Elor wins Cadet Beach World Championships gold; Grabowski and Betanzo win age-group World bronze medals
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Amit Elor of the USA battles at the 2019 Cadet Beach World Championships, where she won the Over 50 kg gold medal. Photo by Molly Grabowski.
ODESSA, Ukraine – Amit Elor (Walnut Creek, Calif.) became the first U.S. athlete to win an age-group World title, with an impressive victory in the Cadet Over 50 kg weight class at the Beach World Championships.
Elor won all four of her matches in the sand, including a victory over Anna Fomitska of Ukraine in the finals. It was her second win over Formitska for the day. She also had wins over Liubov Shvets of Ukraine and Phoebe Grabowski of the United States.
She won her Beach World Cadet gold medal a week after claiming a World bronze medal in women’s freestyle at the Cadet World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. Elor is going into her sophomore year in high school.
The USA finished with two other medalists, Caspian Grabowski (Pacifica, Calif.), won a Cadet World bronze medal at Over 70 kg and Kristal Betanzo (Hillsbrough, Calif.) won a Junior World bronze medal at 50 kg
Grabowski finished the tournament with a strong 3-2 record, including a 3-1 win over Ott Heliste of Estonia in the bronze-medal match. Grabowski went 2-1 in his pool competition with wins over Kostiantyn Zihanhirov of Ukraine and Otto Hotfrid of Ukraine. That qualified him for the semifinals, which he lost, putting him into a bronze-medal bout.
Betanzo competed in a three-athlete roundrobin, dropping bouts to Kateryna Chalenko of Ukraine and Zeliha Kara of Turkey. Betanzo will be competing in the Beach World Games in Qatar in October.
The other U.S. athlete was Caspian’s sister, Phoebe Grabowski, who qualified for a medal match and placed fourth at the Over 50 kg weight class in the women’s Cadet World event. She went 2-2 for the tournament.
The United States Cadet team, including the men’s and women’s events combined, finished in third place in the Beach World standings.
The Cadet and Junior Beach World Championships was held one day after the Odessa Beach World Series event for Senior athletes, which featured a World Series silver medal from Timmy Box of the USA.
CADET AND JUNIOR BEACH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Odessa, Ukraine, August 11
Cadet Women’s medalists
50 kg
Gold - Maral Tangirbergenova (Kazakhstan)
Silver - Daryna Matsola (Ukraine)
Bronze - Esma Akkaya (Turkey)
Over 50 kg
Gold - Amit Elor (USA)
Silver - Anna Fomitska (Ukraine)
Bronze - Ozlem Simsek (Turkey)
Cadet Men’s medalists
60 kg
Gold - Ahmet Gizir (Turkey)
Silver - Mykyta Honcharov (Ukraine)
Bronze - Roman Pylypenko (Ukraine)
70 kg
Gold - Andrii Zheliev (Ukraine)
Silver - Oleh Mikhov (Ukraine)
Bronze - Yigit Ozturkcan (Turkey)
Over 70 kg
Gold - Angelos Kouklaris (Greece)
Silver - Enes Kaan Sokelen (Turkey)
Bronze - Caspian Grabowski (USA)
Junior Women’s medalists
50 kg
Gold - Kateryna Chalenko (Ukraine)
Silver - Zeliha Kara (Turkey)
Bronze - Kristal Betanzo (USA)
60 kg
Gold - Zeynep Yildirim (Turkey)
Silver - Nataliia Fadieieva (Ukraine)
Bronze - Tetiana Svidiuk (Ukraine)
Over 60 kg
Gold - Cathrine Frilseth (Norway)
Silver - Anna Mazurkevych (Ukraine)
Bronze - Yelyzaveta Morenko (Ukraine)
Junior Men’s Medalists
60 kg
Gold - Furkan Cay (Turkey)
Silver - Ghennadi Diuvenji (Moldova)
Bronze - Serhii Terzi (Ukraine)
70 kg
Gold - Maksym Lavrov (Ukraine)
Silver - Mehmet Karaca (Turkey)
Bronze - Ivan Chyfliklii (Ukraine)
80 kg
Gold - Buluthan Oksuz (Turkey)
Silver - Kyrylo Zhalova (Ukraine)
Bronze - Oleksandr Kuruch (Ukraine)
Over 80 kg
Gold - Roman Dovhaliuk (Ukraine)
Silver - Georgios Tsaknakis (Greece)
Bronze - Mehmet Can Kaya (Turkey)
U.S. Cadet women’s results
Over 50 kg – Amit Elor, Walnut Creek, Calif., gold medal
WIN Liubov Shvets (Ukraine), 3-0
WIN Anna Fomitska (Ukraine), 3-0
WIN Phoebe Grabowski (USA), 3-0
WIN Anna Fomitska (Ukraine), 3-2
Over 50 kg – Phoebe Grabowski, Pacifica, Calif., 4th place
LOSS Ozlem Simsek (Turkey), 4-0
WIN Daria Medvetska (Ukraine), 3-2
LOSS Amit Elor (USA), 3-0
LOSS Ozlem Simsek 3-0
U.S. Cadet men’s results
Over 70 kg - Caspian Grabowski, Pacifica, Calif., bronze medal
WIN Kostiantyn Zihanhirov (Ukraine), 3-1
LOSS Angelos Kouklaris (Greece), 5-0
WIN Otto Hotfrid (Ukraine), 3-0
LOSS Enes Sokelen (Turkey), 3-0
WIN Ott Heliste (Estonia), 3-1
U.S. Junior women’s results
50 kg – Kristal Betanzo, Hillsbrough, Calif. bronze medal
LOSS Kateryna Chalenko (Ukraine), 4-1
LOSS Zeliha Kara (Turkey), 3-1
ODESSA, Ukraine – Amit Elor (Walnut Creek, Calif.) became the first U.S. athlete to win an age-group World title, with an impressive victory in the Cadet Over 50 kg weight class at the Beach World Championships.
