Day three was filled with excitement. We saw some wrestlers make history, some claim great upsets, and some put on an overwhelming display of passion for the sport. Here are the incredible top five moments from day three.

5. Forced Par Terre? No Problem

Par Terre is what is winning championships in Greco this week at the World Championships. This is good news for Zhan Belenyuk (UKR) because his par terre defense is second to none. Throughout the tournament Belenyuk was able to defend when he was put down in forced par terre. The incredible stat here is that Belenyuk only gave up five points in six matches. He wasn’t a scoring machine himself, but the saying goes, "Defense wins championships.”'
 

 

4. Tosaka Steals Her Title Back From the Jaws of Defeat

Eri Tosaka won world titles in 2013 and 2014 and she was a heavy favorite to win again this year in Las Vegas. Mariya Stadnyk didn’t care about the odds as she tried to regain her championship form from 2009. It looked like Stadnyk was going to break a string of silver and bronze performances as she held a 2-0 lead late in the match, but Tosaka converted on a leg attack and stole the match from the Azeri, 2-2 criteria. Japan has no shortage of stars, so Tosaka has a ways to go before she can stand out from the crowd. However, her three consecutive titles are a nice start though.

 

3. Back to Golden Form

Natalia Vorobieva won three junior world titles before bursting onto the senior stage at the London Olympics. The 21-year-old took home the gold medal from her first Games, but the sailing hasn’t been quite as smooth since then. Afterwards she took home silver and bronze at the past World Championships. This year, competing in the deepest field in the women’s division, she dominated the stiff competition to take home the title. In the semifinals, she pinned reigning champion, Aline Focken of Germany, then with an almost identical maneuver in the final, she pinned former junior world champion Feng Zhou of China.

 

2. Yoshida’s Historic Run Almost Comes to an End…Almost

It was almost an upset of epic proportion. Sofia Mattsson was so close. Ultimately, Yoshida’s pressure led to two step-out points that made the difference in the 2-1 decision. Yoshida, who is now a 13-time world champ, is already the most-credentialed athlete in freestyle wrestling. Next year she will look to become an unprecedented four-time Olympic champion in Rio.

 

1. Nigerian Dance Party

Odunayo Folasade Adekuoroye won the third world medal ever for Nigeria in women’s freestyle wrestling. Ifeoma Iheanacho won bronze medals in 2009 and 2010 and now Adekuoroye added to that yesterday. She wasn’t just dominant on the mat, she was incredibly fun to watch and competed with great passion. She instantly drew attention as she made her way to the mat for her opening bout dancing, bouncing, singing, and chanting as part of her pre-match routine. She has fun competing and everyone can see it.

 

As my eyes followed her to the mat, I realized she drew Natalia Malysheva (RUS) in the first round. I expected her day to be a short one, however, she had other plans. Late in the match, a double leg propelled her to victory over the Russian. She then followed that match up with a dominating technical fall over Lilya Horishna (UKR), 14-3. Her quest for gold ended when Sofia Mattsson (SWE) pinned her in the quarterfinals. The Nigerian scored the opening takedown in that bout with the former world champion and multiple time finalist, but it wouldn’t be enough.

 

Mattsson made the finals and pulled Adekuoroye into the repechage where she made the most of her chance. In the bronze medal match she double legged Zhong of China and pinned her in just 23 seconds. Her aggressive style of wrestling is amazing to watch, and she knows how to celebrate. We need more people like her in our sport.