Yu Sakamoto in 117-pound class
TIRANA, Albania – Northern Michigan women’s wrestling sophomore Yu Sakamoto (Japan) won the gold medal and became a world champion in the 53kg weight class at the 2024 U23 World Championship in Albania on Friday, October 25th.
Matched up with Serena Di Benedetto of Canada in the gold medal final, Sakamoto came out with an aggressive approach from the start. Using her speed and a lot of motion to fake in and out of attacks, she picked up her first four points just 23 seconds in at 5:37 on a hip-toss to gain the early edge. Sakamoto collected two more points by stepping over a takedown attempt to lead 6-0 after the first round (3:00).
Looking to put the match away and claim the title of world champion, she came out with the same intensity in the second round. Sakamoto collected two points on a takedown at 2:44 and then wrapped up the match with the final points at 2:32 on a back exposure to take the win at technical fall, 11-0.
Sakamoto never wavered throughout the 3:28 of match time, keeping control of the mat and staying aggressive throughout. After an unsuccessful challenge from the opponent at the end, Sakamoto was able to celebrate her victory with a lap around the mat with the Japan flag draped over her.
Sakamoto earned her spot into the final match with a thrilling victory in Thursday’s semifinal, earning points in the final seconds to win by decision over Otgontuya Chinbold (Mongolia), 4-4.
In the quarterfinals, Sakamoto defeated Zeinep Baynova of Kazakhstan 10-0. She started off the tournament with a 10-0 victory over Ellen Inger Kristina Oestman of Sweden in the qualification round. Sakamoto went a perfect 4-0, outscoring her opponents 35-4, on her run to claiming the world championship title.
“Yu is the kind athlete that every coach dreams of working with and we are so fortunate that she’s part of our team,” said assistant coach Dominic Damon. “She’s an extremely hard worker and a very curious athlete; always learning, experimenting, and finding the little details that separate good wrestlers from great ones. But what I believe is her greatest strength is the joy that she finds in wrestling. I’ve never met an athlete that has more fun wrestling than Yu. No matter how hard the practice is or how tired she is, she always finds something to smile about. She treats wrestling like a game, and she plays the game better than anyone else in the world.”
