp/23rd
LOSS Ramash Kumar (India), 1-0, 0-2, 1-1
WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS
Women's freestyle results
48 kg/105.5 lbs.
Gold - Mariya Stadnyk (Azerbaijan)
Silver - Lorisa Oorzhak (Russia)
Bronze - Sim Hyang So (North Korea)
Bronze - Lyudmila Balushka (Ukraine)
5th - Thi Lua Nguyen (Vietnam)
5th - Yana Stadnik (Great Britain)
7th - Lindsay Rushton (Canada)
8th - Makiko Sakamoto (Japan)
9th - Clarissa Chun (USA)
10th - Sara Sanchez (Spain)
Gold - Stadnyk dec. Oorzhak, 3-0, 2-0
Bronze - Balushka pin Stadnik, 2-0, pin
Bronze - So dec. Nguyen, 3-0, 3-2
51 kg/112.25 lbs.
Gold - Sofia Mattsson (Sweden)
Silver - Kum Ok Han (North Korea
Bronze - Oleksandra Kohut (Ukraine)
Bronze - Yuri Kai (Japan)
5th - Natalia Budu (Moldova)
5th - Di Hong (China)
7th - Alexandra Englehardt (Germany)
8th - Babita Kumari (India)
9th - Tatyana Bakatyuk (Kazakhstan)
10th - Emese Szabo (Hungary)
Gold - Mattsson dec. Han, 3-0, 4-0
Bronze - Kohut dec. Budu, 1-0, 1-0
Bronze - Kai pin Hong
Men's freestyle
74 kg/163 lbs.
Gold - Denis Tsargush (Russia)
Silver - Chamsulvara Chamsulvarayev (Azerbaijan)
Bronze - Ramesh Kumar (India)
Bronze - Sadegh Goudarzi (Iran)
5th - Alexandr Burca (Moldova)
5th - Murad Gaidarov (Belarus)
7th - Apostolos Taskoudis (Greece)
8th - Kiril Terziev (Bulgaria)
9th - Bi Shengfeng (China)
10th - Andrej Shyyka (Germany)
Gold - Tsargush dec. Chamsulvarayev (Azerbaijan), 2-0, 1-0
Bronze - Goudarzi dec. Gaidarov, 1-0, 3-0
Bronze - Kumar dec. Burca, 0-3, 2-0, 6-4
Men's Freestyle Final Team Standings
1 RUSSIA, 63
2 AZERBAIJAN, 48
3 IRAN, 40
4 TURKEY, 27
5 UKRAINE, 23
6 BELARUS, 21
7 UNITED STATES, 19
8 UZBEKISTAN, 18
9 GEORGIA, 14
9 INDIA, 14
9 JAPAN, 14
12 GREECE, 12
12 NORTH KOREA, 12
12 CUBA, 12
15 KAZAKHSTAN, 8
15 ARMENIA, 8
17 GREAT BRITAIN, 6
17 MOLDOVA, 6
17 TAJIKISTAN, 6
20 GERMANY, 4
20 POLAND, 4
20 BULGARIA, 4
23 EGYPT, 3
23 KOREA, 3
25 CANADA, 2
25 CHINA, 2
25 KYRGYZSTAN, 2
25 PUERTO RICO, 2
29 HUNGARY, 1
29 MONGOLIA, 1
HERNING, Denmark - The momentum the U.S. wrestling team built with a two-medal performance on Tuesday quickly vanished on Wednesday at the World Championships.
Three U.S. wrestlers - Dustin Schlatter, Clarissa Chun and Jessica Medina - fell short of placing on Day 3 of the seven-day event at the MesseCenter Herning.
Chun, a 2008 World champion who was wrestling with an injured shoulder, dropped a three-period decision to 17-year-old North Korean Sim Hyang So in the second round at 48 kg/105.5 lbs.
Chun dropped the first period 4-0 to So, a powerful, young wrestler. Chun fought back gamely, firing in on a leg attack to score a takedown with two seconds left in the period to send the bout to a third period.
Nobody was able to score in the third period and the match went to the ball draw. So won the draw and quickly finished for a takedown to win the match.
"I thought I was ready to go, regardless of what injury I had," said Chun, who placed fifth in the 2008 Olympics. "I kept fighting. I didn't want to lose. I definitely dropped the ball in the third period. I got too comfortable. I should have attacked her like I was losing. I should have come after her and not let it go (to the ball draw)."
So reached the semifinals, but lost to World champion Iorisa Oorzhak of Russia. That knocked Chun out of the event since So did not reach the finals.
Chun placed ninth in the final standings at her weight class.
Medina won her first match before falling to eventual finalist Sofia Mattsson of Sweden in the second round. Mattsson reached the finals to pull Medina back in for the repechage at 51 kg/112.25 lbs. Medina was eliminated from medal contention with a two-period loss to China's Di Hong.
It's been a breakthrough year for Medina, who placed fourth in the U.S. Nationals before rebounding to win the U.S. World Team Trials. Medina was wrestling with a sprained ankle she suffered five days ago in training.
