Strong field of international wrestlers expected at Pan American Games
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by Craig Sesker USA Wrestling
Cuba’s Mijain Lopez will be seeking his fourth Pan American Games title next week in Toronto. File photo.
Mijain Lopez is one of the best athletes on the planet.
He’s quick, agile, strong, powerful and explosive.
And the massive 6-foot-5 Cuban heavyweight is one of the best wrestlers in the history of the sport.
Lopez, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time World champion, leads a strong list of international stars that will be competing at the Pan American Games on July 15-18 in Toronto, Canada.
Lopez has struck gold at the last three Pan Am Games in Greco-Roman wrestling, earning titles in 2003, 2007 and 2011. He will compete in Toronto at 130 kg/286 lbs. Lopez will turn 33 next month, but he won Worlds last year and is still wrestling at a very high level.
Lopez beat Olympic and World champion Rulon Gardner of the U.S. in the 2003 Pan Am finals. He beat World champion Dremiel Byers of the U.S. in the 2007 Pan Am finals.
The four-day Pan Am Games tournament will feature competition in freestyle, women’s freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. It will be contested at the Mississauga Sports Centre. There will be a live webcast of the event provided on ESPN3.
Cuba once again will send a strong team to the Pan Ams in all three styles.
The Cubans feature a loaded roster that includes past World freestyle medalists Yowlys Bonne Rodriguez (57 kg/125.5 lbs.), Livan Lopez (74 kg/163 lbs.), Reineris Salas (86 kg/189 lbs.) and Javier Cortina (97 kg/213 lbs.).
Livan Lopez won a Pan American Games title at 66 kilos in 2011 before finishing third, second and third at the World Championships the past three years. He was third in the 2012 Olympic Games. He moved up to 74 kilos in 2014 after previously competing at 66 kilos.
Lopez fell to Olympic gold medalist and two-time World champion Jordan Burroughs of the U.S. at the 2014 Pan American Championships and in the 2015 World Cup.
Salas won World silver medals in 2013 and 2014. He beat 2009 World silver medalist Jake Herbert of the U.S. at the 2010 Worlds and in the 2015 Beat the Streets event in New York. They could meet again at the Pan Ams in Toronto.
Bonne Rodriguez placed third at the 2014 Worlds at 60 kg/132 lbs. before moving down to 57 kilos this year. He won a bronze medal at the 2011 Pan Am Games at 60 kg.
Cortina placed third at the 2014 Worlds, but has lost to Americans Jake Varner and Kyle Snyder this year. Snyder beat Cortina at the Beat the Streets event. Snyder and Cortina could meet again at the Pan Ams as well.
In addition to Mijain Lopez, the Cubans are very strong once again in Greco. Cuba’s Miguel Martinez (66 kg/145.5 lbs.) and Julio Bastida (75 kg/165 lbs.) each won titles at April’s Pan American Championships in Chile.
Cuba won 6-of-7 Greco titles at the 2011 Pan Am Games.
In women’s freestyle, Cuba’s Lisset Hechavarria won a gold medal at the 2011 Pan Am Games at 72 kg/158.5 lbs.
Hechavarria will be in a strong heavyweight class in Toronto that includes 2014 World champion Adeline Gray of the U.S. and 2014 World runner-up Aline da Silva of Brazil. Hechavarria beat da Silva in the 2011 Pan Am finals. Gray posted a technical fall win over Hechavarria this season in Cuba.
Cuba has another returning Pan Am Games women’s champion in its lineup with Katerina Vidiaux Lopez back at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. She placed fifth at the 2010 Worlds and eighth at the 2012 Olympic Games.
Puerto Rico is led by a pair of top wrestlers – Franklin Gomez and Jaime Espinal – who train in the U.S. Gomez, a 2011 World silver medalist, competes at 65 kg/143 lbs. Espinal, a 2012 Olympic silver medalist, wrestles at 86 kg/189 lbs. Gomez won the 2011 Pan Am Games at 60 kg.
Gomez will be in a loaded 65 kilos class that includes four-time World Team member Brent Metcalf of the U.S., World fifth-place finisher Haislan Garcia of Canada and 2013 Pan American Championships gold medalist Franklin Maren Castillo of Cuba.
Gomez and Espinal both train with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club at Penn State University. Gomez won an NCAA title for Michigan State.
Colombia’s Jackeline Renteria is one of the most decorated wrestlers in the women’s freestyle field. She captured a Pan Am Games title in 2007 before earning back-to-back Olympic bronze medals in 2008 and 2012 at 55 kg/121 lbs.
Renteria now competes at 63 kg/138.75 lbs.
Canada will send a strong women’s team to the mat to compete in its home country. It has a veteran lineup that includes Dori Yeats (69 kg/152 lbs.), Braxton Stone-Papadopoulos (63 kg/138.75 lbs.), Michelle Fazzari (58 kg/128 lbs.), Genevieve Morrison (48 kg/105.5 lbs.) and Justina Distasio (75 kg/165 lbs.).
