Olympic wrestlers and coaches celebrate Olympic Day during June’s U.S. World Team Trials in Stillwater, Okla. Front row: Steve Fraser, Billy Rosado, Brandon Slay, Joe Corso, Shawn Sheldon, Zeke Jones, John Smith. Back row: Lee Roy Smith, Stan Dziedzic, Dan Chandler, Eric Guerrero, Jake Varner, Jamill Kelly, Kevin Jackson, Oscar Wood, Les Gutches, Lee Kemp, Matt Lindland, Wayne Wells, Rulon Gardner, Kerry McCoy, Jake Herbert. Photo by John Sachs and Tony Rotundo.
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been approved at the FILA Congress in Moscow the day before. The United States won seven matches, with Russia and Canada winning three matches each.
Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs of the USA dismantled
Russia’s Saba Khubetzhty 14-3 in the day’s final freestyle match at 74 kg. U.S. Open runner-up Jordan Oliver won two bouts, defeating Russia’s Magomed Kurbanliev and Olympian Haislan Garcia of Canada. World champion Elena Pirozhkova defeated past Junior World champion Danielle Lappage of Canada. The fourth international event held in the USA in May was the Junior Greco-Roman World Duals in Concord, Calif., May 25-26. Teams from a number of nations participated, along state teams from within the United States. The exciting Battle at the Falls women’s dual meet event, fea- turing the USA, Canada and Ukraine, was a big success in Niagara Falls, Canada on May 31, the final day of World Wrestling Month. The teams took part in a photo shoot in front of Niagara Falls from the Canadian side. Canada won the com-
petition with victories over the United States and Ukraine. “A big factor with the IOC is gender equality. To capitalize on this event here is really important for us as a global community of women’s wrestlers, and events like this will help our sport grow,” said Veronica Carlson of Team USA. In New York, celebrities and major sports figures included Billy Baldwin, Mark Ruffalo, Mike Golic, Kurt Angle, Ronnie Lott and Chael Sonnen. In Los Angeles, the celebrites and major sports figures includ- ed Baldwin, Tom Arnold, Mark Spitz, Randy Couture, Chael Sonnen, Urijah Faber, Daniel Cormier and Mark Munoz. Numerous Olympic champions, including Dan Gable, John Smith and Cael Sanderson, were on hand for the events. USA Today’s Kelly Whiteside interviewed actor Mark Ruffalo, who will play wrestling icon Dave Schultz in an upcoming motion picture entitled Foxcatcher. "Many of the qualities I learned in wrestling became deeply needed for the job I have now. I think it helped me a lot during the years I struggled, that determination and perseverance,” he said.
38 USA Wrestler
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