FRISCO, Texas (March 4) – Team Canada turned in a superb performance at the Pan American Olympic Qualifier on Friday and has now qualified all six women’s wrestling weight classes for the 2016 Olympic Games.
Canada’s Jillian GALLAYS (53kg), Michelle FAZZARI (58kg), Dori YEATS (69kg) and Erica WIEBE (75kg) each clinched top-two finishes as the three-day event kicked off at the Dr. Pepper Arena in suburban Dallas.
Olympic host country Brazil also had a huge session, qualifying three more athletes for August’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The top two finishers in each of the six women’s weight classes clinched spots Friday to advance to Rio.
The Pan Am Olympic Qualifier medal matches are set for 5 p.m. Central Time and will be shown on a live webcast at FloWrestling.org
The top two finishers in each of the 18 Olympic weight classes in Texas, six weight classes in each style, will qualify their nations to compete at the 2016 Olympic Games.
The powerful Yeats, a past World silver medalist, blanked talented Texas native Tamyra MENSAH (USA) 5-0 in the semifinals.
Fazzari rallied from a four-point, second-period deficit to knock off World fifth-place finisher Alli RAGAN (USA) 5-4 in the quarterfinals. Fazzari executed a front headlock turn for four points after being down 4-1 late in the match.
Gallays earned a 12-0 technical fall over past American World Team member Whitney CONDER in a key quarterfinal bout.
Wiebe, who has been ranked No. 1 in the World, went 3-0 in the first session of the round-robin format at heavyweight.
Brazil added three more Rio qualifiers when teammates Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (63kg), Gilda DE OLIVEIRA (69kg) and Joice SOUZA DA SILVA (58kg) advanced to the finals in Texas.
Souza da Silva trailed 3-0 in the semifinals before locking up a cradle and scoring a stunning pin over veteran Lissette ANTES CASTILLO (ECU).
It was a rough day for the United States women’s squad, which was able to land just one Olympic berth among the five wrestlers it brought to the Pan Am Qualifier.
American Erin CLODGO avenged a pair of losses from 2015 by dominating veteran Katerina VIDAUX LOPEZ (CUB) 8-0 in the semifinals at 63kg. Vidaux Lopez, ranked ninth in the World, had defeated Clodgo at the 2015 Pan American Games and 2015 World Championships.
Patricia BERMUDEZ (ARG) reached the finals for the second straight time in this event to qualify her country for the Olympics once again at 48kg.
Carolina CASTILLO HIDALGO (COL) scored a takedown in the final 30 seconds to earn a tough 3-1 quarterfinal win over two-time World bronze medalist Alyssa LAMPE (USA). Castillo Hidalgo, ranked ninth in the World, carried that momentum into reaching the finals at 48kg.
There are no true second-place matches in this event, so the two wrestlers who land berths in the finals in each weight class will qualify their countries for the Olympic Games.
There will be two more Olympic Games qualifiers after the Pan Am Olympic Qualifier, in Mongolia in April and in Turkey in May.
Pan American countries earned six Olympic berths in women’s freestyle during the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas. Canada (48kg, 63g) and Colombia (58kg, 75kg) each qualified for the Olympics in two weight classes in Vegas with the United States (75kg) and Brazil (75kg) each landing one Olympic berth.
There will be six Olympic weight classes for women for the first time this year. Women had four weight classes in its initial three Olympic competitions in 2004, 2008 and 2012.
World champions Helen MAROULIS and Elena PIROZHKOVA of the United States did not compete in Texas. Three-time World champion Adeline GRAY qualified the U.S. for the Olympics at 75kg after striking gold at the 2015 Worlds.
PAN AMERICAN OLYMPIC GAMES QUALIFIER
Dr. Pepper Arena, Frisco, Texas
March 4-6, 2016
Women’s freestyle
Championship final pairings
(Top two finishers qualify their countries for 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
48 kg – Carolina CASTILLO HIDALGO (COL) v Patricia BERMUDEZ (ARG)
53 kg – Jillian GALLAYS (CAN) v Betzabeth ARGUELLO VILLEGAS (VEN)
58 kg – Michelle FAZZARI (CAN) v Joice SOUZA DA SILVA (BRA)
63 kg – Erin CLODGO (USA) v Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
69 kg – DORI YEATS (CAN) v Gilda DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
75 kg (Round robin) – Erica WIEBE (CAN), 3-0 record
Jaramit WEFFER GUANIPA (VEN), 2-1 record
Dayanara RIVERA SUAREZ (PUR), 2-2 record
Lisset HECHEVARRIA MEDINA (CUB), 1-2 record
