The South America mas-wrestling team is ready!
South American athletes have been taking part in international mas-wrestling competitions since they first began. As a rule, they always demonstrate excellent preparation, placing among the top five leaders.
At the end of the month, they will cross the ocean and the expanse of Europe to go through a true mas-wrestling marathon in Russia: in Kazan at the 8th World Mas-wrestling Championship fr om November 26 to 30, and in Yakutsk at the Open Team Cup dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Mas-wrestling Federation of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) fr om December 3 to 5.
The South American team was formed in April at the South American qualifying championships, held as part of the Arnold Classic South America sports festival in São Paulo. The event was organized by IMWF Vice President Vilmar Oliveira and IMWF official Igor Galutva. We present the members of the South American team—the best mas wrestlers from Brazil and Uruguay.
Team captain Vicente Gastón Sosa Reyes (Uruguay) will compete in the 105 kg category. Vicente is a three-time champion and silver medalist at the Uruguayan Mas-wrestling Championships, and a two-time South American Mas-wrestling Champion. This year, he won the open-format continental championship held as part of Arnold Classic South America. Vicente Sosa has international competition experience: he represented Uruguay at the World Mas-wrestling Championship in the absolute category in Saudi Arabia and at the International Mas-wrestling Tournament “Kolmar Cup” at the EEF.
The other members of the South American team are Brazilian citizens.
Rodrigo Osorio de Lima (60 kg) is the winner of the 2024 Brazilian Open Mas-Wrestling Championship (held as part of the Arnold Sports Festival South America) and the 2024 South American Open Mas-Wrestling Championship (men and women), and a bronze medalist at both the 2023 and 2025 European Open Mas-Wrestling Championships (men and women).
Rodrigo trains at a sports club in Porto Alegre, wh ere Evandro Pomina, Brazil’s most famous mas-wrestler, also trains. For many years, both athletes represented their country at numerous international competitions and consistently finished on the podium. Rodrigo runs a Brazilian mas-wrestling page on social media. Thanks to his efforts, we get to see photos and videos of Brazilian mas-wrestlers training.
The rest of the team members are students of Ricardo Nort from the city of Florianópolis.
Gabriel Dagostin Senhorinha da Silva (80 kg) discovered mas-wrestling after watching a local television program about strongman Ricardo Nort, in which Nort moved a massive airplane and a double-truck setup (one truck loaded onto the bed of another). Gabriel was so impressed by these feats that he told his family about his new idol. His uncle mentioned that Nort owned a large gym nearby and suggested he check it out. Without a second thought, the eighteen-year-old set off to find the facility. He has remained at the Nort Academy ever since—for the past eight years—training in various strength sports, including the Yakut-originated combat strength sport known as mas-wrestling.
Southerners are generally emotional people, but Gabriel is perhaps the most open person I have ever known. I witnessed him talking about mas-wrestling right at a bus stop on his way back to his native Florianópolis from São Paulo with another batch of gold medals. Random passengers listened with interest to his stories about distant Yakutia, the homeland of his favorite sport, touched the simple wooden stick, and listened to the clinking of the medals. Meanwhile, Gabriel's eyes were shining, and his speech flowed in a continuous stream. Of course, he couldn't even dream of being part of a team going to Yakutsk with his close sports friends. For him, it was like flying to the moon. Now, already holding tickets in his hands, he keeps asking about the distant northern region. When he was told that it would be "really cold" there in early December, he kept asking what it felt like to experience such low temperatures. The answer that it is much colder than in his freezer, and that he needed to put on everything he had, was shocking to him. Less than a month is left before Gabriel sets foot on the snowy Yakutian land, and he still can't believe his luck: his dream of visiting the homeland of mas-wrestling has come true. And it seems he is not alone in his anticipation of the meeting.
Gabriel is the winner of the International Mas-Wrestling Tournament at the 2023 Arnold Sports Festival South America, champion of the 2024 South American Open Mas-wrestling Championship among men and women, and the 2026 South American Open Mas-wrestling Championship among men and women. He is also a bronze medalist of the Brazilian Open Mas-wrestling Championship at the Arnold Sports Festival South America and the 2024 South American Mas-wrestling Championship in the men's and women's absolute weight category.
