By Richard Immel
USA Wrestling
TIRANA, Albania – The U.S. picked up a pair of U23 World champions and added a bronze medal in women’s freestyle on Thursday evening at Tirana’s Feti Borova Sports Hall, matching its medal total from last year’s event with three more medal opportunities on the board tomorrow.

Senior National Team members Sage Mortimer and Yelena Makoyed punctuated gold medal runs with outstanding performances in tonight’s medal round. Mortimer got the ball rolling with a 7-5 decision against Individual Neutral Athlete Natalia Pudova at 50 kg. Makoyed put a stopper in the finals with a two minute and thirty second pin on China’s Shuiyan Cheng at 76 kg.

Mortimer took command of her finals match early, forcing Pudova into a fleeing call within the first 10 seconds and adding a takedown 10 seconds later. She pulled a set of exposure points from a spladle, something rarely seen in freestyle, and took a six-point lead to the break. She put it on cruise control in the second period to finish the job.

Makoyed made it look too easy against Cheng. She got to her takedowns at will, added a couple turns to the mix, and finished things off with a pin from a bundle position on top.

The duo were among the most dominant athletes we have seen this week in Tirana. Mortimer won her first two bouts by technical fall and pinned three-time age-group World champion Umi Ito of Japan in the semifinals. Makoyed went 11-0 technical fall, followed by three pins, to complete her run.

Neither Mortimer nor Makoyed had previously earned a World medal. It was Mortimer’s second opportunity at an age-group World Championships—she finished outside of the top 10 at the 2019 U17 Worlds. This was Makoyed’s first appearance at a World event.

Amani Jones added a second age-group World medal to her resume after defeating Bhavika Patel of India, 5-2, in the 55 kg bronze medal match. Jones scored on a slick inside trip in the first period and countered a Patel lateral drop in the second frame to secure the win. Jones was a U20 World bronze medalist a year ago.

Utah product Brooklyn Hays performed well as she navigated to a fifth-place finish at 68 kg. Hays fell in a tight 6-4 bout to current U23 European champion and is a two-time age-group World medalist Alina Shauchuk, an Individual Neutral Athlete, in the bronze medal match. She finished with a 3-2 record in her first World Championships appearance with her only losses coming to returning U23 World finalists.

To open the evening session of wrestling, the U.S. put two women into the gold medal finals — Macey Kilty at 62 kg and Kylie Welker at 72 kg. Sofia Macaluso also qualified for a bronze medal match at 55 kg. The U.S. women are guaranteed five medals, with a chance at six, which tops the previous record of four set in 2022.

The U23 World Championships resumes at 10:30 a.m. local time tomorrow with the women’s freestyle group two (53-57-62-65-72 kg) repechage and the men’s freestyle group one (61-74-86-92-125 kg) qualification rounds. For those following along live, Tirana, Albania, is located six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time.

Updated brackets and match-by-match results are available on UWW Arena. A live broadcast of the event is available for the U.S. market at FloWrestling.com.

Revisit the details of each match from today in our day four match notes article.

2024 U23 World Championships | At Tirana, Albania, October 24

Women’s Freestyle Results

Final Results (Group One)

50 kg

Gold – Sage Mortimer (United States)

Silver – Natalia Pudova (Individual Neutral Athlete)

Bronze – Umi Ito (Japan)

Bronze – Nataliia Klivchutska (Ukraine)

5th – Laura Ganikyzy (Kazakhstan)

5th – Natallia Varakina (Individual Neutral Athlete)

7th – Linjie Deng (China)

8th – Munkhgerel Munkhbat (Mongolia)

9th – Zehra Demirhan (Turkey)

10th – Komal Komal (India)

Gold – Sage Mortimer (United States) dec. Natalia Pudova (Individual Neutral Athlete), 7-5

Bronze – Umi Ito (Japan) tech. fall Laura Ganikyzy (Kazakhstan), 11-0

Bronze – Nataliia Klivchutska (Ukraine) dec. Natallia Varakina (Individual Neutral Athlete), 9-1

55 kg

Gold – Emma Malmgren (Sweden)

Silver – Zeltzin Hernandez Guerra (Mexico)

Bronze – Oleksandra Khomenets (Ukraine)

Bronze – Amani Jones (United States)

5th – Ekaterina Karpushkina (Individual Neutral Athlete)

5th – Bhavika Patel (India)

7th – Roza Szenttamasi (Hungary)

8th – Otgontuya Bayanmunkh (Mongolia)

9th – Aliaksandra Bulava (Individual Neutral Athlete)

10th – Aruuke Kadyrbek Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan)

