Zain Retherford selected as USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week
by Taylor Gregorio, USA Wrestling
Zain Retherford (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/TMWC) has been selected as USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week on July 19, 2022.
Retherford, a three-time U.S. Senior World Team member, represented the Stars and Stripes at the Zoughaeir Sghaier in Tunis, Tunisia, which served as UWW’s fourth Ranking Series event of the season.
Competing at 70 kg, Retherford went 5-0 in dominating fashion to capture the gold. His tournament included two wins by pin, two wins by technical fall and one win by injury default.
His first and third matches resulted in pins over Sanzher Doszhanov of Kazakhstan and Karan Karan of India. Sandwiched in between was a win by injury default over Turkey’s Haydar Yavuz. Advancing to the semifinals of the Nordic-style bracket, Retherford defeated Kossai Ajimi of Tunisia, 11-0, to punch his ticket to the finals.
There, he met his first-round opponent Syrbaz Talgat of Kazakhstan once again. This time, Retherford produced a 10-0 tech fall in 4:22 for the title.
The win marked Retherford’s second international gold medal of the year and his first Ranking Series championship.
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.
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 and Social Media Taylor Gregorio at tgregorio@usawrestling.org.