Cuba claim excellent individual haul as America take men's team title at Pan American Wrestling Championships

Cuba were in superb form at the Pan American Wrestling Championships as they claimed five gold medals on the opening day ©United World Wrestling

Cuba enjoyed a successful opening day of the Pan American Wrestling Championships as they claimed five of the eight available gold medals in the Greco-Roman discipline in the Chilean capital Santiago.

But the Cuban side could not quite manage to seal the team title as they were pipped by the United States, who won three weight classes on their way to amassing a total of 68 points.

Cuba were 10 points behind in second, while Venezuela were third on 54 points.

But, although they may have been disappointed at missing out on team gold, the Cubans were the dominant individual nation on the day.

Maykel Anache Lamouth got his country off to the best possible start as he took the 57 kilogram title with a dramatic victory over American Spenser Mango.

Lamouth’s success was followed by another Cuban gold when Miguel Palacios stormed to a commanding win in the 66kg category, using his superior technical ability to outscore his opponents 28-0 during the competition.

In what proved to be another thrilling final, Julio Mendoza shrugged off a late scare to beat Mexico’s Juan Angel Escobar in the 75kg weight category.

The American side claimed the team title with a total of 68 points as they finished 10 ahead of Cuba ©United World Wrestling

There were also a few individual triumphs for the American athletes.

Pat Smith clinched the 71kg honours ,while Joseph Rau reigned supreme in the 80kg division, although both categories contained somewhat depleted fields as they will not be included in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro next year.

Robbie Smith also topped the podium for America before Cuba’s Gilberto Piquet Herrera proved too strong for Smith’s compatriot Gabriel Dean in the 85kg division.

Dean was competing in his first international Greco-Roman tournament and came up against a resilient Herrera, who cruised to a comfortable 4-0 victory to take gold.

Reinier Monteagudo Romero then wrapped up a fruitful day for Cuba by pinning Davi Albino of Brazil in the first period of the 98kg final to claim the title.

The competition is due to continue tomorrow with the women’s event and concludes on Sunday (April 26) with the men’s freestyle.