Yeats won a World silver medal in 2012. Stone-Papadopoulos is a Junior World medalist who has competed in the Senior Worlds. Fazzari placed 10th at the 2014 Worlds. Distasio won the Dave Schultz Memorial International this year.
The United States is led by returning Pan American Games champions in Burroughs, Herbert and Tervel Dlagnev, a two-time World bronze medalist.
Burroughs, Herbert and Dlagnev each won Pan Am Games freestyle titles in 2011 in Guadalajara, Mexico. All three will also be competing for the U.S. at September’s World Championships in Las Vegas.
The U.S. also features Gray, a two-time World champion and four-time World medalist, in women’s freestyle. American Alyssa Lampe is a two-time World bronze medalist.
The U.S. Greco-Roman team is led by 2014 World bronze medalist Andy Bisek, two-time World fifth-place finisher Spenser Mango and 2013 World fifth-place finisher Robby Smith.
PAN AMERICAN GAMES
JULY 15-18, TORONTO, CANADA
EVENT SCHEDULE
July 15 – Greco-Roman 59 kg, 66 kg, 75 kg, 85 kg
July 16 – Greco-Roman 98 kg, 130 kg; Women’s freestyle 48 kg, 53 kg, 58 kg
July 17 – Women’s freestyle 63 kg, 69 kg, 75 kg; Men’s freestyle 57 kg, 65 kg
July 18 – Men’s freestyle 74 kg, 86 kg, 97 kg, 125 kg
2011 PAN AMERICAN GAMES CHAMPIONS
Greco-Roman
55 kg/121 lbs. – Gustavo Eddy Balart Marin (Cuba)
60 kg/132 lbs. – Luis Liendo (Venezuela)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Pedro Isaac Mulens Herrera (Cuba)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Jorgisbell Alvarez Hernandez (Cuba)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Pablo Enrique Shorey Hernandez (Cuba)
96 kg/211.5 lbs. – Yunior Estrada Falcon (Cuba)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Mijain Lopez Nunez (Cuba)
Women’s freestyle
48 kg/105.5 lbs. – Carol Huynh (Canada)
55 kg/121 lbs. – Helen Maroulis (USA)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. – Katerina Vidiaux Lopez (Cuba)
72 kg/158.5 lbs. – Lisset Hechavarria Medina (Cuba)
Men’s freestyle
55 kg/121 lbs. – Juan Ramirez Beltre (Dominican Republic)
60 kg/132 lbs. – Franklin Gomez (Puerto Rico)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Livan Lopez Azcuy (Cuba)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Jordan Burroughs (USA)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Jake Herbert (USA)
96 kg/211.5 lbs. – Jake Varner (USA)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Tervel Dlagnev (USA)
Mijain Lopez is one of the best athletes on the planet.
He’s quick, agile, strong, powerful and explosive.
And the massive 6-foot-5 Cuban heavyweight is one of the best wrestlers in the history of the sport.
Lopez, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time World champion, leads a strong list of international stars that will be competing at the Pan American Games on July 15-18 in Toronto, Canada.
Lopez has struck gold at the last three Pan Am Games in Greco-Roman wrestling, earning titles in 2003, 2007 and 2011. He will compete in Toronto at 130 kg/286 lbs. Lopez will turn 33 next month, but he won Worlds last year and is still wrestling at a very high level.
Lopez beat Olympic and World champion Rulon Gardner of the U.S. in the 2003 Pan Am finals. He beat World champion Dremiel Byers of the U.S. in the 2007 Pan Am finals.
The four-day Pan Am Games tournament will feature competition in freestyle, women’s freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. It will be contested at the Mississauga Sports Centre. There will be a live webcast of the event provided on ESPN3.
Cuba once again will send a strong team to the Pan Ams in all three styles.
The Cubans feature a loaded roster that includes past World freestyle medalists Yowlys Bonne Rodriguez (57 kg/125.5 lbs.), Livan Lopez (74 kg/163 lbs.), Reineris Salas (86 kg/189 lbs.) and Javier Cortina (97 kg/213 lbs.).
Livan Lopez won a Pan American Games title at 66 kilos in 2011 before finishing third, second and third at the World Championships the past three years. He was third in the 2012 Olympic Games. He moved up to 74 kilos in 2014 after previously competing at 66 kilos.
Lopez fell to Olympic gold medalist and two-time World champion Jordan Burroughs of the U.S. at the 2014 Pan American Championships and in the 2015 World Cup.
Salas won World silver medals in 2013 and 2014. He beat 2009 World silver medalist Jake Herbert of the U.S. at the 2010 Worlds and in the 2015 Beat the Streets event in New York. They could meet again at the Pan Ams in Toronto.
Bonne Rodriguez placed third at the 2014 Worlds at 60 kg/132 lbs. before moving down to 57 kilos this year. He won a bronze medal at the 2011 Pan Am Games at 60 kg.
Cortina placed third at the 2014 Worlds, but has lost to Americans Jake Varner and Kyle Snyder this year. Snyder beat Cortina at the Beat the Streets event. Snyder and Cortina could meet again at the Pan Ams as well.
