2017 World Championships preview at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. in women’s freestyle
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Victoria Anthony, shown at the 2017 World Team Trials, is a top medal contender entering her second Senior World Championships. Photo by Tony Rotundo, Wrestlers Are Warriors
Date of Competition: Thursday, August 24
2016 Olympic champion Eri Tosaka of Japan ran the table during the last Olympic cycle, winning three straight World titles from 2013-2015, then claiming the gold at the Rio Games. Tosaka has not competed since Rio and is not expected in Paris. Japan has announced young superstar Yui Sasaki will compete at Worlds. Sasaki has won gold at every major international meet she has entered including three Cadet Worlds, plus the 2017 Asian Championships, the 2017 Klippan Open in Sweden and the 2017 Yarygin Grand Prix in Russia. She has been groomed to be the next Japanese lightweight star.
With Japan going young this year, the most decorated athlete expected is three-time Olympic medalist and 2009 World champion Mariya Stadnyk of Azerbaijan. Stadnyk won 2012 and 2016 Olympic silver medals and a 2008 Olympic bronze. She is consistently in the medal round, year after year. Stadnyk has not let up this year, winning golds at the European Championships and the Islamic Solidarity Games.
2016 Olympic bronze medalist Sun Yanan of China was a 2013 World champion and also 2012 World silver medalist and a 2010 Junior World champion. She added a gold medal at the UWW Golden Grand Prix after the Olympics in late 2016, but was only fifth at the 2017 Asian Championships. With China, which has great depth, you never know who they might bring. Chun Lei won a gold medal at the Poland Open, one of the tune-up events for Paris. Young talent Qin Liuying is another option.
The other 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, Elitsa Yankova of Bulgaria, has not been super active since Rio, with her best finish a bronze medal at the recent Grand Prix of Spain. Yankova was relatively inexperienced going into Rio, with a 2103 Junior World title to her credit going in. If Bulgaria does not bring Yankova, expect Miglena Selishka, a 2016 Junior World bronze medalist who has won three medals this spring, including a gold at the Dan Kolov Internaitonal in Bulgaria.
The United States will feature two-time Junior World champion Victoria Anthony, who was fifth in the 2013 World Championships up at 51 kg in her only previous Senior World experience. Anthony was second in the 2016 Olympic Trials to Haley Augello, who moved up to 53 kg this year after her Rio experience. Anthony has a No. 6 World ranking, based upon considerable success against foreign opponents. She won the Pan American Championships title this year as well as the Ukrainian Memorial International.
Russia is always a threat at this weight class. Daria Leksina was the Russian national champion, beating Valeria Chepsarakova in the finals. In the Poland Open this summer, Chepsarakova won a silver, with Leksina getting bronze. If Russia goes with Leksina or Chepsarakova, it will be their first Senior Worlds. The 2016 Olympian was Milana Dadasheva, who was fifth in the 2017 European Championships, but did not medal at the Russian Nationals.
Two-time World medalist Jyldyz Eshimova of Kazakhstan was fifth in the 2016 Olympic Games, as was two-time Olympians Patricia Bermudez of Argentina. Both continue to compete.
Eshimova was second in the 2017 Asian Championships at 53 kg, while Bermudez was third in the 2017 Pan American Championships. If Eshimova stays up at 53 kg this year, Kazakhstan could choose to go with World No. 8 Irina Borissova of Kazakhstan, a 2017 Asian bronze medalist, who was also a 2015 Junior World silver medalist.
Among the other past World medalist who could be competing in Paris are 2015 World bronze medalist Jessica Blaszka of the Netherlands, 2014 World silver medalist Iwona Matkowska of Poland and 2014 World bronze medalist Kim Hyon-Gyong of North Korea.
Blaszka continues to compete, but does not have any major event achievements to boast this year. Matkowska’s last event was a silver medal at the 2016 World Military Championships.
Kim Hyong-Gyong has not competed since the Olympics, as North Korea entered Kim Son-Hyang in the 2017 Asian Championships, where she won a silver medal and has a No. 20 World ranking.
Canadian Olympian Jasmine Mian is competing in her third Senior World Team and is seeking her first World-level medal. Another top star from North America is two-time Olympian Carolina Castillo of Colombia, who won a silver medal at the Pan American Championships this year.
