Anthony Robles: 1-Legged Wrestler Wins NCAA Title (Video)

by NowPublic Staff | March 21, 2011 at 08:35 am

2713 views | 0 Recommendations | 0 comments

Anthony Robles Beats Matt McDonough for NCAA Championship

Anthony Robles, who has one leg, has won the 125-lb NCAA national wrestling title.

Anthony Robles, a senior at Arizona State University, was born with one leg. He got into wrestling in high school, and won the Arizona state title twice. He then went on to wrestle for ASU.

Anthony Robles defeated the defending champion, University of Iowa's Matt McDonough, by a 7-1 decision. Returning to Phoenix as NCAA champion, Anthony Robles said, "I'm a little tired and beat up, but feeling good."

Advantages & Disadvantages: The Robles Roll

The disadvantage of wrestling with one leg are self-evident. The advantages are less obvious. First, Anthony Robles is able to pack on more muscle without changing weight classes. Also, he has had to develop a wrestling style that his opponents cannot really train for.

Wrestling with one leg also meant Robles had to develop his own innovative style to find success and flummox his opponents. In particular he has a signature move nicknamed the Robles Roll where he somersaults over his opponents using the tilt concept in Wrestling to score points, and it was on full display during his opening match on Thursday morning.