For weeks beforehand, I had been hearing rumblings that Kelly Gneiting was organizing a sumo tournament to gather some of the best amateur sumo wrestlers from around America – and even the world – to take place sometime between the US Sumo Open and the World Sumo Championships. I got to say, it seems that Kelly really outdid himself!
The Fitcon2019 Sumo Cup occurred on April 12 & 13 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The event seemed to have went off without a hitch. Many of the top competitors from around America attended, and there was even some stellar competition from Mongolia and England that gave it their all – and some won gold! The audience was also quite impressive, as the event was held in conjunction with a larger health and well-being expo. Very smart of Kelly to pair up with Fitcon, and I really hope that this event continues well into the future.
I strongly recommend for everyone to read Kelly’s write up of the event by clicking here. He provides a better description of the event than I could hope to do, but I will provide some comments on the medalists and gifs of matches below.
I am very impressed with the quality of all divisions, especially the men’s lightweight. Everyone knows that a sumo event held in America will include the US Sumo Nationals goal medalist, Cornelius Booker, and he finished in a strong second place. I don’t know too much about the winner of the lightweight division, Baatar Munkbold, but I do know that the bronze medalist, Avirmed Tumenjargl, had previously finished third at the US Sumo Open. It speaks a lot about the quality of competition at the Fitcon2019 Sumo Cup, considering that Avirmed finished third at both events.
As for the heavyweight division, I do not know anything about Deep Kundi, but he beat some very impressive competition. This was probably his best performance ever by the silver medalist, Shawn Jackson, as he has obviously been putting in some great work over the past few months. In September, he didn’t place at the Georgia Sumo Open, but I am sure that he will be looking to change that this year! I also need to point out the stellar performance of Darius Campbell, who has also been appearing at most all sumo competitions.
I don’t know Rob McConkie, but it is very impressive that he won gold in the openweight. I am sure that we will see more of him with that talent. As always, it is also good to see Trent Sabo, Kelly Gneiting, and Americus Abesamis take medals home. They have been in the game for a long time, and they are showing that they still have what it takes.
There were many familiar names in the women’s divisions, too. Janna Van Witbeck won silver in the lightweight division. I think this again says a lot about the Fitcon2019 Sumo Cup, as Janna won gold at Nationals in 2018. Lots of talented competition was clearly represented in the women’s divisions. Speaking of, the very talented Natalie Burns won gold in the heavyweight division, which adds to her very impressive resume. Likewise, Cody Stout finished third in the heavyweight division. It wasn’t gold like she won at Nationals, but I am sure that she is very happy with her result.
The unfamiliar female sumo wrestlers were very impressive, too. I don’t know Stacie Clyde, and the women’s lightweight division is always difficult to medal in. . .but she beat a former Nationals gold medalist to grab gold herself! Likewise, RoxAnne Jenkins and Manhattan Fredrickson are new names to me, but they were able to grab lightweight bronze and heavyweight silver, respectively. I hope that we see more of them in future events, as women’s sumo is growing and always getting better.
Be sure to scroll down to see some gifs of the Fitcon2019 Sumo Cup action! I will include more gifs and pictures in next week’s post, so be sure to check out next week for a lot more gifs of the action. And I MUST thank Casey Burns and Cornelius Booker for providing so many pictures and videos that allowed me to make two posts about the Fitcon2019 Sumo Cup. Thank you so much! As always, please email me at NorthAmericanSumo@Gmail.com if you have any content that you would like to see on the website.
Medal Results
Men’s Lightweight
Gold – Baatar Munkhbold (Mongolia)
Silver – Cornelius Booker (USA, Florida)
Bronze – Avirmed Tumenjargl (Mongolia)
Men’s Heavyweight
Gold – Deep Kundi (England)
Silver – Shawn Jackson (USA, Pennsylvania)
Bronze – Darius Campbell (USA, Ohio)
Men’s Openweight
Gold – Rob McConkie (USA, Utah)
Silver – Baatar Munkbold (Mongolia)
Bronze – Trent Sabo (USA, Idaho)
Women’s Lightweight
Gold – Stacie Clyde (USA, Wyoming)
Silver – Janna Van Witbeck (USA, Idaho)
Bronze – RoxAnne Jenkins (USA, Wyoming)
Women’s Heavyweight
Gold – Natalie Burns (USA, Idaho)
Silver – Manhattan Fredrickson (USA, Utah)
Bronze – Cody Stout (USA, Louisiana)
Beginner’s Open
Gold – George Ferris (USA, Utah)
Silver – Darius Campbell (USA, Ohio)
Bronze – John Mouser (USA, West Virginia)
Men’s Masters Division
Gold – Kelly Gneiting (USA, New Mexico)
Silver – Shawn Jackson (USA, Pennsylvania)
Bronze – Americus Abesamis (USA, California)
Men’s Team Competition
Gold – George Ferris / Tyler Neitzel (USA, Utah & USA, Colorado)
Silver – Trent Sabo / Ronnie Galloway (USA, Idaho & USA, Colorado)
Bronze – Matt Anderson / Cornelius Booker (USA, Idaho & USA, Florida)
Fighting Spirit Award
Gold – Gabe Unick (USA, Michigan)
Silver – Tyler Neitzel (USA, Denver)
Bronze – Ronnie Galloway (USA, Utah)
Fitcon2019 Sumo Cup Gifs
Note: I believe that I was able to correctly identify the names of each competitor above, but please email me at NorthAmericanSumo@Gmail.com if I incorrectly labeled anyone.
North American Sumo 