Sebastian Rivera

Sebastian Rivera (born 27 August 1998) is a Stateside Puerto Rican freestyle wrestler who competes internationally at 65 kilograms.^[1] 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.^[2]

Sebastian Rivera

Personal information
Full name	Sebastian Rivera
Nationality	United States  Puerto Rico
Born	(1998-08-27) 27 August 1998 (age 26) Toms River, New Jersey, U.S.
Sport
Country	Puerto Rico
Sport	Wrestling
Weight class	65 kg (143 lb)
Event(s)	Freestyle and folkstyle
College team	Rutgers Northwestern
Club	Rutgers Athletic Center
Coached by	Scott Goodale
Achievements and titles
World finals	(2023)
Medal record Men's freestyle wrestling Representing  Puerto Rico Olympic Games 2024 Paris 65 kg World Championships 2023 Belgrade 65 kg Pan American Championships 2022 Acapulco 65 kg 2023 Buenos Aires 65 kg Central American and Caribbean Games 2023 San Salvador 65 kg Grand Prix 2022 Rome 65 kg 2022 Madrid 65 kg Collegiate Wrestling NCAA Division I Championships Representing the Northwestern Wildcats 2019 Pittsburgh 125 lb Representing the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 2022 Detroit 141 lb

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.^[3] 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).^[4]

Transferring to Rutgers University as a graduate student, Rivera claimed All-American honors once again in March 2021.^[5] 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).^[6][7][8][9] Back to folkstyle season, Rivera once again became an All-American in 2022, concluding his college career.^[3]

In May 2022, Rivera claimed a silver medal at the Pan American Championships after making the finals.^[10] In June and July respectively, he became the prestigious Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series champion and the Grand Prix of Spain champion.^[11][12] He lost his bronze medal match in the 65 kg event at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia.^[13]

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event
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. "Sebastian Rivera – Puerto Rican Nationals Gold | Scarlet Knights Wrestling Club". scarletknightswrestlingclub.com. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
2. "Rutgers Wrestling Star Going for the Gold in the 2024 Paris Olympics | Rutgers University Foundation". rutgersfoundation.org. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
3. "Sebastian Rivera – Wrestling". Rutgers University Athletics. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
4. "Sebastian Rivera". Northwestern Wildcats.
5. "Meet the 2021 NCAA college wrestling All-Americans | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
6. "Rivera Readies for World OG Qualifier". Rutgers University Athletics. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
7. "Rivera Places at 2021 Pan-American Championships". Rutgers University Athletics. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
8. Vesper, Erik (4 October 2021). "Rutgers' Rivera Concludes Run at World Championships". On the Banks. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
9. "Sebastian Rivera – Puerto Rican Nationals Gold | Scarlet Knights Wrestling Club". scarletknightswrestlingclub.com. 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". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). 27 June 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
12. VOCERO, Giovanny Vega, EL. "La escuadra boricua de lucha olímpica se une a un campamento internacional en España". El Vocero de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 July 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
13. "2022 World Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.

External links

• Sebastian Rivera at the International Wrestling Database

Olympic Games
Preceded by William Flaherty	Flagbearer for  Puerto Rico with Jasmine Camacho-Quinn Paris 2024	Succeeded by Incumbent