Gophers heavyweight Gable Steveson wins gold at Pan-Am Championships
FILE PHOTO: Minnesota's Gable Steveson celebrates after defeating Michigan's Mason Parris during their 285-pound match in the finals of the NCAA wrestling championships Saturday, March 20, 2021, in St. Louis.[AP Photo/Jeff Roberson]
Minnesota heavyweight Gable Steveson won five straight matches by technical fall to win gold at the 2021 Senior Pan American Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The lone Olympian in the 125kg field, Steveson defeated Aly Barghout of Canada, 10-0, in the finals.
Steveson needed less than two minutes to sweep his way through three matches in pool play, including a 10-0 victory in 18 seconds against Santiago Hernandez of Colombia. He advanced to the finals with a 10-0 technical fall against Eduardo Garcia Betanzos of Mexico in the semifinals.
In the finals, Steveson notched his second 10-0 win against Barghout in just 1:47 to capture gold in his senior international debut.
Wrestling at the 2020 Olympic Games will be contested August 1-7, 2021 at Makuhari Messe Hall A in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.