Goldman, Harris win gold medals in freestyle at Veterans Worlds in Bosnia on Thursday

Jason Goldman of the USA on the way to a gold at the Veterans Worlds at 58 kg in Div. A in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Robbert Wijtman photo


SARAJEVO, Bosnia -- Two U.S. wrestlers won gold medals on the final day of men's freestyle at the Veterans World Championships on Thursday.


Claiming his first career Veterans World title in Div. A was Jason Goldman of Binghamton, N.Y. at 58 kg.


Goldman opened with a victory over A. Manafarov of Azerbaijan in the quarterfinals and a win over Gayk Ambartsumyan of Russia in the semifinals. Goldman captured the gold medal with a finals win over S. Darazhaa of Russia, 7-5.


Also earning a gold medal in Div. G was Terry Harris of Chicago, Ill. at 76 kg. He won a three athlete roundrobin, with wins over Magomed Dalgatov of Russia and Mohammad Taheri of the United States. It is the third straight year that Harris has won a Veterans World medal, as he captured a silver in 2011 and a bronze in 2012.


The USA finished the day with five medalists. Taheri won the silver medal behind Harris at 76 kg in Div. G. Winning bronze medals were Jason Lorang at 58 kg and Octavius Bellamy at 85 kg, both in Div. A.


The freestyle competition has now completed. The U.S. won six gold medals in men's freestyle at the Veterans Worlds this year, with Goldman and Harris joined by James Kasser (Div. D, 63 kg), Michael Schyck (Div. B, 85 kg), Steven Turgeon (Div. D, 58 kg) and Shirzad Ahmadi (Div. E, 63 kg).


Overall, the USA had a total of 18 men's freestyle medals over the three days.


The Greco-Roman competition begins Friday with action in Div. B, Div. E and Div. F.

VETERANS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Sarajevo, Bosnia


Men's freestyle results


Div. A

58 kg - Jason Goldman (USA)

63 kg - Akaki Kuntchulia (Georgia)

69 kg - Mayis Abadov (Azerbaijan)

76 kg - Serhil Ratushniak (Ukraine)

85 kg -Tudor Eni (Moldova)

97 kg - Ahmet Atalay (Turkey)

130 kg - T. Khuvtsagaan (Mongolia)

Div. G

58 kg - Koblandy Shakirov (Kazakhstan)

63 kg - Imre Baumann (Hungary)

69 kg - Viktor Tonkikh (Russia)

76 kg - Terry Harris (USA)

85 kg - Stoil Dimitrov (Bulgaria)

97 kg - Artur Sammet (Germany)

130 kg - Nikolay Shemarov (Russia)

U.S. men's freestyle performances


Div. A


58 kg - Jason Goldman, Binghamton, N.Y., gold medal

WIN A. Manafarov (Azerbaijan), 7-4

WIN Gayk Ambartsumyan (Russia), 6-3

WIN S. Darazhaa (Russia), 7-5


58 kg - Jason Lorang, Great Falls, Mont., bronze medal

LOSS S. Darazhaa (Russia), 0-9


63 kg - Michael Nakamura, Elko, Nev., 9th place

LOSS Vadzim Tozik (Belarus), 0-8


63 kg - Ryan Warr, Whittier, Calif., 5th place

LOSS Akaki Kuntchulia (Georgia)

LOSS Vadzim Tozik (Belarus), pin


85 kg - Eric Pitts, Oceanside, Calif., 5th place

LOSS Eni Tudor (Moldova), 0-7

LOSS Andrei Astakhov (Russia), 2-5


97 kg - Octavius Bellamy, Westchester, Ill., bronze medal

WIN Igor Nencioni (Italy), 5-0

LOSS Ahmet Atalay (Turkey), 0-8

WIN Johannes Lombard (South Africa), pin

Div. G


76 kg - Terry Harris, Chicago, Ill., gold medal

WIN Magomed Dalgatov (Russia)

WIN Mohammad Taheri (USA), 9-0


76 kg - Mohammad Taheri, Pittsburgh, Pa., silver medal

WIN Magomed Dalgatov (Russia)

LOSS Terry Harris (USA), 0-9