One more international medal for Hunter Lee, please – make it a bronze.
Hunter earned a bronze medal at this year’s United World Wrestling (UWW) Junior World Championships in Estonia, ending his tournament August 14 after fighting his way through the repechage round in the 86-kilogram division.
Hunter won his first match against Mher Markosyan of Armenia 5-2, advancing to the quarterfinals. There, Hunter would face India’s Deepak Punia. Punia ended up winning 5-1, ending Hunter’s golden hopes and sending him into the repechage round.
In the repechage, Lee was sent up against Milan Korcsog from Hungary, a wrestler who defeated Hunter’s younger brother Carson at last year’s UWW Cadet World Championship in Croatia. Hunter avenged his brother’s loss, beating Korcsog 2-0 and setting up a chance at a medal.
To earn a bronze, Hunter would need to defeat Georgian wrestler Miriani Maisuradze. In the tournament semifinal, Punia, the same athlete who beat Hunter a round earlier, defeated Maisuradze, earning the Indian a spot in the gold medal final and sending Maisuradze and Hunter on a collision course.
Hunter came out on top with a 4-2 win, earning a spot on the podium. Punia ended the tournament with the gold, defeating a Russian wrestler in the final.
Last summer, Hunter earned a silver medal at the UWW Pan-American Championship in Brazil and reached the quarterfinals at the World Championships. In the past, Hunter has won a gold medal at the 2017 Canada Summer Games, gold at junior Canadian nationals in 2017, a bronze medal at Cadet Pan-Ams in 2016 and podium finishes at the 2018 Canada Cup and the 2018 Grand Prix of Spain.
Carson Lee also participated in the World Championships in the 79-kilogram division. Sadly, Carson’s luck ran out in the qualification round, losing 11-0 to Ukrainian wrestler Valentyn Babii. Lee would finish in 24th place.
