Robert Howard celebrates after winning goldBUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- With an inspiring finals performance, Robert Howard of Cranford, N.J. won a gold medal at 55 kg in men's freestyle on the final day of wrestling at the Youth Olympic Games.
Howard opened up his offense on the way to a 17-6 second-period technical fall over two-time Pan American Cadet bronze medalist Hernan David Almendra of host Argentina in the championship finals.
A two-time U.S. Cadet World Team member, Howard came out on fire, jumping to a 11-2 lead after the first period, scoring a variety of different scoring techniques, including takedowns and turns. In the second period, Almendra hit a four-point headlock to attempt to stay close, but Howard scored three more two-point moves, ending the match with the technical fall.
"The Argentinian crossed over from Greco-Roman to freestyle, and hit two headlocks, catching Robbie in them. Three times, Robert had a nine-point lead, working for the tech. It was a great crowd, a huge home advantage for the Argentinian. We talked about that, and he knew what to expect. Robbie embraced the moment. He did a great job with that. He wrestled his match. He had an unbelievably tough tournament. He did a fantastic job down here, bouncing back from a disappointing Worlds. This is a huge boost for him and for USA Wrestling," said U.S. Youth Olympic Games coach Sam Barber.
Howard, a two-time Cadet World Team member for the United States, finished his Group B pool competition with a perfect 2-0 record. He opened with an impressive 13-2 technical fall over 2018 Cadet World silver medalist Hayato Fujita of Japan. To clinch the pool, he stopped 2018 European Cadet champion Vladyslav Ostapenko of Ukraine, 10-5. Howard had lost to Ostapenko at the 2017 Cadet World Championships in Athens, Greece by technical fall.
"I wrestled better than I had in my entire life. In the pool, I beat the kid who was second in the World in my weight class. There has been only one kid who teched me, and that happened at Worlds in Athens, Greece last year. I beat him today, 10-5. I hold myself to a high standard. It was great to get over the hump today. It was a tough finals. The place was loud. But, I wasn't going into this to lose. I hated to be the guy to take it from him, but I had a job to do. It was an amazing experience and something I will never forget," said Howard.
Carson Manville of Kingston, Pa. finished fourth at 65 kg, after falling to 2017 Asian Cadet silver medalist Inayat Ullah of Pakistan in the bronze-medal match, 6-2.
Ullah scored first to go up 2-0, but Manville answered to tie up the bout at the break, 2-2. In the second period, Ullah scored four unanswered points to secure the decision and win the bronze medal.
On Sunday morning, Manville completed his Pool B competition with a 1-1 record. He opened with a 12-3 decision over 2018 African Cadet champion Fathi Tarek Fathi Attia Ismail of Egypt. In his second pool match, he was defeated by 2018 Cadet World bronze medalist Mohammad Baghi Karimiseifabad of Iran, in a 10-0 technical fall.
"Carson never really got his offense going. He is capable of wrestling very well at this level. This tournament showed that it is important for him to grow his offense, to get points when he needs them, and to wrestle with focus for the entire match," said Barber.
Manville was eighth in the 2018 Cadet World Championships in freestyle. He competes for Wyoming Seminary in Pennsylvania, where he was a 2018 Prep National champion. He is the second athlete from his family to compete at the Youth Olympic Games, as his older brother Mason Manville won a silver medal at 69 kg in Greco-Roman at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China.
Team USA finished with two Youth Olympic Games wrestling gold medals this year. On Saturday, Emily Shilson of Maple Grove, Minn. became the first U.S. wrestler to win a gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games with her victory at 43 kg in women's freestyle.
The U.S. coach, Sam Barber of Colorado Springs, Colo., is the head coach at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He had considerable help with other members of the USA Wrestling delegation, which led to a successful weekend.
"We had a great team effort. All four athletes competed to the best of their ability. It was a great effort by all. They carried themselves like the professional athletes that they will become. With one coach down here, I couldn't get it done without that team effort. I want to thank the parents, Kelly Howard, Susan Manville, Chad Ikei and Chad Shilson, for stepping in as part of the team. Everyone came together, and the result was a great trip to Argentina," said Barber.
YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES
At Buenos Aires, Argentina
U.S. Men's freestyle wrestling performance
55 kg/121 lbs. - Robert Howard, Cranford, N.J., gold medal
WIN Hayato Fujita (Japan), tech. fall 13-2
WIN Vladyslav Ostapenko (Ukraine), 10-5
WIN Hernan David Almendra (Argentina), tech. fall, 17-16
65 kg/143 lbs. - Carson Manville, Kingston, Pa., 4th place
WIN Fathi Tarek Fathi Attia Ismail (Egypt), 12-3
LOSS Mohammad Baghi Karimiseifabad (Iran), tech. fall 10-0
LOSS Inayat Ullah (Pakistan), 6-2
Men's Freestyle Medal Matches
48 kg
Gold - Umidjon Jalolov (Uzbekistan) dec. Giorgi Gegelashvili (Georgia), 8-2
Bronze - Halil Gokdeniz (Turkey) pin Diego Zuluaga Cuevas (Colombia)
5th - Fernando Booysen (South Africa)
6th - Daiziel Detudamo (Nauru)
Gold bout - Jalolov dec. Gegelashvili, 8-2
Bronze bout -Gokdeniz pin Zuluaga Cuevas
55 kg
Gold - Robert Howard (USA)
Silver - Hernan David Almendra (Argentina)
Bronze - Vladyslav Ostapenko (Ukraine)
4th - Oussama Laribi (Algeria)
5th - Hayato Fujita (Japan)
6th - Gavin Sablan Whitt (Guam)
Gold bout - Howard tech. fall Almendra, 17-6
Bronze bout - Ostapenko tech. fall Laribi, 10-0
65 kg
Gold - Turan Bayramov (Azerbaijan)
Silver - Mohammad Baghi Karimiseifabad (Iran)
Bronze - Inayat Ullah (Pakistan)
4th - Carson Manville (USA)
5th - Fathi Tarek Fathi Attia Ismail (Egypt)
6th - Westerly Ainsley (New Zealand)
Gold Bout - Bayramov dec. Karimiseifabad, 6-1
Bronze Bout - Ullah dec. Manville, 6-2
80 kg
Gold - Akhmedkhan Tembotov (Russia)
Silver - Fateh Benferdjallah (Algeria)
Bronze -Mukhammadrasul Rakhimov (Uzbekistan)
4th - Carson Lee (Canada)
5th - Ryan Marshall (New Zealand)
6th - Valentine Yairegpie (Federated States of Micronesia)
Gold Bout - Tembotov tech. fall Benferdjallah, 10-0
Bronze Bout -Rakhimov tech. fall Lee, 10-0
110 kg
Gold - Sergei Kozyrev (Russia)
Silver - Amir Hossein Abbas Zare (Iran)
Bronze - Ahmed Mahmoud Elsayed Khalil (Egypt)
4th - Luis Orozco Cortez (Mexico)
5th - Thomas Barns (Australia)
6th - Dragan Velinov (Macedonia)
Gold Bout - Kozyrev dec. Zare, 6-5
Bronze Bout -Khalil dec. Orozco Cortez, 6-2
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