BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — The Cliff Keen Wrestling Club’s Adam Coon pinned his way to the 130kg/286-pound Greco-Roman gold medal at the 2019 Pan-American Championships on Thursday evening (April 18) at the CeNARD Sports Complex. It was Coon’s first competition since capturing a Greco world silver medal in October.
Coon went 3-0 on the day with three pins, capped by a first-period fall against Argentina’s Luciano Del Rio in the gold-medal match. Coon was trailing, 1-0, on a passivity call midway through the first period when he locked up his over-under bodylock, knocked Del Rio off balance to his knees then bulldozed him to his back to earn the fall at the 1:59 mark.
Coon also earned falls against Chile’s Diego Jesu Almendras Rodriguez and Cuba’s Angel Erne Pacheco Romero in the morning session. He scored on a takedown and a pair of gut wrenches in the former bout — his first of the tournament — and secured the fall off the latter at 1:03. Coon used his bodylock to break open his semifinal early in the second period, spinning the Cuban to his back, first for a four-point throw and then the fall at 3:51.
Over Coon’s last two international tournaments, he has posted an incredible 7-1 record with seven falls. The Pan-American title is the first of his career and represents his second international senior-level medal.
