RIO DE JANEIRO – The 2026 Pan-American (Pan-Am) Championships got underway with the men’s freestyle competition on July 9 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Canada had nine competitors in action, and it proved to be a strong day as seven of them found the podium earning medals.

The team earned an impressive six silver medals across a combination of bracket and round-robin formats. London, Ontario’s Loki Bigras had the busiest day, battling through five matches to earn his silver at 79kg. He went 3-0 in his round-robin competition before winning his semifinal match and falling in the gold-medal bout.

Abbotsford, British Columbia’s Tejvir Dhinsa (86kg) and Langley, British Columbia’s Harjot Shergill (97kg) each went 3-1 in five-athlete round-robin competitions, both only losing to the United States to earn their respective silver medals.

Meanwhile, Mississauga’s Ryan Dahcha (70kg) and Calgary’s Ali Karout (74kg) competed in bracket competitions. Dahcha won his quarterfinal and semifinal matches before coming up short in the final. Karout needed one extra match, winning a qualifying-round match before claiming victories in the quarterfinal and semifinal, then falling in the final.

The sole bronze came from Regina’s Javier Tonita-Charriez. He competed in the bracket at 57kg and lost his quarterfinal to the US. He rebounded with wins in his repechage and bronze match to earn the medal.

Other Canadian results included Calgary’s Diyaal Johal, who placed fifth at 65kg, and Montreal’s Cruz Lewis, who finished eighth at 61kg.

In addition to the seven medals, the men’s freestyle team finished second overall.

Women’s wrestling is next, with the remaining nine Canadians in action tomorrow. Matches begin at 10 a.m. local and can be streamed on UWW+. For complete tournament information including brackets and results, visit the tournament page.