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Doug Zapf Places 5th at U23 World Championships

Published December 10th, 2023 by Kevin McGuigan

PRTC Senior Athlete Doug Zapf traveled to Tirana, Albania to compete in the U23 World Championships as a representative of Team USA at 70kg. Doug is the first PRTC athlete to compete for a world title at the U23 level.

In June, Doug won the U23 National Championship and was selected to represent Team USA at the prestigious event for U23 athletes from around the world. Doug wrestled well starting out strong while winning his first three matches. He would lose a close match in the semi-finals dropping him into the bronze medal match. Doug eventually placed 5th overall gaining value points for Team USA.

The US Men's Team won the tournament outscoring Turkey 148-113. Doug's contributions and experience proved to be valuable as he continues to grow in his senior athlete career. Here are his full results at 70kg:

70 kg – Doug Zapf (Downingtown, Pa., Pennsylvania RTC), Fifth place

WIN Benedikt Huber (Austria), tech. fall 12-1

WIN Ion Marcu (Moldova), dec. 7-0

WIN Orozobek Toktomambetov (Kyrgyzstan), dec. 3-3

LOSS Inalbek Sheriev (AIN), dec. 9-2

LOSS Kanan Heybatov (Azerbaijan), dec. 9-2

Doug is an original PRTC Developmental Athlete and his rise to competition will surely set the stage for future PRTC developmental athletes. Without the many supporters of the PRTC, these opportunities simply would not happen.

PRTC Senior Athlete David McFadden, made the trip to Albania as a delegate of Team USA and Doug's personal coach. The teammates continue to help each other on and off the mat. David and Doug both won gold medals at the Poland Open over the summer.

Click on the button below to view the full story from USA Wrestling about the U23 World Championships.

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