Israeli wrestler wins Euro bronze
Mitch Finesilver showcased his elite wrestling skills with a high-energy performance by securing a bronze medal at the European championships on Wednesday in Warsaw, Poland.
Finesilver, who is currently Israel’s most decorated wrestler competing in the international freestyle arena, told The Jerusalem Post that “I am very thankful for the people who have supported me and work with me every day. That includes my club the New York City Regional Training Center, along with my coaches there – Kendall Cross and Valantin Kalika. Without them I wouldn’t have won the bronze medal. They help me progress a little bit every day. I am also thankful for the support of the Israeli wrestling federation and all the people involved with that. For me this is a small step in a bigger goal.”
Finesilver won the bronze in the highly competitive under74 kg weight class. The competition was not considered an Olympic qualification event.
Jason Bryant, who is a Hall of Fame Sportswriter in the US covering wrestling and a broadcaster for the National Collegiate Athletic Association and Olympic wrestling, told the Post that “representing Israel, he must have the same type of self-starting mentality like he did in college. Neither is a wrestling powerhouse and whenever a wrestler from either Duke [University] or Israel does well, it gets noticed.
“Mitch has a killer instinct that served him well at Duke, which unlike most Division I wrestling programs, doesn’t offer athletic scholarships for wrestling. So he had to work that much harder. In working with the New York City RTC, he’s got a group of experienced coaches who are pushing him.”
The NYCRTC tweeted: “Good day for Italy! Good day for Israel! Great day for NYCRTC!
@ChamizoFrank @mitchieboy_fine #Euros #warsaw2021.”
Finesilver attended Duke University in Durham, North Carolina where he earned All-American status at the 2019 National Collegiate Athletic Association Wrestling Championships by placing fourth.
After Finesilver won a bronze medal at France’s Henri Deglane wrestling competition in January, he told the Post: “I have a lot of pride being able to represent Israel on the world’s stage,” he said. “It’s amazing to be able to represent my culture and heritage.”