18-year-old Morgan Turner was making her first appearance at the Senior World Championships, hoping to build on her success at the U20 and U23 levels. But her debut in Astana took a difficult turn when she was disqualified against Russia’s Elizaveta Smirnova after twice poking her opponent in the eyes. In the days that followed, Turner reportedly received racist abuse over the incident, prompting American collegiate wrestler Riley Bettich to speak out in her defense.

On October 28, @JBthehawkeye shared a TikTok video featuring Bettich, a two-time NJCAA All-American wrestler and social media influencer. In the video, Bettich addressed the alleged messages Turner had received following the bout.

“Some of you wrestling spectators discussed me. These are some of the DMs Morgan Turner has received in the last 24 hours since the whole controversial eye poke situation at the World Championships. Racism does not belong in our sport,” Bettich said at the beginning of the video.

Bettich then spoke about Turner’s age and the work she had put into reaching the senior international level. He pointed out that the American had only recently finished high school and was already representing her country on one of wrestling’s biggest stages. He questioned how a controversial moment in competition could lead people to target her personally.

“She’s putting hours of work into this sport, hours into her craft, and this is how people are going to act and treat her for something that happened that was controversial and maybe unintentional,” he said.

The collegiate wrestler also challenged the racial attacks allegedly directed at Turner. He argued that criticism should focus on an athlete’s actions rather than their race, pointing to what he sees as a difference in how wrestlers are treated after controversies. 

“What does race have to do with this? There are so many other high-level wrestlers in our sport that are white that have done way worse things than this off the mat, and people maybe give them some hate, but they don’t bring race into it,” Bettich said. “This girl is 18 years old, and she’s doing big things on the mat. Just super messed up when I saw this. I was sick to my stomach,” he added. The support comes after a difficult episode for Turner at the World Championships.

The incident took place on October 27 during the women’s 50 kg round-of-16 at the World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan. Turner had started her senior world campaign with a convincing 5-0 victory over Cuba’s Greili Bencosme, giving her a positive start to her first appearance at the senior level. Her next opponent, Smirnova, was a returning world bronze medalist who presented a much tougher challenge.

Smirnova initially took control of the match and built an 8-3 lead. Turner, however, fought back with a counter lift and an arm-bar action that exposed Smirnova’s back and brought the American closer on the scoreboard. The bout then took a serious turn. After the wrestlers returned to their feet, Turner made contact with Smirnova’s eye for a second time. Smirnova immediately dropped to the mat in pain, prompting officials to stop the match. Following the repeated contact, Turner was disqualified, and the victory was awarded to the Russian wrestler.

The decision ended Turner’s first senior world campaign. But Smirnova’s tournament also came to an unexpected end despite her victory. Following a medical examination, doctors ruled that she could not compete in the quarterfinals because of an eye injury.

Russian women’s team physician Gayane Gevorgyan said Smirnova had suffered a corneal injury and was taken to the hospital for further assessment. According to statements attributed to the Russian wrestler, examinations also found damage affecting both eyes. India’s Neelam Sirohi advanced to the semifinals by walkover after Smirnova was ruled out, giving the Indian wrestler a place in the next round without having to compete in the scheduled quarterfinal.

But for Morgan Turner, the outcome at the Senior World Championships was a heartbreaking setback after years of hard work, impressive achievements and growing ambitions.

Morgan Turner’s rise in wrestling

Turner’s journey in international wrestling began at a young age. She won her first U17 World Championships gold medal in 2023 at just 14. Although she admitted to feeling nervous at her first World Championships, the experience marked the beginning of a successful run on the international stage.

In 2024, Turner added another medal to her record by winning bronze at the U17 World Championships. Rather than settling for that result, she returned in 2025 determined to reclaim the top spot. Competing in the 49 kg category in Athens, Greece, she defeated Japan’s Yu Kataoka 6-1 in the final to secure her second U17 world title. 

Turner continued that progress in 2026 as she moved up to the U20 and U23 levels. She won bronze at both World Championships, bringing her total to five age-group world medals. Her success extended beyond the world stage, with gold medals at the 2025 U17 Pan American Championships, the 2022 U15 Pan American Championships, and more. She also won the Illinois girls state championship in 2024 while wrestling for Lockport High School.

Her ambitions went beyond collecting medals. Turner had spoken about wanting to become a more complete wrestler by developing techniques beyond her familiar double-leg takedown. In 2026, after graduating from high school in May, she focused on international wrestling and competed at the U20, U23, and Senior World Championships in the same year.

That made her senior debut in Astana an important milestone in her career. Instead of the breakthrough she had hoped for, Turner left the competition facing disappointment.