Ilona Semkiv of Ukraine has been strong this year with a No. 7 World ranking, winning a silver medal at the European Senior Championships and the European U23 Championships. She is not the only Ukrainian in the current World rankings, as Oksana Livach, a 2016 Junior World bronze medalist, comes in at No. 17.
European Championships bronze medalists at 48 kg were Alina Vuc of Romania and Frederika Petersson of Sweden, both who appear in the current World rankings, with Vuc at No. 12 and Petersson at No. 14. Vuc was fifth at the 2014 World Championships. Petersson was a 2013 Junior World bronze medalist, but has not been in the top 10 at the two Senior Worlds she has entered.
Among the others to watch are Thalia Maliqui of Peru, a 2017 Pan American silver medalist and 2015 Pan American Games silver medalist, Mercy Genesis of Nigeria, the 2017 African champion and veteran Narangerel Erdenesukh, who won a bronze at the tough Yarygin Grand Prix in Russia in 2016.
As has been the case for many years, Japan is considered the favorite at 48 kg. They have a tradition of just passing the torch from one star to the next. The last time Japan did not win this weight was in 2012, when Vanessa Kaladzynskaya of Belarus beat a young Tosaka in the finals. Toskaka went on a four-year run of gold after that. Prior to that, the last non-Japanese World champion was Mariya Stadnik of Azerbaijan in 2009. It is Stadnik who is the top favorite to snap Japan’s current streak in 2017.
UWW JULY WORLD RANKINGS AT 48 KG
1. Eri TOSAKA (JPN)
2. Mariya STADNIK (AZE)
3. Yui SUSAKI (JPN)
4. SUN Yanan (CHN)
5. Valerie CHEPSARAKOVA (RUS)
6. Victoria ANTHONY (USA)
7. Ilona SEMKIV (UKR)
8. Irina BORISSOVA (KAZ)
9. Milana DADASHEVA (RUS)
10. Elitsa YANKOVA (BUL)
11. Daria LEKSINA (RUS)
12. Alina VUC (ROU)
13. Patricia BERMUDEZ (ARG)
14. Frederika PETERSSON (SWE)
15. Jade PARSONS (CAN)
16. Miho IGARASHI (JPN)
17. Oksana LIVACH (UKR)
18. Jasmine MIAN (CAN)
19. KIM Son-Hyang (PRK)
20. Carolina CASTILLO HIDALGO (COL)
RECENT WORLD AND OLYMPIC RESULTS
2006 Olympic Games
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Gold – Eri Tosaka (Japan); Silver – Mariya Stadnik (Azerbaijan); Bronze – Yanan Sun (China); Bronze – Elitsa Yankova (Bulgaria); 5th – Zhuidyz Eshimova (Kazakhstan); 5th – Patricia Bermudez (Argentina); 7th – Iwona Matkowska (Poland); 8th – Carolina Castillo Hildago (Colombia); 9th – Haley Augello (United States); 10th – Vinesh (India)
2015 World Championships
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Gold – Eri Tosaka (Japan); Silver – Mariya Stadnyk (Azerbaijan); Bronze – Jessica Blaszka (Netherlands); Bronze – Genevieve Morrison (Canada); 5th – Hui Li (China); 5th – Valentina Islamova (Russia); 7th – Nataliya Pulkovska (Ukraine); 8th – Tatayana Bakatyuk (Kazakhstan); 9th – Alyssa Lampe (USA); 10th – Carolina Castillo (Colombia)
2014 World Championships
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Gold – Eri Tosaka (Japan); Silver – Iwona Matkowska (Poland); Bronze – Mariya Stadnyk (Azerbaijan); Bronze – Kim Hyon Gyong (North Korea); 5th – Alyssa Lampe (USA); 5th – Emilia Vuc (Romania); 7th – Iulia Leorda (Moldova); 8th – Patricia Bermudez (Argentina); 9th – Jessica Blaszka (Netherlands); 10th – Mariana Munoz (Mexico)
2013 World Championships
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Gold – Eri Tosaka (Japan); Silver - Mayellis Caripa Castillo (Venezuela); Bronze – Alyssa Lampe (USA); Bronze – Cheng Xu (China); 5th – Anna Lukasiak (Poland); 5th – Melanie LeSaffre (France); 7th – Tatyana Amanzhol (Kazakhstan); 8th – Pak Yong Mi (North Korea); 9th – Elena Vostrikova (Russia); 10th – Yana Stadnik (Great Britain)
2012 Olympic Games
