Justina Di Stasio of Burnaby, British Columbia and Samantha Stewart of London, Ontario each won bronze medals at the United World Wrestling Ranking Series event in Zagreb, Croatia this past weekend. Di Stasio won the bronze medal in the women’s 76 kilogram division on Saturday, and Stewart won the bronze medal in the women’s 53 kilogram division on Sunday in the 2023 Zagreb Open.
In the women’s 53 kilogram division, Stewart defeated Dominique Parrish of the United States 6-0 in qualification, Dilshoda Matnazarova of Uzbekistan 2-0 in the round of 16, Sushma Shokeen of India by fall in the quarterfinals, before losing to Akari Fujinami of Japan 10-0 in the semifinals. Stewart then beat fellow Canadian Karla Godinez Gonzalez of Coquitlam, British Columbia 6-1 in one of two bronze medal matches. Fujinami won the gold medal, Bolortuya Bat Ochir of Mongolia won the silver medal, and Ilulia Leorda of Macedonia won the bronze medal.
In the women’s 76 kilogram division, Di Stasio defeated Samar Amer Ibrahim Hamza of Egypt 4-2 in the round of 16, before losing to Aiperi Medet Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan 5-0 in the quarterfinals. Di Stasio then beat Kiran Kiran of India 6-0 in the repechage, before beating Juan Wang of China 6-3 in the bronze medal match. Yelena Makoyed of the United States won the gold medal, Kyzy won the silver medal, and Dymond Guilford of the United States won the bronze medal. The medals for Di Stasio and Stewart will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
