USA won the team title in freestyle at the World Championships in Paris (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)PARIS -- He raised his hands wild and motioned the crowd to cheer, and they screamed wildly. He beat on his chest. He was the world champion again.
The team title came down to the last match of the tournament, Russia versus America, Abdulrahsid Sadulaev versus Kyle Snyder. They did not disappoint.
This was no ordinary match, and these were no ordinary wrestlers. Olympic and world champ vs. Olympic and world champ. Both 21 years old. Both legends in the making. This one was for all the marbles.
Snyder lives for this moment. He trains for it.
Sadulaev scored the opening takedown and the crowd erupted. Snyder responded with a step out to make the score 2-1 in favor of Sadulaev.
Sadulaev scored again to go up 3-1. Which enticed the Russians to chant loudly, but when Snyder responded with a go-behind to grab the lead on criteria at the end of the first period, chants of "USA, USA, USA," were deafening.
Coming out of the break Sadulaev responded first with a takedown to go up 5-3. Snyder inched closer with a step out, making the score 5-4. But it was a wild scramble and a spin behind near the edge of the mat with 16 seconds remaining that gave Snyder the lead for good and the Americans the chance to cheer.
Kyle Snyder celebrates after beating Abdulrashid Sadulaev of Russia (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Snyder's victory over the Russian Tank gave USA its third-ever world team title in freestyle, and first since 1995. It was Sadulaev's first loss in four years, and first-ever loss at the World Championships.
"I'm happy with my performance," Snyder said. "I would have been happy with my performance even if I had lost. The only thing that would have made this better was if we were in Moscow in front of his crowd and in U.S. second."
Jordan Burroughs captured his fourth world championship, to go along with an Olympic title he won in 2012. This time his world title came against a Russian opponent, the first time he wrestled a Russian in the world finals during his seven years of international competition.
In a back-and-forth match against Khetik Tsabolov, Burroughs found himself down by one with less than two minutes to go in the match. But in Burroughs-like fashion, he hit a blast double leg shot to go up 7-6. He added two more points to win 9-6.
Jordan Burroughs with the American flag after winning the world title in Paris (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Burroughs remains unbeaten in world championship finals matches.
"It feels good to be back," Burroughs said. "Actually, I never left."
Burroughs enjoys the feeling of being on top.
"Nobody remembers the silvers," Burroughs said. "They only remember the golds. Gold never gets old."
Burroughs, who failed to place at the 2016 Olympic Games last summer, credited his faith for helping him be successful.
"I was put back in a position to be successful because of my faith," Burroughs said.
Burroughs' and James Green's personal coach Mark Manning, who coached them at Nebraska, said it wasn't an accident for Burroughs and Green to reach the finals.
"That was our plan," Manning said. "We're happy tonight if James wins. I'm blessed to be around these guys. They are zero maintenance and this is impressive. They're pros at what they do."
James Green upgraded his world medal at 70 kilograms. He was a world bronze medalist in 2015, and this year he finished with a silver medal, losing in the finals to Olympic bronze medalist Frank Chamizo of Italy, who is now a two-time world champion.
Green was unable to get his offense going. On one of Green's shot attempts, Chamizo hit a sprawl-like cartwheel where he seemed to almost hang in the air. While Green struggled offensively, Chamizo capitalized, countering for takedowns. Chamizo's athletic ability and experience proved to be too much for Green to handle. He cruised to an 8-0 shutout victory.
Despite the loss to Chamizo in the finals, Green was happy with the team title.
"It's awesome," Green said. "I kind of got out of my wheelhouse (in my match), but I keep getting better."
USA freestyle coach Bill Zadick, a past world champion, was excited and remained calm, but said this title took a group effort.
"So many things have to come together for something like this to be possible," Zadick said. "(Snyder's bout) was an epic battle. One guy scores the other guy scores and keeps raising the bar. Glory to God our guys came out on top."
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now