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Gold – Hitomi Sakamoto Obara (Japan); Silver – Maria Stadnyk (Azerbaijan); Bronze – Clarissa Chun (USA); Bronze – Carol Huynh (Canada); 5th – Isabelle Sambou (Senegal); 5th – Irini Merleni (Ukraine); 7th – Iwona Matkowska (Poland); 8th – Vannesa Kaladzinskaya (Belarus); 9th – Otgontsetseg Davaasukh (Mongolia); 10th – Mayelis Caripa Castillo (Venezuela)
2012 World Championships
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Gold – Vanessa Kaladzynskaya (Belarus); Silver – Eri Tosaka (Japan); Bronze – Xiaomei Li (China); Bronze – Jaqueline Schellin (Germany); 5th – Tatyana Amanzhol-Bakatyuk (Kazakhstan); 5th – Patimat Bagomedova (Azerbaijan); 7th – Estera Dobre (Romania); 8th – Anna Lukasik (Poland); 9th – Clarissa Chun (USA); 10th – Davaasuren Bayarmagnai (Mongolia)
2011 World Championships
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Gold - Hitomi Sakamoto Obara (Japan); Silver - Maria Stadnyk (Azerbaijan); Bronze - Shasha Zhao (China); Bronze - Jyldyz Eshimova (Kazakhstan); 5th - Carolina Castillo Hidalgo (Colombia); 5th - Carol Huynh (Canada); 7th - Clarissa Chun (United States) 8th - Tatyana Samkova (Russia); 9th - Mayelis Caripa Castillo (Venezuela); 10th - Isabelle Sambou (Senegal)
2010 World Championships
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Gold – Hitomi Sakamoto (Japan); Silver – Lorissa Oorzhak (Russia); Bronze – Sasha Zhao (China); Bronze – Carol Huyhn (Canada); 5th – Patimat Bagomedova (Azerbaijan); 5th – Iwona Matkowska (Poland); 7th – Yana Stadnik (Great Britain); 8th – Khrystyna Daranutsa (Ukraine); 9th – Enkhjargal Tsogtbazar (Mongolia); 10th – Hyung-Joo Kim (Korea)
2009 World Championships
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)
Date of Competition: Thursday, August 24
2016 Olympic champion Eri Tosaka of Japan ran the table during the last Olympic cycle, winning three straight World titles from 2013-2015, then claiming the gold at the Rio Games. Tosaka has not competed since Rio and is not expected in Paris. Japan has announced young superstar Yui Sasaki will compete at Worlds. Sasaki has won gold at every major international meet she has entered including three Cadet Worlds, plus the 2017 Asian Championships, the 2017 Klippan Open in Sweden and the 2017 Yarygin Grand Prix in Russia. She has been groomed to be the next Japanese lightweight star.
With Japan going young this year, the most decorated athlete expected is three-time Olympic medalist and 2009 World champion Mariya Stadnyk of Azerbaijan. Stadnyk won 2012 and 2016 Olympic silver medals and a 2008 Olympic bronze. She is consistently in the medal round, year after year. Stadnyk has not let up this year, winning golds at the European Championships and the Islamic Solidarity Games.
2016 Olympic bronze medalist Sun Yanan of China was a 2013 World champion and also 2012 World silver medalist and a 2010 Junior World champion. She added a gold medal at the UWW Golden Grand Prix after the Olympics in late 2016, but was only fifth at the 2017 Asian Championships. With China, which has great depth, you never know who they might bring. Chun Lei won a gold medal at the Poland Open, one of the tune-up events for Paris. Young talent Qin Liuying is another option.
The other 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, Elitsa Yankova of Bulgaria, has not been super active since Rio, with her best finish a bronze medal at the recent Grand Prix of Spain. Yankova was relatively inexperienced going into Rio, with a 2103 Junior World title to her credit going in. If Bulgaria does not bring Yankova, expect Miglena Selishka, a 2016 Junior World bronze medalist who has won three medals this spring, including a gold at the Dan Kolov Internaitonal in Bulgaria.
