Geannis Garzón became the second Cuban medalist of the U-23 World Championship this Sunday. Strugglesbased in the city of Novi Sad, Serbiataking the bronze medal in the 79 kilogram division.
To secure a place on the podium, the island’s representative beat Russian Nikita Dmitrijevs Mayeuski 4-0, who competed as a neutral, according to a report from the sports portal Hit.
Geannis Garzón’s bronze in the U-23 World Cup #Fights
He beat the Russian Nikita Dmitrijevs Mayeuski 4-0 without major setbacks, who competed under the flag of the World Wrestling Union. #Cuba #CubanSporthttps://t.co/IqbhXpnhtR pic.twitter.com/mS2RTMVCuc— JIT Cuban Sport (@jit_digital) October 26, 2025
Garzón began the route to the awards the previous day with an 8-10 defeat against the Turkish Ibrahim Yaprak, but his advance to the fight for the title opened up the possibilities of not saying goodbye to the competition empty-handed.
The man from Santiago, runner-up at the Asunción 2025 Junior Pan American Games, made the most of the opportunity, winning all three matches from the repechage phase.
First he beat the local Andrija Ivanovic 9-2 and before the success that assured him his medal, he then defeated the Armenian Hayk Papikyan 3-2, who started as the number one “seed” in the division.
Finally, the Turkish Yaprak had to settle for the silver medal after losing in the final due to technical superiority (1-11) to the American Lee Haines.
Garzón’s performance joined that of the double queen in continental events of the Junior category, Yaynelis Sanz, who also won a bronze medal in the 57 kilogram division.
The classical style gladiator Yonat Véliz (67 kg), and the librarians Greili Bencosme (50 kg) and Orislandy Perdomo (70 kg) were left without medals in the Cuban army.
With the two medals won in Novi Sad, Cuba improved its harvest in these competitions to four titles, one silver medal and five bronze medals, the publication states.
