STEINER, SLAY AND BLACK WIN GOLD MEDALS AT FIVE CONTINENTS CUP IN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, DEC. 4-6Three U.S. freestyle wrestlers won gold medals, leading the United States to a second place team finish at the Five Continents Cup in Sydney, Australia, Dec. 4-6.
The U.S. individual champions were Troy Steiner (Madison, Wis./Team Excel) at 138.75 pounds, Brandon Slay (Colorado Springs, Colo./Dave Schultz WC) at 167.5 pounds, and Dominic Black (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) at 213.75 pounds.
Japan won the team title with 59 points, followed by the United States with 48 points. Host Australia was third with 41 points. A total of 11 nations entered the competition, which was a test event for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
Steiner pinned Leonard Cakmashi of Albania in the gold medal finals.
Slay also pinned his finals opponent, Marcin Jurecki of Poland.
Black scored a 10-0 technical fall over Gordon Bergey of Australia to claim the title.
Winning silver medals for the USA were Burke Tyree (Colorado Springs, Colo./Team Excel) at 127.75 pounds and Ramico Blackmon (Colorado Springs, Colo./Team Excel) at 152 pounds.
Tyree was defeated in the finals by Moichi Tamura of Japan, 6-5. Blackmon was stopped in the gold medal match by Chamil Efendiev of Australia, 7-4.
Terry Steiner (Madison, Wis./Team Excel) won a bronze medal at 152 pounds.
The U.S. athletes were coached by USA Wrestling Freestyle Resident Coach Kevin Jackson (Colorado Springs, Colo.). Jackson was a 1992 Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Champion.
FIVE CONTINENTS CUP at Syndey, Australia, Dec. 4-6 Medalists
119 - Gold - Moichi Tamura (Japan); Silver - Burke Tyree (USA); Bronze - Graham Cash (Australia)
127.75 - Gold - Hiroki Sekikawa (Japan); Silver - Brett Cash (Australia); Bronze - Masoud Sedghpour (Australia)
138.75 - Gold - Troy Steiner (USA); Silver - Leonard Cakmashi (Albania); Bronze - Przemyslaw Groblewaski (Queensland)
152 - Gold - Chamil Efendeev (Australia); Silver - Ramico Blackmon (USA); Bronze - Terry Steiner (USA)
167.5 - Gold - Brandon Slay (USA); Silver - Marcin Jurecki (Poland); Bronze - Takuya Ota (Japan)
187.25 - Gold - Michal Stanislawski (Poland); Silver - Igor Praporshchikov (Australia); Bronze - Gabriel Szerda (Australia)
213.75 - Gold - Dominic Black (USA); Silver - Gordon Bergey (Australia); Bronze - Katsuya Doi (Japan)
286 - Gold - Marek Garmulewicz (Poland); Silver - Seitara Yoshida (Japan); Bronze - Tomasz Szewcsyk (Poland)
Team Standings - A Teams - 1. Japan, 59 pts.; 2. United States, 48 pts.; 3. Australia, 41 pts.; 4. Poland, 40 pts.; 5. New Zealand, 29 pts.; 6. Albania, 27 pts.; 7. Samoa, 18 pts.; 8. Solomon Islands, 12 pts.; 9. Guam, 7 pts.; 10. Republic of Pelau, 7 pts.; 11. Lithuania, 6 pts.
U.S. performances
119 -Burke Tyree, Colorado Springs, Colo., Team Excel, 2nd
138.75 - Troy Steiner, Madison, Wis., Team Excel, 1st
152 - Terry Steiner, Madison, Wis., Team Excel, 3rd
152 - Ramico Blackmon, Colorado Springs, Colo., Team Excel, 2nd
167.5 - Brandon Slay, Colorado Springs, Colo., Dave Schultz WC, 1st
213.75 - Dominic Black, Colorado Springs, Colo., U.S. Army, 1st