Rodriguez Wins U20 World Championship with Finals Pin

Thursday at the U20 World Championships saw the first American win gold at the 2024 event. Cristelle Rodriguez continued her dominance in the gold medal match at 55 kg - needing less than a minute to pin Mongolia’s Khaliun Byambasuren. 

Rodriguez nearly got a takedown after shooting within seconds of the opening whistle; however, Byambasuren was able to momentarily stop her. That wouldn’t last for long as Byambasuren tried to throw Rodriguez. Not only did Rodriguez hold her ground, but she countered with a huge throw of her own. Rodriguez was awarded four points for the throw, but the most important development was that Byambasuren remained on her back, very close to a fall. Rodriguez kept the pressure on and never let Byambasuren off her back. The official signaled for the fall at only :57 seconds into the contest. 

The fall capped off an excellent two days for Rodriguez. She never went the full six minutes in any of her four matches - finishing with two falls and two techs. An early takedown in the semifinals to European U20 champion Tuba Demir (Turkiye) accounted for the only points she surrendered the entire tournament. 

Rodriguez now has won medals at both the U20 and U17 levels. In 2019, Rodriguez earned a silver medal at the U17 World Championships in the 49 kg weight class. 

With Rodriguez’s world title, the US women have won at least one gold medal in the last four U20 World Championships. 

The American women will have another opportunity to come away with a gold medal on Friday as Jasmine Robinson stormed her way to the 72 kg gold medal match today. As difficult as it may be to believe, Robinson’s path to the finals might have been more impressive than Rodriguez’s. 

Robinson pinned all three of her opponents in a combined time of two minutes and 25 seconds. Her semifinal win over Hungary’s Noemi Osvath Nagy was her “longest” match of the day at only 1:23. Robinson might have been able to end that match even quicker, but her freight train double leg blasted Osvath Nagy out of bounds and she had to settle for a four-point lead. A few moments later, Robinson tried another double and finished high. Osvath  Nagy’s arm was out and susceptible to a half nelson, which Robinson sunk in deeply. She patiently waited for the official to call the fall. 

With a gold medal in the balance, Robinson will face China’s Yuqi Liu - a 2024 Asian U20 champion. Liu was very overwhelming herself. All three of her pre-finals matches ended 10-0 in the opening period. 

Robinson’s finals appearance has clinched her second career world medal. A year ago, she was a bronze medalist at the U17 World Championships at 69 kg. 

Another American to grab some hardware on Thursday was Naomi Simon at 76 kg. Simon squared off with Japan’s Chisato Yoshida in a bronze medal match. 

After Simon controlled the mat for the first minute and a half Yoshida was put on the activity clock. Almost simultaneously, the clock expired as Simon was finishing off a takedown from a front headlock, giving her a 3-0 lead. 

In the next sequence, Simon avoided a headlock attempt from Yoshida, spun behind and hit a gut wrench at the edge of the mat. The officials initially gave Yoshida a takedown, but after a review, it was overturned and deemed a takedown, then exposure for Simon and a 7-0 lead. 

With around :30 remaining in the bout Yoshida went into desperation mode. She tried a head pinch and then a neck wrench, both of which were unsuccessful and ultimately, led to a Simon takedown to ice the match at 9-0. 

The other American in the gold medal finals on Thursday, Alexis Janiak, wasn’t as fortunate. She ran into a Japanese opponent (Sakura Onishi) who was a buzzsaw all tournament. Onishi got a quick takedown and transitioned into a series of leg laces that quickly ended the match after only :43 seconds. 

The American women have already clinched four medals with a fifth as a possibility on Friday. Carissa Qureshi has been pulled into repechage at 57 kg. She’ll face India’s Neha Sharma with a berth in the bronze medal match looming. 

Also on Friday, the US men’s freestyle team will take the mat for the first time. 57, 65, 70, 79, and 97 kg will start their tournaments.