The United States will feature two-time Junior World champion Victoria Anthony, who was fifth in the 2013 World Championships up at 51 kg in her only previous Senior World experience. Anthony was second in the 2016 Olympic Trials to Haley Augello, who moved up to 53 kg this year after her Rio experience. Anthony has a No. 6 World ranking, based upon considerable success against foreign opponents. She won the Pan American Championships title this year as well as the Ukrainian Memorial International.
Russia is always a threat at this weight class. Daria Leksina was the Russian national champion, beating Valeria Chepsarakova in the finals. In the Poland Open this summer, Chepsarakova won a silver, with Leksina getting bronze. If Russia goes with Leksina or Chepsarakova, it will be their first Senior Worlds. The 2016 Olympian was Milana Dadasheva, who was fifth in the 2017 European Championships, but did not medal at the Russian Nationals.
Two-time World medalist Jyldyz Eshimova of Kazakhstan was fifth in the 2016 Olympic Games, as was two-time Olympians Patricia Bermudez of Argentina. Both continue to compete.
Eshimova was second in the 2017 Asian Championships at 53 kg, while Bermudez was third in the 2017 Pan American Championships. If Eshimova stays up at 53 kg this year, Kazakhstan could choose to go with World No. 8 Irina Borissova of Kazakhstan, a 2017 Asian bronze medalist, who was also a 2015 Junior World silver medalist.
Among the other past World medalist who could be competing in Paris are 2015 World bronze medalist Jessica Blaszka of the Netherlands, 2014 World silver medalist Iwona Matkowska of Poland and 2014 World bronze medalist Kim Hyon-Gyong of North Korea.
Blaszka continues to compete, but does not have any major event achievements to boast this year. Matkowska’s last event was a silver medal at the 2016 World Military Championships.
Kim Hyong-Gyong has not competed since the Olympics, as North Korea entered Kim Son-Hyang in the 2017 Asian Championships, where she won a silver medal and has a No. 20 World ranking.
Canadian Olympian Jasmine Mian is competing in her third Senior World Team and is seeking her first World-level medal. Another top star from North America is two-time Olympian Carolina Castillo of Colombia, who won a silver medal at the Pan American Championships this year.
Ilona Semkiv of Ukraine has been strong this year with a No. 7 World ranking, winning a silver medal at the European Senior Championships and the European U23 Championships. She is not the only Ukrainian in the current World rankings, as Oksana Livach, a 2016 Junior World bronze medalist, comes in at No. 17.
European Championships bronze medalists at 48 kg were Alina Vuc of Romania and Frederika Petersson of Sweden, both who appear in the current World rankings, with Vuc at No. 12 and Petersson at No. 14. Vuc was fifth at the 2014 World Championships. Petersson was a 2013 Junior World bronze medalist, but has not been in the top 10 at the two Senior Worlds she has entered.
Among the others to watch are Thalia Maliqui of Peru, a 2017 Pan American silver medalist and 2015 Pan American Games silver medalist, Mercy Genesis of Nigeria, the 2017 African champion and veteran Narangerel Erdenesukh, who won a bronze at the tough Yarygin Grand Prix in Russia in 2016.
As has been the case for many years, Japan is considered the favorite at 48 kg. They have a tradition of just passing the torch from one star to the next. The last time Japan did not win this weight was in 2012, when Vanessa Kaladzynskaya of Belarus beat a young Tosaka in the finals. Toskaka went on a four-year run of gold after that. Prior to that, the last non-Japanese World champion was Mariya Stadnik of Azerbaijan in 2009. It is Stadnik who is the top favorite to snap Japan’s current streak in 2017.
