Palau will be sending 2 wrestlers to compete in the upcoming 2016 Golden Grand Prix Tournament on November 24-26, 2016. The Golden Grand Prix is one of the most prestigious international tournaments in the world. The tournament will include only the top elite athletes who placed first in their Continental Championships this year and those that qualified for the Olympic Games will be able to compete in this high level tournament. This competition will be for the Female and Men freestyle wrestling and Greco Roman Style wrestling.
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Palau’s two time Olympian wrestler Florian Temengil is currently training in the USA while Blesam Tarkong left on Friday, November 04, 2016 to train in Iran in preparation for this tournament. Both athletes were on the Olympic Solidarity Scholarship that concluded after the Olympic Games. Tarkong will train in Iran with the national team till next year and then compete in the 2017 Oceania Championships held in Tahiti on March 9-1, 2017. While in Iran, Tarkong will also take part in other tournaments. Tarkong was the only athlete from Oceania willing to go to Iran to train considering all the issues happening in the Middle East. Tarkong mentioned that it was his choice and ultimate decision to go because he wants to be a World Champion and Olympian and if this is what it takes to get there, then it’s worth the while.
It should be noted that Oceania Wrestling Council recently signed an International Cooperation Agreement with Iran Wrestling Federation during the RIO 2016 Olympic Games in order to assist with the development of their Oceania wrestling programs through training and other technical assistance offered by Iran for their coaching and athlete development. This includes possible scholarships, coaching and athlete training in Iran and / or within Oceania as well as taking part in tournaments.
Belau Wrestling Federation (BWF) would like to thank United World Wrestling, under their technical assistance program for assisting with the cost of both athletes tickets to the Golden Grand Prix Tournament and the Iran Wrestling Federation for hosting our athlete. We would also like to thank the President Tommy E. Remengesau Jr. for the $1,000 contribution and PNOC donation of $500 to assist with their training and travel. [/restrict]