Elor returns to World Championship finals, Gomez to wrestle for bronze
by Savannah Asmann, USA Wrestling
AMMAN, JORDAN – Amit Elor will return to the U20 World Championship finals after a 10-0 technical fall earned her a spot in the gold medal match on the second day of women’s freestyle competition at Princess Sumaya Lounge.
Elor, the reigning U20, U23 and Senior World Champion, did not surrender a single point in any of her matches leading up to the 72 kg finals. In the semifinals, Elor bested U20 Asian champion Yuka Fujikura of Japan by 10-0 technical fall. The match began with Elor earning a point on a step out. She went behind Fujikura for a takedown and added a turn to claim a 5-0 lead. After Fujikura was put on the shot clock, Elor tallied another point on the passivity call to jump ahead 6-0. Two more points were awarded to Elor following two step outs, then a takedown on the edge solidified the victory.
Leading into the semifinals, Elor brought down U20 continental silver medalists, Shamshiyabanu Tastanbek of Kazakhstan and Patrycja Cuber of Poland. In her first match of the day, Elor defeated Tastanbek by 10-0 technical fall. She got Cuber on her back in the first period of her quarterfinal match to seal the win at 1:40.
Katie Gomez, competing at 59 kg, fell in her semifinals match to Mariia Yefremova of Ukraine and will wrestle for a bronze medal tomorrow. Yefremova locked up a cradle for a takedown, putting Gomez on her back. The fall was called at 1:12 of first period.
Both of Gomez’s matches heading into the semifinals ended in similar fashion as she navigated her way with a pair of 10-0 technical falls. She defeated Carla Jaume Soler of Spain and returning U20 World silver medalist Altyn Shagayeva of Kazakhstan.
In the 62 kg women’s freestyle semifinals, Jimenez Villalba of Mexico was defeated by Montero of Venezuela, eliminating Adaugo Nwachukwu from the tournament. Nwachukwu fell to Jimenez Villalba in a close 9-7 match in the quarterfinals.
Two athletes were eliminated from the tournament prior to the semifinal round. 2019 U17 World silver medalist Cristelle Rodriguez and Maddie Kubicki both fell in their opening matches to Individual Neutral Athletes and were eliminated from medal contention.
Elor and Gomez will wrestle in medal matches on Friday at 4:45 p.m. local time in Amman, Jordan.
Amman, Jordan, is in the GMT +3 time zone, which is seven hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time. Those in the U.S. can watch all the action live on FloWrestling.com. Brackets and updated results will be provided by United World Wrestling on uww.org and the UWW mobile app.
2023 U20 World Championships
At Amman, Jordan, August 14-20
U.S. Women’s Freestyle Group Two (53-57-62-65-72 kg) Results
53 kg – Katie Gomez (Van Nuys, California/Sunkist Kids WC), bronze medal match
WIN Carla Jaume Soler (Spain), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Altyn Shagayeva (Kazakhstan), tech. fall, 10-0
LOSS Mariia Yefremova (Ukraine), fall, 1:12
VS Nikol Krumova (Bulgaria) or Gultakin Shirinova (Azerbaijan)
57 kg – Cristelle Rodriguez (Fresno, California/Titan Mercury WC), eliminated
LOSS Volha Hardzei (Individual Neutral Athlete), 8-6
62 kg – Adaugo Nwachukwu (San Jose, California/Titan Mercury WC), eliminated
WIN Ana Maria Cretu (Moldova), fall, 4:01
LOSS Melanie Jimenez Villalba (Mexico), 9-7
65 kg – Maddie Kubicki (Kansas City, Missouri/Victory Wrestling), eliminated
LOSS Kseniya Tsiarenia (Individual Neutral Athlete), fall, 4:00
72 kg – Amit Elor (Walnut Creek, California/Titan Mercury WC), in finals
WIN Shamshiyabanu Tastanbek (Kazakhstan), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Patrycja Cuber (Poland), fall, 1:40
WIN Yuka Fujikura (Japan), tech. fall, 10-0
VS Bukrenaz Sert (Turkey)