"This whole year has been amazing," Medina said. "I just keep improving. I'm so excited about going through this experience. I feel so much more confident now. I've come a long way and I have a lot more to improve on. Of course, I'm disappointed. I am going to come back and train hard, and come back strong year next year."
Schlatter dropped a tough first-round match to Ramash Kumar of India in three periods at 74 kg/163 lbs. Kumar rattled off two more wins before falling in the semifinals. That knocked Schlatter out of the event.
Individual champions on Wednesday were Denis Tsargush of Russia at 74 kg/163 lbs. in men's freestyle, and Mariya Stadnyk of Azerbaijan at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. and Sofia Mattsson of Sweden at 51 kg/112.25 lbs. in women's freestyle. All three were first-time World champions.
The United States placed seventh in the final team standings with 19 points. The top three teams were Russia in first place with 63 points, Azerbaijan in second place with 48 points and Iran in third place with 40 points.
Three U.S. women - Tatiana Padilla (55 kg/121 lbs.), Deanna Rix (59 kg/130 lbs.) and Elena Pirozhkova (63 kg/138.75 lbs.) - weighed in and received their draws for Thursday's competition.
U.S. FREESTYLE, WOMEN'S FREESTYLE RESULTS FROM WEDNESDAY'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Women's freestyle
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Clarissa Chun, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids), 9th
WIN Mehvynna Tambunan (Singapore), 6-0, 6-0
LOSS Sim Hyang So (North Korea), 4-0, 2-2, 1-0
51 kg/112.25 lbs. - Jessica Medina, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC), dnp/15th
WIN Thie Dieu Ninh Tran (Vietnam), 3-0, 3-3
LOSS Sofia Mattsson (Sweden), 6-0, 1-0
LOSS Di Hong (China), 1-0, 1-0
Freestyle
74 kg/163 lbs. - Dustin Schlatter, Massillon, Ohio (Minnesota Storm), dnp/23rd
LOSS Ramash Kumar (India), 1-0, 0-2, 1-1
WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS
Women's freestyle results
48 kg/105.5 lbs.
Gold - Mariya Stadnyk (Azerbaijan)
Silver - Lorisa Oorzhak (Russia)
Bronze - Sim Hyang So (North Korea)
Bronze - Lyudmila Balushka (Ukraine)
5th - Thi Lua Nguyen (Vietnam)
5th - Yana Stadnik (Great Britain)
7th - Lindsay Rushton (Canada)
8th - Makiko Sakamoto (Japan)
9th - Clarissa Chun (USA)
10th - Sara Sanchez (Spain)
Gold - Stadnyk dec. Oorzhak, 3-0, 2-0
Bronze - Balushka pin Stadnik, 2-0, pin
Bronze - So dec. Nguyen, 3-0, 3-2
51 kg/112.25 lbs.
Gold - Sofia Mattsson (Sweden)
Silver - Kum Ok Han (North Korea
Bronze - Oleksandra Kohut (Ukraine)
Bronze - Yuri Kai (Japan)
5th - Natalia Budu (Moldova)
5th - Di Hong (China)
7th - Alexandra Englehardt (Germany)
8th - Babita Kumari (India)
9th - Tatyana Bakatyuk (Kazakhstan)
10th - Emese Szabo (Hungary)
Gold - Mattsson dec. Han, 3-0, 4-0
Bronze - Kohut dec. Budu, 1-0, 1-0
Bronze - Kai pin Hong
Men's freestyle
74 kg/163 lbs.
Gold - Denis Tsargush (Russia)
Silver - Chamsulvara Chamsulvarayev (Azerbaijan)
Bronze - Ramesh Kumar (India)
Bronze - Sadegh Goudarzi (Iran)
5th - Alexandr Burca (Moldova)
5th - Murad Gaidarov (Belarus)
7th - Apostolos Taskoudis (Greece)
8th - Kiril Terziev (Bulgaria)
9th - Bi Shengfeng (China)
10th - Andrej Shyyka (Germany)
Gold - Tsargush dec. Chamsulvarayev (Azerbaijan), 2-0, 1-0
Bronze - Goudarzi dec. Gaidarov, 1-0, 3-0
Bronze - Kumar dec. Burca, 0-3, 2-0, 6-4
Men's Freestyle Final Team Standings
1 RUSSIA, 63
2 AZERBAIJAN, 48
3 IRAN, 40
4 TURKEY, 27
5 UKRAINE, 23
6 BELARUS, 21
7 UNITED STATES, 19
8 UZBEKISTAN, 18
9 GEORGIA, 14
9 INDIA, 14
9 JAPAN, 14
12 GREECE, 12
12 NORTH KOREA, 12
12 CUBA, 12
15 KAZAKHSTAN, 8
15 ARMENIA, 8
17 GREAT BRITAIN, 6
17 MOLDOVA, 6
17 TAJIKISTAN, 6
20 GERMANY, 4
20 POLAND, 4
20 BULGARIA, 4
23 EGYPT, 3
23 KOREA, 3
25 CANADA, 2
25 CHINA, 2
25 KYRGYZSTAN, 2
25 PUERTO RICO, 2
29 HUNGARY, 1
29 MONGOLIA, 1
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