Dominance was the name of the game for most of the gold medalists on Saturday at Norway’s flagship domestic tournament in Fredrikstad, as a who’s-who of the country’s star athletes put on exemplary performances that resulted in lopsided scores en-route to victory.
Six of the nine weight categories contested were won by high-profile Norwegian Seniors. At 72 kilograms, Haavard Joergensen racked up three VSU’s in three bouts to come away triumphant while Per-Anders Kure (82 kg) also finished all four of his opponents; ’22 U23 World Champion Exauce Mukubu, now up at 87 kg, surrendered some points but scored a lot in return, as he, too, prevailed in each match via technical fall. 97 kingpin Felix Baldauf, a European Championships gold in ’17, likewise ran the table and experienced little resistance in doing so. The same was true of ’21 World bronze Oskar Marvik (130 kg), who continued his reign atop the sport’s heaviest weight class by notching three consecutive tech’s.
Sebastian Aak earned the title in the tournament’s deepest bracket, 77 kg. After having committed most of his competitive endeavors to non-Olympic 72 in recent years, Aak saw glimpses of challenge on Saturday, most notably from Kasper Overby, but still managed to walk away the winner of a 5-1 decision. In the gold-medal final, Aak got past William Svalestad via VSU (8-0).
As of press time, Aak, Joergensen, Kure, Mukubu, Baldauf, and Marvik are expected to compete early next month at the Grand Prix Zagreb Open in Zagreb, CRO (February 3-5). ’20 European Championships gold medalist Morten Thoresen (67 kg), whose last appearance saw him grab 72 kg gold at the Haparanda Cup (SWE), is also scheduled for the trip.
Notes:
- Mukubu defeated his four opponents by a combined score of 46-8, for an average of 11.5 points per match.
- Baldauf was awarded with the “King’s Cup” after competition concluded, signifying the best male performance.
- Fredrikstad BK Atlas won the club title with 29 points. Sports Club 1909 finished second with 28, and Fearless Wrestling Club came in third with 15.
2023 Norwegian Championships
January 21 — Fredrikstad, NOR
PLACEWINNERS
55 kg
GOLD: Brage Saether (Lorenskog WC)
SILVER: Kaspar Pettersen (Fredrikstad BK Atlas)
BRONZE: Ramazan Yaman (Elvebyen BK)
63 kg
GOLD: Bers Idal Timirbiyev (Fredrikstad BK Atlas)
SILVER: Tobias Larsen (Fauske Athletic Club)
BRONZE: Thomas Letvik (Lorenskog WC)
67 kg
GOLD: Lors Timirbiyev (Fredrikstad BK Atlas)
SILVER: Noah Normann (Narvik Athletic Club)
BRONZE: Ismail Kamurzoev (Drammen Athletic Club)
72 kg
GOLD: Haavard Joergensen (Lambertseter WC)
SILVER: Remi Vedvik Linberg (Fredrikstad BK Atlas)
BRONZE: Lars Letvik (Lorenskog WC)
77 kg
GOLD: Sebastian Aak (Kolbotn IL)
SILVER: William Svalestad (Tonsberg Comrades)
BRONZE: Kasper Overby (Skedsmo WC)
82 kg
GOLD: Per-Anders Kure (NT)
SILVER: Ali Rahimi (Oslo WC)
BRONZE: Benjamin Hansen (Fauske Athletic Club)
87 kg
GOLD: Exauce Mukubu (Sports Club 1909)
SILVER: Nicolai Toftdahl (Fredrikstad BK Atlas)
BRONZE: Ruben Toftdahl (Sports Club 1909)
97 kg
GOLD: Felix Baldauf (Braat IL)
SILVER: Tom Ljosak (Sports Club 1909)
BRONZE: Leif Johnson (Lambertseter WC)
130 kg
GOLD: Oskar Marvik (Sports Club 1909)
SILVER: Joakim Rusvik (Sports Club 1909)
BRONZE: Phillip Andreassen (Fearless WC)
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