By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

SHANNON Hanna II made The Bahamas proud on 242 Day when he claimed a bronze medal at the 2024 Pan American Wrestling Championships in Acapulco, Mexico, over the weekend.

The feat made it the first international medal achieved for wrestling in The Bahamas.

Hanna knocked off two of his three opponents in the 65kg freestyle division to secure the third podium spot on the final day of competition.

The two-time Southern conference wrestling champion described how it felt to leave the Pan Am Wrestling Championships as a bronze medallist. “It feels really good medalling and representing The Bahamas.

“I was going for gold. I still don’t like losing but it was good to bring a medal back for The Bahamas. I knew I was capable the whole time. Before I was wrestling, my coach kept telling me I am better, faster and stronger and the affirmations helped me and I was able to execute and get the win,” he said.

The Campbell University student excelled against Peru’s Auccapina Pedragas Sixto Miguel in the qualification round 4-1. The 22-year-old also defeated the Dominican Republic’s Albaro Rudecindo Camacho 11-9. He only dropped one match which was against Argentina’s Agustin Alejandro Destribats 5-2.

Despite a good showing at the Pan-Am Championships, Hanna has now shifted his focus to the Pan-Am Olympic qualifiers set for February 28 to March 1 in Acapulco, Mexico. The bronze medallist is confident in his ability to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

“I know I am capable now. I have wrestled these guys and I have medalled at this level. I know I can compete at this level. As far as mindset, I want to just go out and give it my all. It is just another thing that motivates me. I want to grow the sport of wrestling in The Bahamas so that younger black kids in The Bahamas can see that this is possible and we have someone from The Bahamas that was able to do this, and they can feel like they can do it as well. That is the ultimate goal,” he said.

Hanna has received lots of support from Bahamians on social media and said the support gives him motivation to keep going and get to the next level.

Clarence Rolle, president of the Bahamas Amateur Wrestling Federation, said Hanna’s latest milestone is an indicator that wrestling is trending in a positive direction.

“It is very gratifying. There is a lot of work that has gone into building our federation and grooming athletes and just building all of the apparatus needed to keep wrestling going. To see that someone has accomplished that is an indicator that we are making some accomplishments and getting somewhere is very gratifying and we are looking forward to hopefully more in the future,” Rolle said.

Hanna got his start in wrestling while attending the Lake Gibson High School in Lakeland, Florida where he had a coach who saw his potential which then led to him becoming the Florida State champion.

He pursued a bachelor’s degree at Campbell University and, as a student athlete, excelled both academically and athletically. The 22-year-old was awarded as the Southern Conference Champion in the NCAA D1.

Hanna is The Bahamas’ best hope of qualifying for wrestling in the Olympics for the first time since 1968.

Rolle believes Hanna has a great opportunity ahead of him.

“Shannon has as much of a chance as anyone else in that competition. He is a very accomplished wrestler and has been competing for several years at two different universities in the United States and he is still on the Campbell University team now as a graduate student. He is dedicated to the sport and is putting in countless hours, building up his strength and endurance, working on technique and skill and has as much of a chance as anybody else,” he said.

Due to his extensive list of accolades, Rolle knows the decorated wrestler has what it takes. “He is a former South Conference champion and has won it twice so he knows what it is to be at the highest level of competition. He is not taking it lightly and he is definitely grateful for what he accomplished yesterday but he is right back at work today because on March 1 he has the opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Games. That’s his goal right now and he is really focused on it,” he stated.

The Pan American Olympic Qualifiers begin on Wednesday. The top two athletes in each division will earn a spot at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France.