U.S., KOREA BATTLE FOR CANADA CUP AT HUMBER
Humber Athletics hosted the top wrestlers in the world for the 1983 Canada Cup. The main event featured American David Schultz, who went on to win the 1984 Olympic gold medal in Los Angeles.
Some of you may recognize the name David Shultz from the 2014 movie Foxcatcher, with his character being played by Academy Award nominee Mark Ruffalo.
November 24, 1983
by Sam Scrivo
American and South Korean athletes dominated the Canada Cup wrestling tournament held at Humber College Nov, 17-18.
More than 2,000 spectators were on hand as the Americans, led by the Sunkist Kids, won the title in the final round of competition.
U.S. star, Dave Schultz, secured the championship title, defeating
Korean Tae Woo Kim in an 82-kilogram match.
Schultz’s win gave the U.S. 40 points. Korea followed with 39 points while Canada finished a solid third with 31 points.
Schultz, the 1983 world champion in his weight class, outscored Kim, 14-3. He wrestled aggressively, unaware his match would decide which country would win the Canada Cup.
I knew the race was close, but I didn't know what the score was," said Schultz. "Our club won the championship — and I won. I'm very pleased with that."
The 24-year-old star, outweighed by seven kilograms, led throughout the six-minute encounter with Kim.
“I got a three point throw, and that opened it up for me," said Schultz. "I felt comfortable with the match even though I made two mistakes. Luckily Kim didn't take advantage of my mistakes, but it worries me for future matches. If it were somebody else, he might have scored some points on me."
Schultz has been wrestling for 12 years and labelled the tournament as one of the best. "It was a good quality tournament," said Schultz. "It's one of the premier tournaments in North America."
Kim, the 1983 Korean champion in his weight class, was outwrestled by the more experienced Schultz.
"I didn't have enough power to beat him," said Kim.
The 22-year-old Korean champ, with four years experience, will represent his country in the 1984 Olympics.
In another finals match, Canada's Ray Takahashi was outscored 15- 14 by Korean John Kyu Kim in the 52-kilogram weight class. Canada's hope of winning at least one gold medal came down to Takahashi's bout after Canadian Gary Bohay lost his bid for a gold medal earlier.
Takahashi, a member of Canada's national team since 1975, said, "Kim came out aggressively. He's got a lot of offensive moves."
The 22-year-old Pan American champion feels he could have won the event.
"I was disappointed that I didn't win," said Takahashi. "I felt that I gave up too many points. When there are so many points scored, some aren't going to go your way. If I had wrestled better defensively, I could have won the match."
It was Takahashi 's third loss in a row to the Korean wrestling sensation. However, the grappling encounter proved to be well rewarding for both wrestlers.
Kim walked away with the gold medal and was chosen the outstanding foreign wrestler in the tournament. Takahashi, who won the national championship five times in his career, walked away with a silver medal and was chosen the outstanding Canadian wrestler.
Although there were no gold medals handed out to Canadian wrestlers, the grapplers have improved since the inauguration of the Canada Cup four years ago.
"Last year we didn't have anybody in the finals," said tournament director John Park. ' 'We had two finalists this year and more Canadians finished in third than last years event."
Canadian Gary Bohay, wrestling in the 62-kilogram weight class, received a silver medal along with teammate Takahashi. Canadians Wayne Brightwell and John Tenta both won a bronze medal in the 100 and unlimited weight-class.
According to former national coach Glen Leyshon, Canada has shown great improvement over the years.
"We didn't get any gold medals, but we got a couple of silver ones. And we're better than last year," said Leyshon. "We've developed ever so slowly, but still upward.”
In other matches, Korean Gap Do Son outscored Tim Vanni of the United States 11-7 to capture the gold medal in the 48-kilogram weight class. Eul Kon Kim, wrestling at 57 kilograms, edged Joe Corso of the United States 3- 1.
Korean In tak Yoo defeated Lenny Zalesky, also from the U.S., 8-2 in the 68-kilogram finals. Myung Woo Han battled Mike Deanna of the U.S. to a 1-1 draw. Han was the more aggressive wrestler and was rewarded the gold medal in the 74-kilogram division.
The Banach brothers, Ed and Lou of the U. S., also walked away with gold medals in the 90 and 100-kilogram weight classes.
Ed Banach shut-out Dan Lewis, also from the U.S., 12-0. Lou Banach, the heavier of the two brothers, shut-out Dan Severn from the United States, 4-0.
In a surprising match, Bruce Baumgartner upset last year's Canada Cup gold medalist Harold Smith, 15-2. Both men are from the U.S. wrestling in the unlimited weight-class.
This year's Canada Cup saw well-balanced teams from all participating countries including Italy and Australia. The Russians brought over an explosive team which dominated the two-day event winning in almost every weight category last year.
"I don't know how much better the tournament can get," said Park. "The calibre of wrestling was excellent. It's been the best by far."
The Canada Cup, originally formed when Canadians decided to boycott the 1980 Olympics, has given the athletes something to compete for. Now, Canadians and invited athletes from across the globe participate in the Canada Cup of wrestling in preparation for the 1984 Olympics.
According to Park, Humber may host the 1984 Canada Cup tournament.
