With the conclusion of the 2023 Grand Prix of Germany this past weekend, only one Senior international tournament now remains on the calendar prior to next month’s World Championships, the annual Ion Cornianu and Ladislau Simon Memorial this week in Bucharest, Romania.
While there still might be participants in Bucharest who wind up competing at the Worlds (Korea, Egypt, Greece, and bordering Moldova are all set for involvement), the numbers are not expected to rival the degree of depth that which was present either in Germany, Poland (Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Memorial), or Hungary (Polyak Imre Memorial “Ranking Series”). The circumstances were especially pressing in Germany. Several nations, including the host country, entered action in Dortmund with an understanding that the event’s results would inform their decisions for World Team selection. This is often the case in other tournaments during the summer, of course; and federations, if not totally convinced per an event’s outcomes, will sometimes hold closed-door wrestle-offs to arrive at what they deem to be a fair resolution in situations when the competitors in question have not distinctly separated themselves from one another.
Romania Next
The Ion Cornianu and Ladislau Simon Memorial in Bucharest kicks off on Friday — which means that it will occur simultaneously with the U20 Worlds. Because all three Olympic disciplines will be contested, the tournament is set to run through the weekend. At press time, streaming information is unavailable. *Note: for Sunday, August 20, the schedule does not specify a separate time for finals and bronze-medal matches.
2023 Ion Cornianu & Ladislau Simon Memorial
August 18-20 — Bucharest, ROU
Full Schedule
*All times local (+7 hours ET)
Friday, August 18 (55, 60, 63, 67, 72, & 77 kg)
10:00am-2:00pm — Qualification rounds through quarterfinals
5:00pm-8:00pm — Semifinals
Saturday, August 19 (82, 87, 97, & 130 kg)
10:00am-3:00pm — Qualification rounds through quarterfinals
10:00am-3:00pm — Repechage (55, 60, 63, 67, 7)
4:45pm-6:00pm — Semifinals
7:00pm-8:30pm — Finals/bronze-medal matches (55, 60, 63, 67, 72, & 77 kg)
Sunday, August 20
10:00am-2:00pm — Repechage (82, 87, 97, & 130 kg)
10:00am-2:00pm — Finals/bronze-medal matches (82, 87, 97, & 130 kg)
U20 Worlds
The second World Championships on the calendar begins this week in Amman City, Jordan as the Juniors are next in line to battle it out on behalf of Team USA. Most observers of the American program might be familiar with the roster. Returning U20 World bronze Aden Attao (130 kg, Suples) and ’22 U17 World Champion Joel Adams (67 kg, TBW) have received the lion’s share of the headlines as of late — but Landon Drury (63 kg, Betterman Elite) and Sawyer Bartelt (97 kg, Gladiator WC) have been grabbing some attention, too. That is because a) Drury, Adams, Bartelt and Attao were victorious at Fargo last month; and b) multiple members of the World Team, apart from Adams, made waves at the U20 Pan-Ams earlier this summer.
Dury, Derek Matthews (77 kg, Northern Colorado WC), “Muscle” Mike Altomer (82 kg, Curby 3-Style), Wyatt Voelker (87 kg, Big Game WC), and Attao all prevailed at the aforementioned Pan-Ams, a tournament that was an expression of wall-to-wall dominance for the US squad. But, again, teams come down to individuals, and the entire lineup features athletes whose attributes may prove problematic for their international counterparts coming up this weekend. From the technical toughness of Zach Silvis (55 kg, PINnacle) and ’22 U20 World rep Max Black (60 kg, NMU/NTS) to the power-packed mechanics of Altomer and Attao, or the intuitive offensive aggression of Drury, the ’23 U20 World Team for the United States could have a lot to offer against what is sure to be a loaded field of foreigners.
A more detailed preview to this effect will be made available this week on FLOWrestling.
2023 US U20 World Team
55 kg: Zach Silvis (PINnacle)
60 kg: Max Black (NMU/NTS)
63 kg: Landon Drury (Betterman Elite)
67 kg: Joel Adams (TBW)
72 kg: Braden Stauffenberg (Michigan WC)
77 kg: Derek Matthews (Northern Colorado WC)
82 kg: Mike Altomer (Curby 3-Style)
87 kg: Wyatt Voelker (Big Game WC)
97 kg: Sawyer Bartelt (Gladiator WC)
130 kg: Aden Attao (Suples)
2023 U20 World Championships
August 18-20 — Amman City, JOR
U20 World Championships Schedule
*All times local (+7 hours ET)
DAY 1: Friday, August 18 (Silvis, Drury, Matthews, Voelker, & Attao)
10:00am-3:00pm — Qualification rounds through quarterfinals
4:45pm-6:00pm — Semifinals
DAY 2: Saturday, August 19 (Black, Adams, Stauffenberg, Altomer, & Bartelt)
10:00am-3:00pm — Qualification rounds through quarterfinals
10:00am-3:00pm — Repechage (55, 63, 77, 87, & 130 kg)
4:45pm-6:00pm — Semifinals
6:00pm-8:30pm — Finals/bronze-medal matches (55, 63, 77, 87, & 130 kg)
DAY 3: Sunday, August 20
4:00pm-5:45pm — Repechage (60, 67, 72, 82, & 97 kg)
6:00pm-8:30pm — Finals/bronze-medal matches (60, 67, 72, 82, & 97 kg)
Listen to “5PM54: WCAP’s Ryan Epps and a Final X Greco-Roman Preview” on Spreaker.
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