CHIBA, Japan (AP) — American fighter Adeline Gray hasn’t reached the career-defining moment she’s been in for so long.
Germany’s Aline Rotter-Focken beat her 7-3 on Monday in the 76kg women’s wrestling final.
Gray is a five-time world champion, but had never won an Olympic medal. He finished a disappointing seventh-place finish at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016 while battled injuries that prevented him from playing for a year.
He recovered to win two more world titles and win the number one seed at the Olympics. She was convinced that she would enroll in Helen Maroulis as the only two Olympic gold medalists in women’s wrestling in the United States.
Even with the defeat, Gray believes his legacy is safe. It’s only the sixth medal for an American wrestler.
“A silver medal for what I got here, but that’s what I have,” Gray said. “And I’m very proud to bring home an Olympic medal for team Usa. I looked for it to be another color, but I’m also very excited to come back with some material.
Rotter-Focken, the No. 2 seed, moved in after the win.
“It’s crazy, it’s amazing,” he said. I dreamed of it for many years and worked on it every day. It’s unreal right now. I think I want a few years to acknowledge that.
Rotter-Focken scored an early point for Gray’s inactivity. She countered a shot from Gray to take a 3-0 lead, then scored 4 runs on a shot to take a 7-0 lead.
The Gray shot.
“I’m a tall, strong woman, and she tucked her hips into me and crushed me to the ground,” Gray said. “And he took credit for a safe duration that he has on me. “
Gray, despite everything, was given in the set in an exit with just over a minute to go. She scored two in a strikeout with about 30 seconds to play, but that’s all she can handle.
Then she saw her friend celebrate and the German flag. They are 30 years old and have been competing since they were teenagers.
“Aline is a friend and I’m very proud to have gone out on the canvas and compete with her,” Gray said. “I sought to emerge victorious, but she did it this time. But I’m sure it’s just a friendship that will blossom even more, maybe not before this year’s world championships, so I look forward to seeing her there.
Qian Zhou of China and Yasemin Adar of Turkey, bronze medals.
Cuban Mijain López, the first man to win 4 Olympic gold medals in wrestling by beating Georgia’s Iakobi Kajaia 5-0 in the Greco-Roguy 130 kg final.
The 38-year-old has scored in all 4 of his bouts. He joins Japan’s Kaori Icho as the only wrestler to win 4 Olympic gold medals. Icho won gold medals in freestyle in 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016. 120 kg in 2008 and 2012 and 130 kg in 2016 before winning on Monday.
Lopez beat Turkey’s Riza Kayaalp 2-0 in Sunday’s semifinals in a rematch of the 2016 gold medal game.
Kayaalp won bronze over Iran’s Amin Mirzazadeh 7-2, while Sergey Semenov of the Russian Olympic Committee won bronze by defeating Chile’s Yamani Acosta Fernandez.
In Monday’s other final, Cuba’s Luis Orta Sanchez beat Japan’s Kenichiro Fumita 5-1 in the 60kg category. Fumita, looking to win in his country, the no. 1 and two times world champion.
American Tamyra Mensah-Stock, the No. 1 seed in the 68 kg freestyle category, will fight for gold on Tuesday. She was tied at four before the final two minutes of a semi-final against Ukraine’s Alla Cherkasova on Monday before taking the win. 10-four. Mensah-Stock will face Blessing Oborududu of Nigeria at the highest.
In her opening attack on Monday, Mensah-Stock faced Japan’s Sara Dosho, who won gold in Rio at 69kg. Mensah-Stock dominated, winning by technical superiority 10-0 to 2: 07. led 6-0 at halftime and, despite everything, won 10-0 by technical superiority in 4:39.
American Ildar Hafizov, who was looking for a place in the bronze medal in the Greco-Roman 60 kg category, led the No. seed 1-0. 2 Sergey Emelin of the Russian Olympic Committee after the first period, but beaten on the spot and lost 7 -1. Emelin won a bronze medal.
In the Greco-Roman 97 kg, American G’Angelo Hancock beat Serbia’s Mihail Kajaia 5-1 in his first match and in the quarter-finals against Poland’s Tadeusz Michalik, with a score equivalent to 1, Michalik scored a point on one strikeout. The U. S. challenged and lost, giving Michalik a point. Michalik held on and won 4-3.
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Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: twitter. com/CliffBruntAP.
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