Cuba's Yurieski Torreblanca celebrates after defeating US' Mark Hall II in the wrestling men's freestyle 86kg gold medal bout during the Pan American Games Santiago 2023 © Getty Images

Cuba secured its first gold medals in wrestling, two in the men's category and one in the women's, at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago. Yurieski Torreblanca in the 86-kilogram category, Alejandro Valdés in the 65-kilogram category, and Yusneylis Guzmán in the 50-kilogram category were the three Cuban gold medalists in the competition held at the Olympic Training Center in the Chilean capital.

Torreblanca and Valdés defended their medals from the 2019 Lima edition by respectively defeating American wrestler Mark Hall II with a score of 3-1 and Nahshon Garrett with a score of 9-0. Guzmán, on the other hand, redeemed her silver from Lima 2019 by dominating the 50-kilogram category and defeating Ecuadorian wrestler Jacqueline Mollocana with a score of 5-2.ç

US' Forrest Molinari celebrates after defeating Venezuela's Soleymi Caraballo in the wrestling women's freestyle 68kg gold medal bout during the Pan American Games Santiago 2023 © Getty Images
US' Forrest Molinari celebrates after defeating Venezuela's Soleymi Caraballo in the wrestling women's freestyle 68kg gold medal bout during the Pan American Games Santiago 2023 © Getty Images

Additionally, American wrestler Forrest Molinari, bronze medalist at the 2021 World Championships, claimed gold in the 68-kilogram category by edging out Venezuelan wrestler Soleymi Caraballo with a score of 3-2. Brazilian wrestler Giullia Rodrigues also secured the gold by narrowly defeating Canadian wrestler Hannah Taylor with a score of 7-6 in the 57-kilogram category