The next player on the team is Eric Campos Martins (90 kg). He is one of the most decorated mas-wrestlers in the world in the 90 kg weight category. He is the winner of the International Mas-Wrestling Tournament at the 2023 Arnold Sports Festival South America. That same year, he was invited by the International Mas-Wrestling Federation to Vladivostok for the prestigious "Kolmar Cup" tournament, wh ere he performed very creditably. Eric is the South American Mas-wrestling Champion among men and women at the Arnold Sport Festival South America 2026. He is a silver medalist at the Brazilian Open Mas-wrestling Championship at the Arnold Sport Festival South America 2025 and at the Arnold Classic South America Mas-wrestling Championship in the absolute category among men and women – 2026. This year, to his titles in South America, he added the silver medal at the North American Mas-wrestling Open in Calgary, Canada. Music is a beloved hobby of equal importance to Erik. Like his mentor, Ricardo Nort, he is a pianist. Yes, this is an astonishing fact. An athlete with a powerful grip and calloused hands plays the piano with virtuoso skill.
Egon Henrique Da Silva Correa will step onto the platform in the 125 kg weight category. He is undoubtedly endowed with enormous natural strength. All his appearances on the platform have been crowned with success. Egon is supported in his sporting pursuits by his beloved wife and son, who accompany him on trips to competitions in São Paulo. It seems that his son has also taken up mas-wrestling. Egon works on a construction site, doing physical labor. He loves hard rock, and his car is shaken by the deep sounds and frantic rhythm of “heavy” music.
His achievements: winner of the Brazilian Open Mas-wrestling Championship at the Arnold Sports Festival South America, the South American Open Mas-wrestling Championship for men and women at the Arnold Sports Festival South America, and the Arnold Classic South America Mas-wrestling Championship in the men's and women's absolute category – 2026. Silver medalist of the Arnold Classic South America Mas-wrestling Championship in the absolute category – 2024.
Among the heavyweights, South America will be represented by Thiago de Souza Deschamps, who is ready to make his strong presence felt right away on the Russian platform. In the meantime, we can say that the young athlete is showing definite promise. His abilities were tested by world-class mas-wrestlers—Oliver Kurek from Slovakia and Akylbek Unurbaev from Kyrgyzstan—when they traveled to Florianópolis to hold master classes following the championship in São Paulo this April.
The revelation of the season was Juliane De Silva Vendramin (65 kg). She is a powerlifter who discovered mas-wrestling at the Arnold Schwarzenegger Festival in São Paulo. She won every possible top title in both her weight class and the open category, thereby securing a spot on the continental team to travel to Russia for the World Championship in Kazan and the Team Cup in Yakutsk.
Juliane is the winner of the South American Open Mas-wrestling Championship among men and women at the Arnold Sports Festival South America, and the Arnold Classic South America Mas-wrestling Championship in the open category among men and women – 2026. The Latin American beauty is determined to lead her team to the top positions in the world ranking in the upcoming competitions.
The journey to Yakutia for the athletes from the South American continent will be a long one, taking more than a day. Thousands of kilometers separate us. But sports friendship knows no obstacles. The qualified Portuguese translator and polyglot Igor Galutva is preparing the team for the trip. We are waiting for our friends with open arms. Welcome to our home, Juliane, Rodrigo, Gabriel, Eric, Vicente, Egon, Thiago!
Note:
Each team competing in the Yakut tournament consists of nine athletes: men compete in seven weight categories, and women in two. The Team Cup rules allow a continent’s national team to include athletes from another continent. This is intentional. There are several reasons for this decision.
International travel these days is complicated by the political decisions of the leadership of certain countries. Invited participants undergo a complex and lengthy entry visa application process. In the event of a fiasco, replacing them on schedule is difficult. The athletes are active, which means they are in a constant training and competitive mode and theoretically can sustain various injuries. Besides, long-distance flights, especially transatlantic ones, are extremely expensive. In the event that selected athletes withdraw for the above-mentioned reasons, there is a way out: mutual assistance, or, put simply, looking out for one another. An athlete from another continent can replace their teammate. At the same time, any mas-wrestler in the world can become a legionnaire with the approval of the organizing committee of the Team Cup and the national mas-wrestling federation, except for Russians from the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), because Yakut athletes have gone through their own qualification process and will compete in this tournament as part of six teams representing the districts of the republic. We will talk about those who have expressed readiness to lend a helping hand later, after introducing all the teams. First, we introduced the team from South America.
