ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Three U.S. grapplers were placewinners at the Sport Accord World Combat Games this week. All three Americans are past FILA World medalists. The World Combat Games are a prestigious international event which includes numerous combat sports, including aikido, boxing, fencing, judo, jiu-jitsu, karate, kendo, kickboxing, muy thai, sambo, savate, sumo, taekwondo and wrestling. The expenses for athletes to participate are covered by the event hosts, which makes this a very competitive event. Placing fourth at the men’s 84 kg division in No-Gi Grappling was Michael Kelly (Hebron, Ill./Old School Wrestling). Kelly placed second in his pool with a 2-1 record, beating Martin Lavin of Sweden and Shamil Magomedov of Russia, and losing to eventual champion Maciej Glabus of Poland. In his bronze-medal match, he was defeated by Luca Anacoreta of Italy. Taking fifth in No-Gi Grappling at 77 kg was Shane Cross (Denver, Colo./Team Edge). Cross went 1-2 in his pool, including a victory over Fabio Anacoreta of Italy. He won his fifth-place match over Matthieu Husson of France. Both Cross and Kelly have been past World silver medalists in No-Gi Grappling at the FILA World Championships. Finishing sixth in Gi Grappling at 71 kg was Jayson Patino (Orlando, Fla./American Top Team). Patino went 2-1 in his pool with wins over Artem Sydorov of Ukraine and Shamil Magomedov of Russia and a loss to Simone Franceshini of Italy. He was third in his pool based on tiebreakers, as three wrestlers in the pool had 2-1 records. Patino lost his fifth-place match to Aleksandar Milicevic of Serbia. Patino won a bronze medal in Gi Grappling at the 2013 FILA World Championships in London, Canada. FILA, the international wrestling federation, is hosting dual meets in all three Olympic wrestling styles during the World Combat Games. On Wednesday, a Russian team defeated a World All-Star team in Greco-Roman by a 6-1 margin. On Thursday, a Russian’s women’s wrestling team defeated a World All-Star team, again by a 6-1 score. On Friday, Russia will face a World All-Star team in men’s freestyle. Other styles of wrestling which were included in the Sport Accord World Combat Games and hosted by FILA are Pankration and Belt Wrestling. The 2010 World Combat Games were held in Beijing, China. In No-Gi Grappling, Tom LeCuyer of the United States won a bronze medal at Men’s 70 kg/154 lbs., while Tara LaRosa placed fourth at Women’s 60 kg/132 lbs. USA Wrestling also had women’s freestyle wrestlers in the event that year, with Amberle Montgomery winning a silver medal at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. and Michaela Hutchison placing fifth at 55 kg/121 lbs. Special thanks to Laura Edler-Hill for sending updates from St. Petersburg. SPORT ACCORD WORLD COMBAT GAMES At St. Petersburg, Russia, October 23-24 No-Gi Grappling medalists Men’s 66 kg Gold – Surkhay Asadulaev (Russia) Silver – Zaynutdin Zaynukov (Russia) Bronze – Piort Podstawczuk (Poland) Men’s 77 kg Gold – Oleg Bagov (Russia) Silver – Magomed Abdulkadirov (Russia) Bronze – Kamil Mitosek (Poland) Men’s 84 kg Gold – Maciej Glabus (Poland) Silver – Albert Duraev (Russia) Bronze – Luca Anacoreta (Italy) Women’s 58 kg Gold – Maria Shkvarunets (Russia) Silver – Viktoriia Syviavina (Ukraine) Bronze – Oceane Talvard (France) U.S. No-Gi Grappling performances Men’s 77kg - Shane Cross, Denver, Colo. (Team Edge), 5th LOSS Kamil Mitosek (Poland) LOSS Magomed Abdulkadirov (Russia), submission WIN Fabio Anacoreta (Italy) WIN Matthieu Husson (France) Men’s 84 kg - Michael Kelly, Hebron, Ill. (Old School Wrestling), 4th LOSS Maciej Glabus (Poland), submission WIN Martin Lavin (Sweden) WIN Shamil Magomedov (Russia) LOSS Luca Anacoreta (Italy), submission Gi Grappling medalists Men’s 71 kg Gold – Marat Gafurov (Russia) Silver – Simone Franceschini (Italy) Bronze – Maciej Polok (Poland) Men’s 92 kg Gold – Abdurakhman Bilarov (Russia) Silver – Bruno Tomasetti (Italy) Bronze – Hassan Betelgeriev (Russia) Women’s 62 kg Gold – Sophia Nordeno (Sweden) Silver – Karolina Zawodnik (Poland) Bronze – Yuliya Toryanska (Ukraine) U.S. Gi Grappling performances Men’s 71 kg – Jayson Patino, Orlando, Fla. (American Top Team), 6th WIN Artem Sydorov (Ukraine) LOSS Simone Franceshini (Italy) WIN Shamil Magomedov (Russia) LOSS Aleksandar Milicevic (Serbia) GRECO-ROMAN DUAL MEET RUSSIA 6, WORLD TEAM 1 55 kg – Bekkhan Mankiev (Russia) dec. Murad Bazarov (Azerbaijan), 6-2 60 kg –Edward Barsegjan (Poland) pin Ibragim Labazanov (Russia) 66 kg –Yury Denisov (Russia) dec. Aleksandr Maksimovic (Serbia), 2-0 74 kg – Alexander Chkhirkin (Russia) tech. fall Velery Palenski (Belarus), 7-0 84 kg – Alan Kugaev (Russia) dec. Elvin Mursaliyev (Azerbaijan), 2-0 96 kg – Rustam Totrov (Russia) tech. fall Arkadiy Blyumin (Ukraine), 9-0 120 kg – Sergey Andrusik (Russia) dec. Kyril Hruschenko (Belarus), 2-0 WOMEN’S FREESTYLE DUAL MEET RUSSIA 6, WORLD TEAM 1 48 kg – Valeriya Chepsakova (Russia) dec. Mariya Livach (Ukraine), 9-3 51 kg – Natalia Maysheva (Russia) tech. fall Anzhela Dorogan (Azerbaijan), 12-4 55 kg – Irina Ologonova (Russia) dec. Katarzyna Krawczyk (Poland), 2-0 59 kg – Anna Maksimova (Russia) dec. Tetyana Lavrinchuk (Ukraine), 5-4 63 kg – Irina Bogdanov (Russia) dec. Petra Olli (Finland), 4-2 67 kg – Halina Leuchanka (Belarus) dec. Anastasiia Shavlinskaya (Russia), 9-8 72 kg – Natalia Vorobieva (Russia) pin Epp Mae (Estonia)