Takedown Report

Abbott Blog: Top 10 wrestling stories of 2023

BY GARY ABBOTT, USA WRESTLING
Easily one of my favorite assignments each year is writing up the Top 10 wrestling stories of the year. The holiday season provides a perfect chance to look back at the year gone by, identify those athletes and stories which made the year special, then look ahead at the year ahead in the sport.

The year ahead is an Olympic year, which is a special time for our sport. Every four years, the world gets together for the greatest activity on earth, the Olympic Games. During the Games, the general public will get a peak at many sports on the Olympic program which may not get this kind of attention in the non-Olympic years. What is great about the year before the Games is that the Olympic quest is already underway. For instance, there are 181 wrestlers already qualified for the April 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling at Penn State, and only a few more spots available in early 2024. Many of the top stories in 2023 are connected to 2024 Olympic Games in Paris in some way. Even better, the United States is competing at a high level leading into Paris. It should be a fantastic year ahead for wrestling fans.

So what were my biggest stories of 2023? Here we go….

1. USA men’s freestyle team wins back-to-back World titles for first time – This year’s top story was a team, the 2023 U.S. Senior men’s freestyle squad. The USA came into Belgrade as the returning team champions, after beating Iran in the 2022 final standings. What was different in 2023 is that Russian and Belarussian athletes were permitted to compete as neutral athletes, making this the strongest field possible. It was also the first and most important qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics. In addition, Team USA had six first-time Senior World Team members competing in men’s freestyle, adding additional questions about the team strength. It didn’t matter. Team USA started its first day putting all four from Group One in the semifinals and three into the finals and never looked back. When it ended, Team USA won seven medals and beat runner-up Iran by 40 points, the first back-to-back titles in U.S. history and the fifth all-time. Although Russia’s points were not counted due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the USA would have also beaten Russia had their points as Independent Neutral Athletes been counted. Golds were won by Vitali Arujau (61 kg), Zain Retherford (70 kg) and David Taylor (86 kg), a silver from Kyle Dake (74 kg) and bronze medals by Zahid Valencia (92 kg), Kyle Snyder (97 kg) and Mason Parris (125 kg). Three of the medals were won by first-timers. The USA punched four of the six Olympic weights into the Paris Games, with just 57 kg and 65 kg left to qualify in 2023. Kudos go to National Coaches Bill Zadick and Joe Russell, plus the clubs and Regional Training Centers which supported this team of talents. This was a remarkable performance by the American men’s freestylers, the biggest story of 2023.

2. Amazing Amit Elor wins three World titles for second straight year – Amit Elor made history in 2022 by becoming the first U.S. athlete (and only second in World history) to win three age-group World titles in the same year. Since Elor was only 19 when she won 2022 World golds as a U20, U23 and Senior athlete, she was age-eligible to compete in all three World Championships again in 2023. Amit Elor loves to compete, and she set a goal to sweep all three once again. And Amit went out and did it once again. Her toughest victory may have been the first one, the U20 Worlds in Amman, Jordan, when Elor got sick along with many of her teammates. In spite of being greatly impacted by illness, Elor won all four bouts handily, getting three technical falls and a pin and not allowing a point. Next came the Senior Worlds, and Elor was again dominant, shutting out her first two opponents, getting a semifinals technical fall, then finishing it off with an 8-2 win over Enkh Amar of Mongolia in the finals. At the U23 Worlds, she was unbeatable, claiming two pins, a technical fall and a 5-0 shutout. This gives Elor eight UWW World titles during her career (actually nine if you count her U17 World Beach title). The biggest question is where will Elor wrestle in the Olympic year. By throwing her hat into the Pan American Olympic Qualifier wrestle-offs at 68 kg, the answer seems to be that she will drop down in weight for her run at the Paris Games.

3. David Taylor wins Worlds beating Hassan Yazdani again – Wrestling is an individual sport, and there is nothing better than a fierce rivalry between two of the World’s greatest stars. That is what happens every time that 2020 Olympic champion David Taylor of the United States and 2016 Olympic champion Hassan Yazdani of Iran battle it out at 86 kg in men’s freestyle. The finals of the 2023 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, gave wrestling fans … story at … Themat.com/December/27/Abbott-blog-top-10-wrestling-stories-of-2023

January 4, 2024 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized