Before Youth Olympics, Hruby Throws Her Way to U17 World Gold

NARDARAN, Azerbaijan (August 27) -- Four months ago, Matilda HRUBY (USA) stood atop the podium at the U17 Pan-American Championships after winning the 69kg gold medal in Women's Wrestling, going 4-0 with all four victories coming by fall.

On Thursday in Nardaran, a town northeast of Baku, Hruby did it again -- this time on the sand.

She won the 75kg gold medal at the U17 World Beach Wrestling Championships with five victories, all by fall. In Beach Wrestling, a fall is awarded when a wrestler executes a big move on her opponent.

Hruby delivered those big moves throughout the day, using hip tosses and headlock throws to send her opponents to the sand. She used a headlock throw in the 75kg final against Vasiliki KARAVANOU (GRE) to complete the perfect day and claim the world title in just 22 seconds.

"It's amazing just to be able to come here for the USA and, and to have the ability to wrestle and to show everyone what I can do," Hruby said.

With the victory, Hruby became the second U.S. female wrestler to win an U17 world title in Beach Wrestling, a result seemed impossible six months ago as Hruby had never trained on the sand.

Her opportunity came after she was at the U17 Pan-American Championships in Women's Wrestling in Panama, when the U.S. offered her the chance to compete in U17 Pan-American Beach Wrestling as well. She decided to give it a try and won gold.

When Hruby returned home, she knew she needed to train on the sand. However, there was a problem -- Brighton, a town outside Denver, Colorado, has no beach. Her coach, Eric HEINZ, found a solution by building a sand pit at his home where Hruby now trains every day.

"I wasn't a huge fan of the sand before, and I just grew to love it recently," she said. "I really do enjoy the sport, and I feel like it could take me very far in my journey. I qualified for the Pan Am Games in April, and the U.S. offered every winner to do beach [wrestling]. When I did it, I ended up winning and I qualified for the [Youth] Olympics."

Her five falls on Thursday earned her a world title and a place at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, where Beach Wrestling will make its debut.

"It was a great look because I'm headed to the [Youth] Olympics in a couple of months, and I'm excited to see how I do there," she said.

Although Hruby was trained in Freestyle, she believes Beach Wrestling requires its own special skills, particularly the need to avoid touching the sand with anything other than the feet.

"It's tactical. It's not just you have to feel out your opponents, but there's strategy to it," she said. "There's a lot more thinking involved with this. You just have to believe in yourself, and I've been training, making sure when I do these big throws that my knees and my elbows, my heads don't touch."

Iryna BUKHTINA (UKR), left, won the gold medal in women's 65kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Three other countries won the remaining U17 world titles on Thursday. Vietnam claimed gold at 45kg, Japan at 55kg and Ukraine at 65kg, with all three champions also earning places at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar on November 7-8.

But it was the hosts Azerbaijan that managed to claim the team title in women's after outplacing the United States by one points. Azerbaijan got 54 points while the U.S. had 53 points. Even the third place team, Japan, was just two points behind Azerbaijan as it finished with 52 points.

At 55kg, Reisa KOJIMA (JPN) upgraded her silver medal from last year to gold after defeating Arianna OGLE GARZA (USA), 3-0, in the final. Kojima scored three one-point moves to secure the victory.

"Last year I came in second place, I'm happy to have won this year," Kojima said.

Committed to Ikuei University, which has produced Olympic champions such as Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) and Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN), as well as world champion Ami ISHII (JPN), Kojima also began wrestling on the mat but has trained in both mat and beach wrestling for the past two years.

"I originally did wrestling, and when I learned about beach wrestling, I thought it looked interesting, so I started doing it," she said. "I think the appeal [of beach wrestling] is that you can win by using big moves, dynamic moves."

The 45kg gold medal went to Thi Hong LO (VIE), who defeated Meriem GRIB (ALG), 3-0, in the final. At 65kg, Iryna BUKHTINA (UKR) upset home favorite Rana NURIYEVA (AZE), 3-0, to claim the title.

RESULTS

45kg
GOLD: Thi Hong LO (VIE) df. Meriem GRIB (ALG), 3-0

BRONZE: Mira HIGASHI (JPN) df. Ndeye DIATTA (SEN), 1-0

55kg
GOLD: Reisa KOJIMA (JPN) df. Arianna OGLE GARZA (USA), 3-0

BRONZE:  Eleni GAVRINIOTI (GRE) df. Elisabeth DIATTA (SEN), 1-0

65kg
GOLD: Iryna BUKHTINA (UKR) df. Rana NURIYEVA (AZE), 3-0

BRONZE: Arina KUANYSHOVA (KAZ) df. Kanna TAKARAJIMA (JPN), via fall (4-0)

75kg
GOLD: Matilda HRUBY (USA) df. Vasiliki KARAVANOU (GRE), via fall (3-0)

BRONZE: Simura ABDULLAYEVA (AZE) df. Elisabeth DIATTA (SEN), via fall (4-1)