Gold Glory for USA Wrestler Alec Pantaleo at Pan American Championship Ends 3-Year Wait

The 2024 Pan American Championship saw the US claim the 70kg gold in men’s freestyle wrestling. American wrestling sensation Alec Pantaleo clinched the top gold at the event after a three-year-long gap and relived his 2021 glory of Guatemala City in Acapulco.

USA Wrestling declared Pantaleo’s victory at the Pan Am with a tweet on X captioned, “MFS 70 kg – Finals – Alec Pantaleo 🇺🇸 wins by injury default #WrestleAcapulco. That’s 🥇 for Pantaleo in Mexico!” 

The final bout saw Pantaleo wrestle for the gold against Canada’s Paiman Biabani. The 27-year-old put up a great show till the semifinal round but had to veto in the middle of the match due to injury. While this was a rather unsatisfying ending for the bout, Pantaleo deserves all the credit for the win. Moreover, the US wrestling team also had several great looks in the Pan American Championship and won several medals.

USA Wrestling has secured the top spot in the annual zonal tournament across all three categories. This includes men’s freestyle wrestling, women’s freestyle wrestling, and men’s Greco-Roman wrestling. On top of it, the Pan American Championship has also witnessed several new success stories for Team USA. 

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The Pan American Championship stories that left a big mark 

American wrestling superstar Helen Maroulis earned a gold medal in the 57kg weight class in women’s freestyle wrestling. This gold medal came after a long gap of 12 years, after which Maroulis conquered the Pan American Championship once again. While Maroulis won her first event gold in a dozen years, Kyle Snyder hit the half-dozen mark for consecutive gold medal victories.

The 97kg wrestling superstar clinched his seventh overall Pan American Championship gold medal in his career. With this, the 3x world champ has solidified his feet back on track after his bronze finish at the 2023 world championship. Moreover, his victory also comes after he clinched his third consecutive Pan American Games gold at 2023 Santiago.

While these are the golden glory stories of the US, a young US wrestler made one of her initial dents in the international wrestling scene. Claiming the bronze medal in the 53kg weight class in women’s freestyle wrestling, Katie Gomez ended her Pan American Championship run on a strong note. 

The youngster registered a flawless 10-0 win to finish the tournament with a technical fall. Gomez also made her first World Championship appearance at 2023 Belgrade, and her Pan Am bronze will act as additional momentum now. All of these success stories will soon be tested at the Final X, with which they will advance to the Olympics. Will these US wrestlers be able to add the Paris Olympics chapter to their stories?

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