Yasmani Acosta

Yasmani Acosta Fernández (born 16 July 1988) is a Cuban-born naturalized Chilean Greco-Roman wrestler who currently competes at 130 kilograms.[1] Acosta qualified Chile for the 2020 Summer Olympics by winning the gold medal from the 2020 Pan American Olympic Qualification Tournament.[2] Competing for Chile since 2017, he has claimed the 2018 South American Games gold medal, prestigious bronze medals from the 2017 World Championships and the 2019 Pan American Games and has also become a two–time Pan American Continental Championship medalist, earning silver in 2017 and bronze in 2018.[3][4][5][6] Competing for his native Cuba, Acosta most notoriously became the 2011 Pan American champion.[7]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Acosta and the second or maternal family name is Fernández.

Yasmani Acosta
Acosta at the 2017 World Wrestling Championships
Personal information
Full nameYasmani Acosta Fernández
NationalityChilean
Cuban
Born (1988-07-16) 16 July 1988
Agramonte, Cuba
Height6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight130 kg (290 lb)
Sport
SportAmateur wrestling
Event(s)
Medal record
Men's Greco-Roman wrestling
Representing  Chile
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place2017 Paris130 kg
Bolivarian Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Valledupar 130 kg
Pan American Games
Bronze medal – third place2019 Lima130 kg
South American Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Cochabamba 130 kg
Gold medal – first place 2022 Asunción 130 kg
Pan American Championships
Silver medal – second place2017 Lauro de Freitas130 kg
Bronze medal – third place2018 Lima130 kg
Bronze medal – third place2022 Acapulco130 kg
Representing  Cuba
Pan American Championships
Bronze medal – third place2015 Santiago130 kg
Gold medal – first place2011 Rionegro120 kg

Career

Acosta started wrestling in Cuba when he was 10 years old. While representing Cuba, he won multiple medals in South American competitions such as the Pan American Championships and the Cerro Pelado International.[7] After competing at the 2015 Pan American Championships in Santiago, Chile, Acosta never returned to Cuba, stating that, since three–time Olympic Champion Mijaín López was always the wrestler who represented Cuba at the biggest tournaments in his weight class, he would have way more opportunities if he represented Chile. However, Acosta was not able to represent Chile, as he did not have Cuba's permission.[8] As a result, Acosta worked as a security guard for two years without training of any kind while trying to get permission. When he got consent in 2017, he started competing internationally again, residing in the Chilean Olympic Center.[9]

He quickly saw results during his first year officially competing for Chile, earning a silver medal from the Pan American Championships and a bronze medal from the World Championships.[9] In 2018, Acosta was granted Chilean citizenship.[8] During the year, he went on to win a bronze medal at the Pan American Championships, a gold medal at the South American Games, and placed eighth at the World Championships. In 2019 he earned a bronze at the Pan American Championships and competed at multiple Grand Prix around Europe. In 2020, he won the Pan American Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament and earned a spot at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[10] He competed in the men's 130 kg event.[11]

He won one of the bronze medals in his event at the 2022 Pan American Wrestling Championships held in Acapulco, Mexico.[12] He won the gold medal in his event at the 2022 Bolivarian Games held in Valledupar, Colombia.[13] He competed in the 130 kg event at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia.[14] He won the gold medal in his event at the 2022 South American Games held in Asunción, Paraguay.[15]

Achievements
Year Tournament Location Result Event
2010 Wrestling World Cup Armenia Yerevan, Armenia 5th Greco-Roman 120 kg
2011 Wrestling World Cup Belarus Minsk, Bielorussia 8th Greco-Roman 120 kg
2011 Pan American Wrestling Championships Colombia Rionegro, Colombia 1st Greco-Roman 120 kg
2015 Pan American Wrestling Championships Chile Santiago, Chile 3rd Greco-Roman 130 kg
2017 Pan American Wrestling Championships Brazil Lauro de Freitas, Brazil 2nd Greco-Roman 130 kg
2017 World Wrestling Championships France Paris, France 3rd Greco-Roman 130 kg
2018 Pan American Wrestling Championships Peru Lima, Perú 3rd Greco-Roman 130 kg
2018 South American Games Bolivia Cochabamba, Bolivia 1st Greco-Roman 130 kg
2018 World Wrestling Championships Hungary Budapest, Hungary 8th Greco-Roman 130 kg
2019 Pan American Games Peru Lima, Perú 3rd Greco-Roman 130 kg
2019 World Wrestling Championships Kazakhstan Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan 12th Greco-Roman 130 kg
2020 Pan American Wrestling Championships Canada Ottawa, Canada 8th Greco-Roman 130 kg
2020 Pan American Wrestling Olympic Qualification Canada Ottawa, Canada 1st Greco-Roman 130 kg
2020 Individual World Cup Serbia Belgrade, Serbia 7th Greco-Roman 130 kg
2021 Henri Deglane Challenge France Nice, France 1st Greco-Roman 130 kg
2021 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series Italy Rome, Italy 5th Greco-Roman 130 kg
2022 Pan American Wrestling Championships Mexico Acapulco, Mexico 3rd Greco-Roman 130 kg
2022 Bolivarian Games Colombia Valledupar, Colombia 1st Greco-Roman 130 kg
2022 South American Games Paraguay Asunción, Paraguay 1st Greco-Roman 130 kg

References
  1. Comunicaciones, Compañia Chilena de. "Yasmani Acosta: No me veo como un desertor, salí de Cuba para cumplir un sueño". alairelibre.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  2. Hermosilla, Diego (14 March 2020). "Yasmani Acosta, campeón y clasificado a los Juegos Olímpicos". La Tercera. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  3. Comunicaciones, Compañia Chilena de. "Yasmani Acosta ganó un nuevo oro para Chile en los Juegos Sudamericanos de Cochabamba". alairelibre.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  4. "Yasmani Acosta ganó medalla de bronce en la Lucha Olímpica de Lima 2019 – El Deportero". eldeportero.cl. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  5. Comunicaciones, Compañia Chilena de. "Yasmani Acosta clasificó a los Juegos Panamericanos". alairelibre.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  6. Tercera, La (6 May 2017). "Yasmani Acosta logra plata en Panamericano de Lucha". La Tercera. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  7. Senado. "Nacionalidad por gracia para el luchador cubano Yasmani Acosta será visto en Sala - Senado - República de Chile". Senado (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  8. S.A.P, El Mercurio (1 July 2018). "Yasmani Acosta se confiesa: Cuando competía por Cuba decía "ojalá me toque con un chileno, le gano con un dedo" | Emol.com". Emol (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  9. Robinson, Circles (30 August 2017). "Yasmany Acosta, el luchador cubano que brilla en Chile". Havana Times en Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  10. Comunicaciones, Compañia Chilena de. "Yasmani Acosta se quedó con la medalla de oro en el Preolímpico que le dio los pasajes a Tokio". alairelibre.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  11. "Wrestling Results Book" (PDF). 2020 Summer Olympics. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  12. Berkeley, Geoff (5 May 2022). "US claim four golds on first day of Pan American Wrestling Championships". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  13. "2022 Bolivarian Games Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  14. "2022 World Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  15. "2022 South American Games Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
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