In addition to Mijain Lopez, the Cubans are very strong once again in Greco. Cuba’s Miguel Martinez (66 kg/145.5 lbs.) and Julio Bastida (75 kg/165 lbs.) each won titles at April’s Pan American Championships in Chile.
Cuba won 6-of-7 Greco titles at the 2011 Pan Am Games.
In women’s freestyle, Cuba’s Lisset Hechavarria won a gold medal at the 2011 Pan Am Games at 72 kg/158.5 lbs.
Hechavarria will be in a strong heavyweight class in Toronto that includes 2014 World champion Adeline Gray of the U.S. and 2014 World runner-up Aline da Silva of Brazil. Hechavarria beat da Silva in the 2011 Pan Am finals. Gray posted a technical fall win over Hechavarria this season in Cuba.
Cuba has another returning Pan Am Games women’s champion in its lineup with Katerina Vidiaux Lopez back at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. She placed fifth at the 2010 Worlds and eighth at the 2012 Olympic Games.
Puerto Rico is led by a pair of top wrestlers – Franklin Gomez and Jaime Espinal – who train in the U.S. Gomez, a 2011 World silver medalist, competes at 65 kg/143 lbs. Espinal, a 2012 Olympic silver medalist, wrestles at 86 kg/189 lbs. Gomez won the 2011 Pan Am Games at 60 kg.
Gomez will be in a loaded 65 kilos class that includes four-time World Team member Brent Metcalf of the U.S., World fifth-place finisher Haislan Garcia of Canada and 2013 Pan American Championships gold medalist Franklin Maren Castillo of Cuba.
Gomez and Espinal both train with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club at Penn State University. Gomez won an NCAA title for Michigan State.
Colombia’s Jackeline Renteria is one of the most decorated wrestlers in the women’s freestyle field. She captured a Pan Am Games title in 2007 before earning back-to-back Olympic bronze medals in 2008 and 2012 at 55 kg/121 lbs.
Renteria now competes at 63 kg/138.75 lbs.
Canada will send a strong women’s team to the mat to compete in its home country. It has a veteran lineup that includes Dori Yeats (69 kg/152 lbs.), Braxton Stone-Papadopoulos (63 kg/138.75 lbs.), Michelle Fazzari (58 kg/128 lbs.), Genevieve Morrison (48 kg/105.5 lbs.) and Justina Distasio (75 kg/165 lbs.).
Yeats won a World silver medal in 2012. Stone-Papadopoulos is a Junior World medalist who has competed in the Senior Worlds. Fazzari placed 10th at the 2014 Worlds. Distasio won the Dave Schultz Memorial International this year.
The United States is led by returning Pan American Games champions in Burroughs, Herbert and Tervel Dlagnev, a two-time World bronze medalist.
Burroughs, Herbert and Dlagnev each won Pan Am Games freestyle titles in 2011 in Guadalajara, Mexico. All three will also be competing for the U.S. at September’s World Championships in Las Vegas.
The U.S. also features Gray, a two-time World champion and four-time World medalist, in women’s freestyle. American Alyssa Lampe is a two-time World bronze medalist.
The U.S. Greco-Roman team is led by 2014 World bronze medalist Andy Bisek, two-time World fifth-place finisher Spenser Mango and 2013 World fifth-place finisher Robby Smith.
PAN AMERICAN GAMES
JULY 15-18, TORONTO, CANADA
EVENT SCHEDULE
July 15 – Greco-Roman 59 kg, 66 kg, 75 kg, 85 kg
July 16 – Greco-Roman 98 kg, 130 kg; Women’s freestyle 48 kg, 53 kg, 58 kg
July 17 – Women’s freestyle 63 kg, 69 kg, 75 kg; Men’s freestyle 57 kg, 65 kg
July 18 – Men’s freestyle 74 kg, 86 kg, 97 kg, 125 kg
2011 PAN AMERICAN GAMES CHAMPIONS
Greco-Roman
55 kg/121 lbs. – Gustavo Eddy Balart Marin (Cuba)
60 kg/132 lbs. – Luis Liendo (Venezuela)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Pedro Isaac Mulens Herrera (Cuba)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Jorgisbell Alvarez Hernandez (Cuba)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Pablo Enrique Shorey Hernandez (Cuba)
96 kg/211.5 lbs. – Yunior Estrada Falcon (Cuba)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Mijain Lopez Nunez (Cuba)
Women’s freestyle
48 kg/105.5 lbs. – Carol Huynh (Canada)
55 kg/121 lbs. – Helen Maroulis (USA)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. – Katerina Vidiaux Lopez (Cuba)
72 kg/158.5 lbs. – Lisset Hechavarria Medina (Cuba)
Men’s freestyle
55 kg/121 lbs. – Juan Ramirez Beltre (Dominican Republic)
60 kg/132 lbs. – Franklin Gomez (Puerto Rico)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Livan Lopez Azcuy (Cuba)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Jordan Burroughs (USA)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Jake Herbert (USA)
96 kg/211.5 lbs. – Jake Varner (USA)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Tervel Dlagnev (USA)
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