SGT Dremiel Byers (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) won a gold medal at 120 kg /264.5 lbs. in Greco-Roman wrestling at the CISM World Military Wrestling Championships in Vilnius, Lithuania, August 19-21.
This World Championship event features the best amateur athletes who are currently serving in their nation’s military.
Byers,a 2002 World Champion, is the No. 1 ranked athlete in the United States in his weight division, and will also be competing this fall at the World Championships of Wrestling in Budapest, Hungary, Sept. 26-Oct. 2.
Byers defeated 2004 Olympian Marek Mikulski of Poland in the gold-medal finals.
The other U.S. athlete to win a medal was SGT Glen Garrison (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army), who won a bronze medal at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. in Greco-Roman wrestling.
CPL Jacob Clark (Okinawa, Japan/U.S. Marines) placed fifth in the Greco-Roman competition at 84 kg/185 lbs. The U.S. team placed eighth in the team standings in the Greco-Roman tournament.
The U.S. team did not earn a medal in the freestyle division. However, three of the wrestlers placed fifth in their divisions in freestyle: Cpt Eric Albarracin (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) at 55 kg/121 lbs., SPC James Henderson (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) at 74 kg/163 lbs. and Cpt Josh Feldman (San Diego, Calif./U.S. Navy) at 120 kg /264.5 lbs.
The U.S. team was determined during the 2005 Armed Forces Championships, which was held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. in March. The U.S. team was coached by U.S. Army coach Shon Lewis and U.S. Marine Corps coach Dan Hicks.
A total of 22 nations participated in the championships, which featured the two styles of international wrestling, freestyle and Greco-Roman. Many of the participants are international wrestling stars who have competed at past Olympic Games and World Championships.
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