Mensah claims bronze, Campbell fifth at 2nd World Olympic Games Qualifier

Tamyra Mensah receives the bronze medal at the 2nd World Olympic Games Qualifier in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo: Emma Randall.

ISTANBUL, Turkey – After falling short of the finals and an Olympic qualification spot at the 2nd World Olympic Games Qualifier, both U.S. women’s freestyle entries wrestled back to bronze medal matches, with Tamyra Mensah (Katy, Texas/Titan Mercury WC/OTC) claiming bronze and Kelsey Campbell (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids) finishing in fifth place.

This was the last opportunity for nations to qualify for the Rio Olympic Games. The top two place-winners in each weight class in Istanbul qualified their nations to compete at the Olympic Games, meaning both Mensah and Campbell will not compete in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this August.

"Today was a tough day, plain and simple we fell short. We are all feeling it right now but we will pick ourselves up and move on. Kelsey and Tamyra came out and competed today but they both definitely have some things that they need to improve to be successful in this sport. It has been a long couple of months. They will need some time to get away from everything and then refocus and regroup to move forward." said U.S. women's freestyle coach Terry Steiner.

After losing in heartbreaking fashion to 2013 World champion Alina Makhynia of Ukraine in the quarterfinals, Mensah fought back to win a bronze medal at 69 kg/152 lbs. She wasted little time in her bronze medal match against Adina Popescu of Romania, scoring a takedown to a pin in 1:28.

The up-and-coming American standout finished with bronze medals at both of the last chance World Olympic Games Qualifiers, coming up one placement short of qualifying for the Olympics on both occasions.

Mensah qualified for her first Senior U.S. World-level team this year. She was a WCWA women’s college champion at Wayland Baptist and is on an Olympic redshirt year training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. She competed in three of the four qualifying phases, the Pan American Olympic Qualifier and both World Olympic Games Qualifiers.

Campbell’s Olympic qualifying run was halted in the quarterfinals, when she was defeated by 2014 World silver medalist and 2013 World bronze medalist Valeria Koblova-Zholobova of Russia, 4-1.

Coming off the loss to Koblova-Zholobova, Campbell made her way to a 58 kg/128 lbs. bronze medal match where she ultimately fell to Tetyana Kit of Ukraine, 4-3.

Campbell was a member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team and competed in the 2010 and 2011 World Championships. Campbell was a women’s college national champion at Arizona State.

Both Campbell and Mensah were champions at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Iowa City, Iowa in April and earned the right to go to the World Olympic Qualifiers to attempt to qualify their weight classes.

The U.S. will have four women on its 2016 U.S. Olympic Team – Haley Augello (48 kg), Helen Maroulis (53 kg), Elena Pirozhkova (63 kg) and Adeline Gray (75 kg).

"The USA women's program is going to have a great Olympic Games in Rio! Our team is a couple short of what we hoped, but we will leave our mark in Brazil. To the fans back home thank you always for your support of the program. This team will make you proud come August," said Steiner.

Action from Istanbul will conclude tomorrow with the men’s freestyle competition. Frank Molinaro (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC) will take the mat in attempt to qualify 65 kg/143 lbs., the lone men’s freestyle weight class yet to be qualified for the Olympic Games. He will open against 2013 World champion David Safaryan of Armenia.

United World Wrestling will provide a live stream, brackets and complete results for the men’s freestyle competition tomorrow on its website www.unitedworldwrestling.org. The live stream will begin at 3 a.m. (ET). For those who enjoy following on Twitter, the hashtag is #LastChance2Rio.

Currently the USA has 13 athletes qualified for the Olympics, five in men’s freestyle, four in Greco-Roman and four in women’s freestyle.

