Wrestling has finished in women’s freestyle at the U23 world championships in Belgrade, Serbia. The team race was tight throughout between Team USA, Russia, Ukraine, and India. Take a look below to see the final standings and how every representative for Team USA performed.

Ukraine Edges Out Russia For First

Ukraine showed up on the final two days of wrestling and came away with 7 total medals (3 golds, 2 silvers, and 3 bronze). Russia was leading the pack after the first day of competition but couldn’t keep pace with Ukraine and finished 21 points behind. Russia did have the same amount of medals but wasn’t able to match Ukraine’s point output after losing all 5 of their gold medal matches. Take a look at the final standings below:

Team Effort Gives USA Third

Team USA finished in third place behind the medal of performances Emily Shilson and Kylie Welker. Shilson took home gold with a pin in the finals and Welker added a bronze. Remarkably, those were the only two medals USA won while 4th place India took home five total medals. The USA women were able to take home points from all 10 of their wrestlers giving them just enough to bring home a trophy. Take a look below at the place and points from all 10 of the women for Team USA:

50kg - Emily Shilson, Gold (25 points)

53kg - Ronna Heaton, 7th place (8 points)

55kg - Alexandra Hedrick, 7th place (8 points)

57kg - Amanda Martinez, 7th place (8 points)

59kg - Michaela Beck, 9th place (4 points)

62kg - Emma Bruntil, 8th place (6 points)

65kg - Ashlynn Ortega, 7th place (8 points)

68kg - Alyvia Fiske, 5th (10 points)

72kg - Kayla Marano, 5th (10 points)

76kg - Kylie Welker, Bronze (15 points)

Watch Emily Shilson's gold medal match:

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For full results with links to every match, check out  FloArena here.

Old Team Race Updates Below...

Team Race Update After Day 1

Russia Takes Early Lead

On the performance of finalists at 55kg (Viktoriia Vaulina) and 68kg (Vusala Parfianovich), Russia is out to an early read in the team race. Beyond those finalists, Russia’s 50kg wrestler (Mariia Tiumenkova) will be wrestling tomorrow for bronze. Russia is also capable of earning more points from the rep at 59kg who will be wrestling in repechage tomorrow. 

After Russia, team USA put Emily Shilson in the finals at 50kg and Kylie Welker will be wrestling for bronze at 76kg. Shilson was dominant in her first two matches recording a tech and a pin before her semi-final opponent failed to report to the mat and ultimately forfeited to Shilson. Welker got off to a great start with a win over a two-time junior world silver medalist (Evgeniia Zakharchenko), before she was defeated by Olympian and 2021 World Bronze medalist Aiperi Medet Kyzy (KGZ) in the semi-finals. Welker is sitting in the bronze medal match tomorrow along with Alyvia Fiske wrestling back for bronze in repechage at 68kg. 

Team Standings After Day 1:

Emily Shilson's win in the quarter-finals:

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Can USA Catch Russia?

With half of the weights still yet to wrestle, we’re sure to see a lot of changes in the team standings. Starting their tournament for Team USA tomorrow is Ronna Heaton (53kg), Amanda Martinez (57kg), Emma Bruntil (62kg), Ashlynn Ortega (65kg), and Kayla Marano (72kg). In the final half of the tournament, it’s crucial for USA to win their head-to-head matches against Russia, India and Ukraine. Notably, only Amanda Martinez is on the same side of the bracket as a Russian opponent. We’ll continue to keep you updated on the team race but you can check out updated brackets with links to all matches at FloArena here.