Students of the American Wrestling School Outperform Americans in Mexico

In the second Olympic qualifying tournament, which proved unfavorable for the Americans, neither Zain Richards managed to secure the Olympic quota in the 57 kg weight class, nor did Nick Lee in the 65 kg weight class.

But who prevented the Americans from securing their quotas in Acapulco, Mexico? It was a Mexican and a Puerto Rican wrestler, both of whom had trained in the American wrestling system for years but now, on their home turf, defeated their American rivals to secure their spots in the Olympics.

These two wrestlers, in the Pan American qualifiers, secured the Olympic quotas in the 57 kg and 65 kg freestyle wrestling categories.

Austin Gomez defeated Nick Lee 12-2. Nick Lee, who had won a gold medal just days earlier at the Pan American Championships, initially led 10-4 in this match. However, Gomez, who took a medical break in the second three minutes, made a comeback and defeated Nick Lee with technical superiority.

Nick Lee was eliminated in the quarter-finals, and Gomez advanced to the semi-finals to face Lachlan McNeil of Canada. McNeil also trained in the U.S. but was defeated by Gomez, allowing the Mexican wrestler to secure the Olympic quota.

In the 57 kg weight class, Zain Richards’ match against Darian Cruz of Puerto Rico ended 2-2. Cruz had been the U.S. national champion in 2017.

Even if the U.S. secures the quotas for these two weights in the world qualifiers, they will undoubtedly face challenges in the lightweight categories at this year’s Olympics.