2nd WORLD OLYMPIC GAMES QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT
At Istanbul, Turkey

Women’s freestyle results

48 kg/105.5 lbs.
Gold – Vinesh (India)
Silver – Iwona Matkowska (Poland)
Bronze – Evin Demirhan (Turkey)
Bronze – Narangerel Erdenesukh (Mongolia)

Gold - Vinesh (India) dec. Iwona Matkowska (Poland), 6-0
Bronze - Evin Demirhan (Turkey) tech. fall Nataliya Pulkovska (Ukraine), 12-0
Bronze - Narangerel Erdenesukh (Mongolia) dec. Vanesa Kaladzinskaya (Belarus), 9-6

53 kg/116.5 lbs.
Gold – Yuliia Khavaldzhy Blahinya (Ukraine)
Silver – Bediha Gun (Turkey)
Bronze – Alma Jane Valencia Escoto (Mexico)
Bronze – Melanie Lydie Sandra LeSaffre (France)

Gold - Yuliia Khavaldzhy Blahinya (Ukraine) dec. Bediha Gun (Turkey), 10-4
Bronze - Alma Jane Valencia Escoto (Mexico) dec. Tatyana Amanzhol-Bakatyuk (Kazakhstan), 9-5
Bronze - Melanie Lydie Sandra LeSaffre (France) dec. Mercedesz Denes (Hungary), 3-2

58 kg/128 lbs.
Gold – Valeria Koblova-Zholobova (Russia)
Silver – Sakshi Malik (India)
Bronze – Tetyana Kit (Ukraine)
Bronze – Kateryna Zhydacheska (Romania)

Gold - Valeria Koblova-Zholobova (Russia) dec. Sakshi Malik (India), 7-3
Bronze - Tetyana Kit (Ukraine) dec. Kelsey Campbell (USA), 4-3
Bronze - Kateryna Zhydacheska (Romania) dec. Lan Zhang (China), 6-2

63 kg/138.75 lbs.
Gold – Monika Ewa Michalik (Poland)
Silver – Henna Katarina Johansson (Sweden)
Bronze – Nathaly Josefina Griman Herrera (Venezuela)
Bronze – Koumba Selene Fanta Larroque (France)

Gold - Monika Ewa Michalik (Poland) dec. Henna Katarina Johansson (Sweden), 5-2 
Bronze - Nathaly Josefina Griman Herrera (Venezuela) tech. fall Shilpi Sheoran (India), 10-0
Bronze - Koumba Selene Fanta Larroque (France) fall Kriszta Tunde Incze (Romania)

69 kg/152 lbs.
Gold – Alina Makhynia (Ukraine) 
Silver – Signe Marie Fidje Store (Norway)
Bronze – Tamyra Mensah (USA)
Bronze – Viktoria Ivanova Bobeva (Bulgaria)

Gold - Alina Makhynia (Ukraine) inj. def. Signe Marie Fidje Store (Norway)
Bronze - Tamyra Mensah (USA) fall Adina Elena Popescu (Romania), 1:28
Bronze - Viktoria Ivanova Bobeva (Bulgaria) dec. Danute Domikaityte (Lithuania), 4-1

75 kg/165 lbs.
Gold – Ekaterina Bukina (Russia)
Silver – Maria Selmaier (Germany)
Bronze – Fanny Helene Gradin (Sweden)
Bronze – Gozal Zutova (Azerbaijan)

Gold - Ekaterina Bukina (Russia) dec. Maria Selmaier (Germany), 6-2
Bronze - Fanny Helene Gradin (Sweden) forfeit Svetlana Saenko (Moldova) 
Bronze - Gozal Zutova (Azerbaijan) dec. Iselin Maria Moen Solheim (Norway), 8-0

U.S. Women’s freestyle results

58 kg/128 lbs. – Kelsey Campbell, Tempe, Ariz. (Sunkist Kids), Fifth
WIN Thi Ly Kieu (Vietnam), Fall
WIN Yanet Sovero Nino (Peru), 4-2
LOSS Valeria Koblova-Zholobova (Russia), 4-1
WIN Aiym Abdildina (Kazakhstan), 1-1
LOSS Tetyana Kit (Ukraine), 4-3

69 kg/152 lbs. – Tamyra Mensah, Katy, Texas (Titan Mercury WC/OTC), Bronze
WIN Geetika Jakhar (India), 5-0
LOSS Alina Makhynia (Ukraine), Fall 1:55
WIN Yauheniya Andreichykava (Belarus), 10-0
WIN Adina Popescu (Romania), Fall 1:28