Sebastian Rivera

Sebastian Rivera
Rivera in 2021
Personal information
Full nameSebastian C Rivera
Nationality United States
 Puerto Rico
Born (1998-08-27) 27 August 1998 (age 28)
Toms River, New Jersey, U.S.
Sport
Country Puerto Rico
SportWrestling
Weight class
65 kg (143 lb)
Events
Freestyle and folkstyle
College teamRutgers
Northwestern
ClubRutgers Athletic Center
Coached byScott Goodale
Achievements and titles
World finals
2nd place, silver medalist(s) (2023)
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing  Puerto Rico
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place2024 Paris65 kg
World Championships
Silver medal – second place2023 Belgrade65 kg
Pan American Championships
Silver medal – second place2022 Acapulco65 kg
Bronze medal – third place2023 Buenos Aires65 kg
Central American and Caribbean Games
Silver medal – second place2023 San Salvador65 kg
Grand Prix
Gold medal – first place2022 Rome65 kg
Gold medal – first place2022 Madrid65 kg
Collegiate Wrestling
NCAA Division I Championships
Representing the Northwestern Wildcats
Bronze medal – third place2019 Pittsburgh125 lb
Representing the Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Bronze medal – third place2022 Detroit141 lb

Sebastian C Rivera (born 27 August 1998) is a Stateside Puerto Rican freestyle wrestler who competes internationally at 65 kilograms. The 2023 World silver medalist, he represented Puerto Rico at the 2024 Summer Olympics and the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games, earning the bronze medal and silver medal, respectively.

Career

Raised in New Jersey, Rivera started wrestling at a young age, winning prestigious tournaments in high school such as Super 32 and the New Jersey state championship as a senior out of Christian Brothers Academy. Entering Northwestern University in 2016, Rivera became a two-time All-American (2018 and 2019) and a two-time Big Ten Conference champion (2019 and 2020), but was not able to compete at the 2020 NCAA championships as they were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic (granting him a new year of eligibility).

Transferring to Rutgers University as a graduate student, Rivera claimed All-American honors once again in March 2021. After, he started representing Puerto Rico in freestyle competition, competing at the World Olympic Qualification Tournament (22nd), Pan American Championships (5th), World Championships (7th), and Puerto Rican Nationals (1st). Back to folkstyle season, Rivera once again became an All-American in 2022, concluding his college career.

In May 2022, Rivera claimed a silver medal at the Pan American Championships after making the finals. In June and July respectively, he became the prestigious Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series champion and the Grand Prix of Spain champion. He lost his bronze medal match in the 65 kg event at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia.

Freestyle record

Achievements

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEvent
Representing  Puerto Rico
2021 World Wrestling Championships Oslo, Norway 7th Freestyle 65 kg
2022 World Wrestling Championships Belgrade, Serbia 5th Freestyle 65 kg
2023 World Wrestling Championships Belgrade, Serbia 2nd Freestyle 65 kg
2024 Summer Olympic Games Paris, France 3rd Freestyle 65 kg

References

  1. 1 2 "Sebastian Rivera – Puerto Rican Nationals Gold | Scarlet Knights Wrestling Club". scarletknightswrestlingclub.com. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  2. ↑ "RIVERA Sebastian C". Paris 2024 Olympics. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024.
  3. ↑ "Rutgers Wrestling Star Going for the Gold in the 2024 Paris Olympics | Rutgers University Foundation". rutgersfoundation.org. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  4. 1 2 "Sebastian Rivera – Wrestling". Rutgers University Athletics. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  5. ↑ "Sebastian Rivera". Northwestern Wildcats.
  6. ↑ "Meet the 2021 NCAA college wrestling All-Americans | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  7. ↑ "Rivera Readies for World OG Qualifier". Rutgers University Athletics. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  8. ↑ "Rivera Places at 2021 Pan-American Championships". Rutgers University Athletics. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  9. ↑ Vesper, Erik (4 October 2021). "Rutgers' Rivera Concludes Run at World Championships". On the Banks. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  10. ↑ "Rivera Earns Silver at 2022 Pan-American Championships". Rutgers University Athletics. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  11. ↑ "Importante oro en la lucha olímpica en el torneo Matteo Pellicone en Italia" [Important gold medal in Olympic wrestling at the Matteo Pellicone tournament in Italy]. El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). 27 June 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022. Sebastián Rivera
  12. ↑ Vega, Giovanny. "La escuadra boricua de lucha olímpica se une a un campamento internacional en España" [The Puerto Rican Olympic wrestling team joins an international training camp in Spain]. El Vocero de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 July 2022. Sebastián Rivera
  13. ↑ "2022 World Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022. Sebastian C RIVERA