LUIS ORTA HONORED AS GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLER OF THE YEAR

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The Cuban Olympic champion moved up to the 67kg weight class this year and did not disappoint, winning several major international tournaments to earn this recognition from United World Wrestling.

An incredible season on the wrestling mat has earned Luis Orta of Cuba the honors of Greco-Roman Wrestler of the Year as announced by United World Wrestling.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion in the 60kg division, Orta made the jump to 67kg to start the 2023 season. After an initial loss at the Zagreb Open in the semifinal, Luis won his first gold medal at his new weight at the 2023 Pan American Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

He then faced his toughest rivals at the 2023 World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, earning narrow victories over foes such as Mate Names (SRB), Slavic Glatsyan (ARM) and Hasrat Jafarov (AZE), the latter being the opponent who had thwarted Orta on two occasions earlier in the season. His 4-3 victory over Jafarov in the final led him to the top the podium and earn a gold medal at the World Championships for the first time in his career.

His victory at the World Championships also secured his qualification to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games where he will seek to add another Olympic title, this time in his new weight class.

But his success didn’t stop there. He went on to secure another gold medal at the San Salvador 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games, earning him qualification to the Pan American Games in Chile.

He continued his dominance at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, winning his first continental Games title after previously winning the bronze medal at the Lima 2019 Pan Am Games in the 60kg division.

“It has been a very good year because we met the objectives that we set together with my group of coaches, such as achieving the gold medal in the World Championship and obtaining a ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” Orta told the website Cubasí.

His victories at the world’s most important wrestling events of the year combined with titles at smaller tournaments helped Luis Orta accrue an outstanding total of 86,400 points throughout the season, solidifying his position as the Greco-Roman Wrestler of the Year.

Panam Sports congratulates Luis Orta for all of his success in 2023 and for this outstanding honor given by United World Wrestling.