Korina Blades selected as USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week
by Taylor Miller, USA Wrestling
Photo by Jim Thrall, MatFocus.com.
Korina Blades (Broadview, Ill./Izzy Style WC/Wyoming Seminary) has been selected as USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week on May 11, 2021.
Blades, a 2019 U15 World champion, dominated at the 2021 Women’s Nationals in Irving, Texas, winning spots on the Junior and Cadet World Teams. Overall, Blades went 13-0 on the weekend and outscored her competition 128-8.
In the Junior division, Blades, who is only 16 years old, scored two pins and two technical falls in the challenge tournament at 62 kg. In the finals, she faced Aliyah Yates of California, where Blades rolled to the World team spot with 10-0 and 12-1 wins, respectively.
For the Cadet Worlds spot at 61 kg, Blades won seven matches. Of those seven, she ended five of them in the first period, and six of the seven victories were either by technical fall or pin. In the final, she defeated Marissa Jimenez of Idaho, 12-0 in 1:16 and 14-4 in 2:12.
Blades will represent the United States at the Cadet World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, July 19-25, and the Junior World Championships in Ufa, Russia, Aug. 16-22.
Each week USA Wrestling will select an Athlete of the Week based upon performance within wrestling for that week. The selection committee will consider any level of wrestling from youth programs through the senior level. Twitter fan votes also play a part in decision.
To nominate a wrestler for this honor please send the athlete's name, wrestling program, weekly accomplishments and career accolades to USA Wrestling Manager of Communications Taylor Miller at tmiller@usawrestling.org.