Recap, Day 4 2019 World Championships: Mensah-Stock Rocks, Team USA Takes 3rd

by Derek Levendusky, AWW Staff Writer

Day 4: MENSAH-STOCK GETS THE GOLD
Mensah-Stock was overcome with emotion as she walked off the big stage with a world title. She wept openly as she embraced her coaches and walked out of the arena. So much work, such a big moment.

Sweden’s Jenny Fransson was a formidable opponent. The 2016 Olympic bronze medalist is known for scoring big with her powerful headlocks, but Mensah-Stock set the tempo early just as she did in every other match, scoring a takedown in the first minute on a leg attack. Then she scored again with a minute left in the first, followed by another with 30 seconds left. Mensah-Stock went to the break ahead 6-0. Fransson knew she had to go big, and early in the second, hit Mensah-Stock with the 2-point variety headlock, running Tamyra over, causing her legs and ankles to wither awkwardly beneath her. Mensah-Stock came up gimpy and took some moments of injury time. Eventually, she found her mettle and finished the match with a more conservative approach, holding solid position and scoring one more takedown using some slick Houdini-like defense with what looked like a sure 2 after Fransson hit a front headlock shuck. When it was all over, Mensah-Stock won 8-2 and was now the 2019 World Champion. She did it! That gives Team USA the hat trick of world champions with Winchester (55 kg), Gray (76 kg) and Mensah-Stock (68 kg).

TEAM RACE
Going into Mensah-Stock’s finals, there was a lot at stake in the team race. If she could pull it off, Team USA would catapult from 5th place into 3rd and leave Kazakhstan with a team trophy. As many hard moments as this tournament had for the American women, Tamyra did the heroic and Team USA walks out with three gold medals and a team bronze.

This is the first time Team USA has three female world champions in the same year. That’s an amazing feat and also indicative of how close we are to winning the world title in the team race. Team USA women didn’t have any other medals than gold. While frustrating, it’s also an encouraging thought looking forward—it’s not going to take much more to put ourselves in a position to win it all.

Women's Final Team Standings:
1. Japan, 137
2. Russia, 108
3. USA, 105
4. China, 102
5. Ukraine, 92

Team points by individual:
50kg Conder DNP (0 pts)
53kg Hildebrandt 9th (4 pts)
55kg Winchester 1st (25 pts)
57kg Burkert DNP (0 pts)
59kg Ragan DNP (0 pts)
62kg Miracle 8th (6 pts)
65kg Molinari 5th (10 pts)
68kg Stock 1st (25 pts)
72kg Francis 5th (10 pts)
76kg Gray 1st (25 pts)

Olympic weights qualified: 68 kg & 76 kg