Circle of perseverance

Freestyle wrestlers, Melvin Miller of Pennsylvania and Daniel Heiser of Wisconsin, battle for control in the finals of the U16, 145-pound weight class at the USA Wrestling National Championships. The event was held in Fargo, North Dakota, on July 20, 2023. Both wrestlers had control of the other's ankle and would not give up the point. They danced this way for 30 seconds, taking control only to give it up to the other wrestler.

Melvin Miller, the blue wrestler, finally freed his ankles and finished the score. He went on to win the contest with a final score of 14-4, a technical fall on points, and the USA U16 Freestyle Wrestling National Championship. 

The action was fast, with the light brighter in the center of the mat fading to the edge. A fast shutter speed of 1/1000 sec and an ISO set at 1600 were needed. My D5 gave me better color than my newer cameras, so I paired it with a 70-200mm, f/2.8 lens with an aperture of f/3.2.

With 24 mats and thousands of matches over five days, the annual Fargo event is the largest wrestling tournament in the world. In 2023, there were 7134 wrestlers at this tournament. It is the National Championships for U16 and U19 Girls' Wrestling, Boys' Freestyle Wrestling, and Boys' Greco/Roman Wrestling in the USA. Wrestlers must qualify through their state championships, and each state is limited in the number of wrestlers it can bring.

 Image by Robbert Wijtman/ CSC Sports Photography