Gold – Emma Malmgren (Sweden) tech. fall Zeltzin Hernandez Guerra (Mexico), 10-0

Bronze – Oleksandra Khomenets (Ukraine) dec. Ekaterina Karpushkina (Individual Neutral Athlete), 5-0

Bronze – Amani Jones (United States) dec. Bhavika Patel (India), 5-2

59 kg

Gold – Solomiia Vynnyk (Ukraine)

Silver – Anjli Anjli (India)

Bronze – Himeka Tokuhara (Japan)

Bronze – Hong Liang (China)

5th – Anastasiia Sidelnikova (Individual Neutral Athlete)

5th – Aurora Russo (Italy)

7th – Othelie Hoeie (Norway)

8th – Sezim Zhumanazarova (Kyrgyzstan)

9th – Alesia Hetmanava (Individual Neutral Athlete)

10th – Zineb Hassoune (Morocco)

Gold – Solomiia Vynnyk (Ukraine) dec. Anjli Anjli (India), 7-4

Bronze – Himeka Tokuhara (Japan) dec. Anastasiia Sidelnikova (Individual Neutral Athlete), 6-1

Bronze – Hong Liang (China) fall Aurora Russo (Italy), 4:29

68 kg

Gold – Ami Ishii (Japan)

Silver – Nesrin Bas (Turkey)

Bronze – Monika Monika (India)

Bronze – Alina Shauchuk (Individual Neutral Athlete)

5th – Xinze Du (China)

5th – Brooklyn Hays (United States)

7th – Sophia Schaefle (Germany)

8th – Zsuzsanna Molnar (Slovakia)

9th – Enkhjin Tuvshinjargal (Mongolia)

10th – Maria Pantiru (Romania)

Gold – Ami Ishii (Japan) dec. Nesrin Bas (Turkey), 8-1

Bronze – Monika Monika (India) dec. Xinze Du (China), 5-3

Bronze – Alina Shauchuk (Individual Neutral Athlete) dec. Brooklyn Hays (United States), 6-4

76 kg

Gold – Yelena Makoyed (United States)

Silver – Shuiyan Cheng (China)

Bronze – Nodoka Yamamoto (Japan)

Bronze – Valeriia Trifonova (Individual Neutral Athlete)

5th – Alina Yertostik (Kazakhstan)

5th – Zsofia Virag (Hungary)

7th – Priya Priya (India)

8th – Mariia Orlevych (Ukraine)

9th – Brianna Fraser (Canada)

10th – Sandra Guerrero (Puerto Rico)

Gold – Yelena Makoyed (United States) fall Shuiyan Cheng (China), 2:30

Bronze – Nodoka Yamamoto (Japan) tech. fall Alina Yertostik (Kazakhstan), 11-0

Bronze – Valeriia Trifonova (Individual Neutral Athlete) fall Zsofia Virag (Hungary), 0:32

U.S. Women’s Freestyle Results (Group One)

50 kg – Sage Mortimer (Springville, Utah/Titan Mercury WC), gold medal

WIN Khrystyna Basych (Slovakia), tech. fall, 11-0

WIN Laura Ganikyzy (Kazakhstan), tech. fall, 14-4

WIN Umi Ito (Japan), fall, 2:27

WIN Natalia Pudova (Individual Neutral Athlete), 7-5

55 kg – Amani Jones (Jonesboro, Ga./Cardinal WC), bronze medal

WIN Antonia Valdes Arriagada (Chile), fall, 5:00

WIN Ying Lu (China), fall, 4:49

WIN Roza Szenttamasi (Hungary), 9-3

LOSS Zeltzin Hernandez Guerra (Mexico), fall, 3:34

WIN Bhavika Patel (India), 5-2

59 kg – Skye Realin (Mililani, Hawaii/Iowa Women’s WC), 15th place

LOSS Alesia Hetmanava (Individual Neutral Athlete), tech. fall, 10-0

68 kg – Brooklyn Hays (Lindon, Utah), 5th place

WIN Aleah Nickel (Canada), 10-2

WIN Beibit Seidualy (Kazakhstan), 6-4

LOSS Nesrin Bas (Turkey), 10-4

WIN Luciana Beda (Moldova), 7-0

LOSS Alina Shauchuk (Individual Neutral Athlete), 6-4

76 kg – Yelena Makoyed (Orangevale, Calif./Cardinal WC/Titan Mercury WC), gold medal

WIN Alina Yertostik (Kazakhstan), tech. fall, 11-0

WIN Mariia Orlevych (Ukraine), fall, 1:59

WIN Nodoka Yamamoto (Japan), fall, 5:46

WIN Shuiyan Cheng (China), fall, 2:30