Elor won all four of her matches in the sand, including a victory over Anna Fomitska of Ukraine in the finals. It was her second win over Formitska for the day. She also had wins over Liubov Shvets of Ukraine and Phoebe Grabowski of the United States.
She won her Beach World Cadet gold medal a week after claiming a World bronze medal in women’s freestyle at the Cadet World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. Elor is going into her sophomore year in high school.
The USA finished with two other medalists, Caspian Grabowski (Pacifica, Calif.), won a Cadet World bronze medal at Over 70 kg and Kristal Betanzo (Hillsbrough, Calif.) won a Junior World bronze medal at 50 kg
Grabowski finished the tournament with a strong 3-2 record, including a 3-1 win over Ott Heliste of Estonia in the bronze-medal match. Grabowski went 2-1 in his pool competition with wins over Kostiantyn Zihanhirov of Ukraine and Otto Hotfrid of Ukraine. That qualified him for the semifinals, which he lost, putting him into a bronze-medal bout.
Betanzo competed in a three-athlete roundrobin, dropping bouts to Kateryna Chalenko of Ukraine and Zeliha Kara of Turkey. Betanzo will be competing in the Beach World Games in Qatar in October.
The other U.S. athlete was Caspian’s sister, Phoebe Grabowski, who qualified for a medal match and placed fourth at the Over 50 kg weight class in the women’s Cadet World event. She went 2-2 for the tournament.
The United States Cadet team, including the men’s and women’s events combined, finished in third place in the Beach World standings.
The Cadet and Junior Beach World Championships was held one day after the Odessa Beach World Series event for Senior athletes, which featured a World Series silver medal from Timmy Box of the USA.
CADET AND JUNIOR BEACH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Odessa, Ukraine, August 11
Cadet Women’s medalists
50 kg
Gold - Maral Tangirbergenova (Kazakhstan)
Silver - Daryna Matsola (Ukraine)
Bronze - Esma Akkaya (Turkey)
Over 50 kg
Gold - Amit Elor (USA)
Silver - Anna Fomitska (Ukraine)
Bronze - Ozlem Simsek (Turkey)
Cadet Men’s medalists
60 kg
Gold - Ahmet Gizir (Turkey)
Silver - Mykyta Honcharov (Ukraine)
Bronze - Roman Pylypenko (Ukraine)
70 kg
Gold - Andrii Zheliev (Ukraine)
Silver - Oleh Mikhov (Ukraine)
Bronze - Yigit Ozturkcan (Turkey)
Over 70 kg
Gold - Angelos Kouklaris (Greece)
Silver - Enes Kaan Sokelen (Turkey)
Bronze - Caspian Grabowski (USA)
Junior Women’s medalists
50 kg
Gold - Kateryna Chalenko (Ukraine)
Silver - Zeliha Kara (Turkey)
Bronze - Kristal Betanzo (USA)
60 kg
Gold - Zeynep Yildirim (Turkey)
Silver - Nataliia Fadieieva (Ukraine)
Bronze - Tetiana Svidiuk (Ukraine)
Over 60 kg
Gold - Cathrine Frilseth (Norway)
Silver - Anna Mazurkevych (Ukraine)
Bronze - Yelyzaveta Morenko (Ukraine)
Junior Men’s Medalists
60 kg
Gold - Furkan Cay (Turkey)
Silver - Ghennadi Diuvenji (Moldova)
Bronze - Serhii Terzi (Ukraine)
70 kg
Gold - Maksym Lavrov (Ukraine)
Silver - Mehmet Karaca (Turkey)
Bronze - Ivan Chyfliklii (Ukraine)
80 kg
Gold - Buluthan Oksuz (Turkey)
Silver - Kyrylo Zhalova (Ukraine)
Bronze - Oleksandr Kuruch (Ukraine)
Over 80 kg
Gold - Roman Dovhaliuk (Ukraine)
Silver - Georgios Tsaknakis (Greece)
Bronze - Mehmet Can Kaya (Turkey)
U.S. Cadet women’s results
Over 50 kg – Amit Elor, Walnut Creek, Calif., gold medal
WIN Liubov Shvets (Ukraine), 3-0
WIN Anna Fomitska (Ukraine), 3-0
WIN Phoebe Grabowski (USA), 3-0
WIN Anna Fomitska (Ukraine), 3-2
Over 50 kg – Phoebe Grabowski, Pacifica, Calif., 4th place
LOSS Ozlem Simsek (Turkey), 4-0
WIN Daria Medvetska (Ukraine), 3-2
LOSS Amit Elor (USA), 3-0
LOSS Ozlem Simsek 3-0
U.S. Cadet men’s results
Over 70 kg - Caspian Grabowski, Pacifica, Calif., bronze medal
WIN Kostiantyn Zihanhirov (Ukraine), 3-1
LOSS Angelos Kouklaris (Greece), 5-0
WIN Otto Hotfrid (Ukraine), 3-0
LOSS Enes Sokelen (Turkey), 3-0
WIN Ott Heliste (Estonia), 3-1
U.S. Junior women’s results
50 kg – Kristal Betanzo, Hillsbrough, Calif. bronze medal
LOSS Kateryna Chalenko (Ukraine), 4-1
LOSS Zeliha Kara (Turkey), 3-1
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