UPDATE: Martinez falls in UWW Golden Grand Prix Greco-Roman quarterfinals in Azerbaijan

Patrick Martinez, being cornered during the 2016 Non-Olympic Weight Trials, reached the quarterfinals in Baku today. Photo by Justin Hoch.


BAKU, Azerbaijan – Two-time U.S. World Team member Patrick Martinez (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP) dropped a close match in the Greco-Roman quarterfinals before being eliminated on the final day of the 2016 UWW Golden Grand Prix Finals.


Martinez opened his competition at 80 kg/176 lbs. with a 2-1 victory over 2016 Junior World bronze medalist Bachir Sid Azara of Algeria. In the quarterfinals, Martinez lost a 1-1 criteria decision to Samat Shirdakov of Kyrgyzstan, who was fifth in the 2015 World Championships.


Martinez was eliminated when Shirdakov was defeated in the semifinals by 2015 World Military Games champion Rafig Huseynov of Azerbaijan, 3-0. Since Shirdakov did not reach the finals, Martinez was not eligible for repechage.


Martinez, who competed in the 2015 World Championships, used this event as a tune-up for the upcoming Non-Olympic Weights World Championships in Hungary in two weeks.


After his competition, Martinez tweeted: “I know I'm right there. I came up short in Baku. I can't leave it in the refs’ hands. Two more weeks to make some final adjustments before Budapest.”


The other two USA wrestlers in the Greco-Roman division were defeated in their first matches and were not eligible for repechage, Pat Smith (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm) at 71 kg/156 lbs. and Cheney Haight (Colorado Springs, Colo./NYAC/USOTC) at 85 kg/187 lbs.


In the final standings, Martinez placed eighth and Smith was 10th.


The USA won three medals over the course of this three-day event. On Thursday, Alan Waters (Columbia, Mo./Missouri Wrestling Foundation) won a bronze medal at 61 kg/134 lbs. in men’s freestyle. On Friday, Tamyra Mensah (Katy, Texas/Titan Mercury WC) won a silver medal at 69 kg/152 lbs. and Victoria Anthony (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids) claimed a bronze medal at 48 kg/105.5 lbs.

GOLDEN GRAND PRIX FINALS

Baku, Azerbaijan

Greco-Roman medalists


59 kg/130 lbs.

Gold - Kenichiro Fumita (Japan)

Silver - Firuz Tukhtaev (Uzbekistan)

Bronze - Mingiyan Semenov (Russia)

Bronze - Kanybek Zholchubekov (Kyrgyzstan)


66 kg/145.5 lbs.

Gold - Artem Surkov (Russia)

Silver - Shmagi Bolkvadze (Georgia)

Bronze - Giuk Choi (Korea)

Bronze - Rovshan Taghiyev (Azerbaijan)


71 kg/156 lbs.

Gold - Hasan Aliyev (Azerbaijan)

Silver - Balint Korpasi (Hungary)

Bronze - Ridong Zhang (China)

Bronze - Aleksandar Maksimovic (Serbia)


75 kg/165 lbs.

Gold - Viktor Nemes (Serbia)

Silver - Elvin Mursaliyev (Azerbaijan)

Bronze - Zurabi Datunashvili (Georgia)

Bronze - Ruslan Tsarev (Kyrgyzstan)


80 kg/176 lbs.

Gold - Rafig Huseynov (Azerbaijan)

Silver - Aslan Atem (Turkey)

Bronze - Daulet Zhaxylkov (Kazakhstan)

Bronze - Carlos Andres Munoze Jaramillo (Colombia)


85 kg/187.5 lbs.

Gold - Islam Abbasov (Azerbaijan)

Silver - Tadeusz Michalik (Poland)

Bronze - Sultan Ismayilov (Azerbaijan)

Bronze - Evgeny Saleev (Russia)


98 kg/215 lbs.

Gold - Musa Evloev (Russia)

Silver - Aliaksandr Hrabovik (Belarus)

Bronze - Amirhossein Majid Hosseini (Iran)

Bronze - Cenk Ildem (Turkey)


130 kg/286 lbs.

Gold - Oyan Nazariani (Azerbaijan)

Silver - Kiryl Hryshchanka (Belarus)

Bronze - Oleksandr Chernetskyy (Ukraine)

Bronze - Oscar Pino Hinds (Cuba)


U.S. Greco-Roman performances


71 kg/156 lbs. – Pat Smith, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm), 10th place

LOSS Rhidong Zhang (China), tech. fall, 9-1


80 kg/176 lbs. – Patrick Martinez, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP), 8th place

WIN Bachir Sid Azara (Algeria), 2-1

LOSS Samat Shirdakov (Kyrgyzstan), 1-1


85 kg/187 lbs. – Cheney Haight, Colorado Springs, Colo. (NYAC/USOTC), dnp/15th

LOSS Sultan Ismayilov (Azerbaijan), pin