Yasmani Acosta

Yasmani Acosta Fernández (born July 16, 1988) is a naturalized Chilean of Cuban origins who competes in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 130 kg weight class.

Yasmani Acosta Fernández

Acosta at the 2017 World Wrestling Championships
Personal information
Nationality	Chilean Cuban
Born	July 16, 1988 Agramonte, Cuba
Height	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight	130 kg (290 lb)
Sport
Sport	Amateur wrestling
Event(s)	Greco-Roman
Medal record Men's Greco-Roman wrestling Representing  Chile World Championships 2017 Paris 130 kg Pan American Games 2019 Lima 130 kg South American Games 2018 Cochabamba 130 kg Pan American Championships 2017 Lauro de Freitas 130 kg 2018 Lima 130 kg Representing  Cuba Pan American Championships 2011 Rionegro 120 kg 2015 Santiago 130 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.

When he competed at the 2015 Pan American Championships in Santiago, Chile, he never returned to Cuba, stating that, since the three-time Olympic Gold medalist 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. As a result, he worked as a security guard for two years without training while trying to get permission. When he finally got consent, he started competing internationally again, training and living at the Chilean Olympic Center.

He quickly saw results in 2017, his first year officially competing for Chile, earning a silver medal at the Pan American Championships and a bronze medal in the World Championships. In 2018, he won a bronze at the Pan American Championships, a gold at the South American Championships, 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.[1][2][3]

Major results

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

References

1. Robinson, Circles (2017-08-30). "Yasmany Acosta, el luchador cubano que brilla en Chile". Havana Times en Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-03-31.
2. S.A.P, El Mercurio (2018-07-01). "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 2020-03-31.
3. 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 2020-03-31.

External links

• Yasmani Acosta at United World Wrestling