Photo By Lt. Joseph Painter | CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Feb. 24, 2018) A referee at the 2018 Armed Forces Wrestling...... read more read more
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – Marine Sgt. Xavier Johnson, from Orangeburg, S.C., defeated Army Spc. Ildar Hafizov to earn a gold medal in the 60 kg Greco-Roman weight class at the 2018 Armed Forces Wrestling Championship.
Johnson defeated both of his opponents in the first two rounds of the Greco-Roman competition and pulled off the biggest upset of the championship in the third round against one of the best wrestlers in the U.S.
Hafizov is ranked number one in the U.S. at 59 kg in Greco-Roman and and won gold medals in Greco-Roman and Freestyle at last year’s AFWC. He represented Uzbekistan at the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing and was a member of the 2017 U.S. Senior World Team.
Johnson was able to edge Hafizov, 6 to 5, in a close match that went the full two rounds and was decided by the judges.
“When you have nothing to lose, you give it your all,” said Johnson. “It was just pushing through, pushing through adversity...going out there and fighting to the end.”
Johnson also won a silver medal in the men’s Freestyle competition after winning two out of three matches in the 61 kg weight class.
The AFWC features teams from the Army, Marines, Navy and Air Force, was held at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., February 24-25.
The annual championship is comprised of three championship competitions that include Greco-Roman, Men’s Freestyle and Women’s Freestyle wrestling. Each men’s style consists of 10 weight classes and one Women’s Freestyle match in the 55kg weight class between Army and Navy.
Johnson is a member of the Armed Forces Sports All-Marine wrestling team and credited his teammates as the key to his success at the championship.
“This team is the tightest group of guys,” said Johnson. “It’s a family and we put a lot of hard work into practice, and it’s helped me grow every day I’ve been a part of it.”
The Armed Forces Sports program is the culmination of each branch of services’ sports and fitness program. Service members participate and compete at unit level intramurals and advance to the All-Service level where they can compete in national and international competitions.
The wrestlers that competed at this year’s Armed Forces Wrestling championship who finished in the top three of the Greco-Roman weight classes will qualify to compete at the U.S. Greco-Roman World Team Trials in Tulsa, Okla., in June. If the wrestler qualifies there, they will earn a spot on Team USA and represent the United States at the Wrestling World Championships in Budapest, Hungary this October.
Johnson graduated from Edisto High School in 2013 and is stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.
| Date Taken: | 02.26.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 02.28.2018 16:59 |
| Story ID: | 267611 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US |
| Hometown: | ORANGEBURG, SC, US |
| Web Views: | 479 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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