UWW JULY WORLD RANKINGS AT 48 KG
1. Eri TOSAKA (JPN)
2. Mariya STADNIK (AZE)
3. Yui SUSAKI (JPN)
4. SUN Yanan (CHN)
5. Valerie CHEPSARAKOVA (RUS)
6. Victoria ANTHONY (USA)
7. Ilona SEMKIV (UKR)
8. Irina BORISSOVA (KAZ)
9. Milana DADASHEVA (RUS)
10. Elitsa YANKOVA (BUL)
11. Daria LEKSINA (RUS)
12. Alina VUC (ROU)
13. Patricia BERMUDEZ (ARG)
14. Frederika PETERSSON (SWE)
15. Jade PARSONS (CAN)
16. Miho IGARASHI (JPN)
17. Oksana LIVACH (UKR)
18. Jasmine MIAN (CAN)
19. KIM Son-Hyang (PRK)
20. Carolina CASTILLO HIDALGO (COL)
RECENT WORLD AND OLYMPIC RESULTS
2006 Olympic Games
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Gold – Eri Tosaka (Japan); Silver – Mariya Stadnik (Azerbaijan); Bronze – Yanan Sun (China); Bronze – Elitsa Yankova (Bulgaria); 5th – Zhuidyz Eshimova (Kazakhstan); 5th – Patricia Bermudez (Argentina); 7th – Iwona Matkowska (Poland); 8th – Carolina Castillo Hildago (Colombia); 9th – Haley Augello (United States); 10th – Vinesh (India)
2015 World Championships
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Gold – Eri Tosaka (Japan); Silver – Mariya Stadnyk (Azerbaijan); Bronze – Jessica Blaszka (Netherlands); Bronze – Genevieve Morrison (Canada); 5th – Hui Li (China); 5th – Valentina Islamova (Russia); 7th – Nataliya Pulkovska (Ukraine); 8th – Tatayana Bakatyuk (Kazakhstan); 9th – Alyssa Lampe (USA); 10th – Carolina Castillo (Colombia)
2014 World Championships
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Gold – Eri Tosaka (Japan); Silver – Iwona Matkowska (Poland); Bronze – Mariya Stadnyk (Azerbaijan); Bronze – Kim Hyon Gyong (North Korea); 5th – Alyssa Lampe (USA); 5th – Emilia Vuc (Romania); 7th – Iulia Leorda (Moldova); 8th – Patricia Bermudez (Argentina); 9th – Jessica Blaszka (Netherlands); 10th – Mariana Munoz (Mexico)
2013 World Championships
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Gold – Eri Tosaka (Japan); Silver - Mayellis Caripa Castillo (Venezuela); Bronze – Alyssa Lampe (USA); Bronze – Cheng Xu (China); 5th – Anna Lukasiak (Poland); 5th – Melanie LeSaffre (France); 7th – Tatyana Amanzhol (Kazakhstan); 8th – Pak Yong Mi (North Korea); 9th – Elena Vostrikova (Russia); 10th – Yana Stadnik (Great Britain)
2012 Olympic Games
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Gold – Hitomi Sakamoto Obara (Japan); Silver – Maria Stadnyk (Azerbaijan); Bronze – Clarissa Chun (USA); Bronze – Carol Huynh (Canada); 5th – Isabelle Sambou (Senegal); 5th – Irini Merleni (Ukraine); 7th – Iwona Matkowska (Poland); 8th – Vannesa Kaladzinskaya (Belarus); 9th – Otgontsetseg Davaasukh (Mongolia); 10th – Mayelis Caripa Castillo (Venezuela)
2012 World Championships
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Gold – Vanessa Kaladzynskaya (Belarus); Silver – Eri Tosaka (Japan); Bronze – Xiaomei Li (China); Bronze – Jaqueline Schellin (Germany); 5th – Tatyana Amanzhol-Bakatyuk (Kazakhstan); 5th – Patimat Bagomedova (Azerbaijan); 7th – Estera Dobre (Romania); 8th – Anna Lukasik (Poland); 9th – Clarissa Chun (USA); 10th – Davaasuren Bayarmagnai (Mongolia)
2011 World Championships
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Gold - Hitomi Sakamoto Obara (Japan); Silver - Maria Stadnyk (Azerbaijan); Bronze - Shasha Zhao (China); Bronze - Jyldyz Eshimova (Kazakhstan); 5th - Carolina Castillo Hidalgo (Colombia); 5th - Carol Huynh (Canada); 7th - Clarissa Chun (United States) 8th - Tatyana Samkova (Russia); 9th - Mayelis Caripa Castillo (Venezuela); 10th - Isabelle Sambou (Senegal)
2010 World Championships
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Gold – Hitomi Sakamoto (Japan); Silver – Lorissa Oorzhak (Russia); Bronze – Sasha Zhao (China); Bronze – Carol Huyhn (Canada); 5th – Patimat Bagomedova (Azerbaijan); 5th – Iwona Matkowska (Poland); 7th – Yana Stadnik (Great Britain); 8th – Khrystyna Daranutsa (Ukraine); 9th – Enkhjargal Tsogtbazar (Mongolia); 10th – Hyung-Joo Kim (Korea)
2009 World Championships
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)
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