UPDATED: Coon wins bronze medal in Greco-Roman at FILA Junior Worlds in Croatia
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by Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
Celebration shots of Adam Coon of the USA after winning his Junior World Greco-Roman bronze medal at 120 kg by T.R. Foley.
ZAGREB, Croatia – Adam Coon (Fowlerville, Mich./Cliff Keen WC) completed a strong day of wrestling by winning the bronze medal at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. at the FILA Junior World Championships.
Coon needed only 45 seconds to pin Arata Sonoda of Japan in his bronze-medal match. Arata attempted to throw Coon but Coon took him the other way directly to his back, and pressed for the fall. It was his third pin of the day.
Coon won his second career age-group World medal, after claiming a gold medal in freestyle at the 2011 FILA Cadet World Championships. Sonoda was fourth in the 2014 Dave Schultz Memorial International in the USA.
“In my final match here, I went out the best as I could. I got into a position where I thought I could get the fall, so I worked extremely hard to get that fall,” said Coon.
In a day that he called full of “ups and downs,” Coon scored pins over Stepan David of the Czech Republic in 45 seconds in round one and Adam Mertse of Hungary in the quarterfinals in 5:10.
However, his second round was a come-from-behind win over Seungchan Lee of Korea, 8-5. Early in the bout, Lee had Coon on his back in danger of being pinned.
In his semifinal match, 2013 Junior World champion Sergei Semenov of Russia hit Coon with a big throw for four-points, then executed a pair of gutwrenches to score an 8-0 technical fall. Semenov went on to win the gold medal.
“It has been a pretty good day. I had some ups and downs with it. I got caught in a few positions I didn’t like, and got beat up by the Russian in the semifinals. It is just the mentality that you never give up. Until that final whistle, you don’t give up. That was my mentality for each match,” said Coon.
Coon, who wrestles for Michigan, was a 2011 Cadet World champion in freestyle and also wrestled in Greco-Roman at the Cadet Worlds that year. This year, Coon will also compete in both styles at the Junior Worlds.
“I have known Adam since he was seven years old. That is his character. He is tough and he has all the tools necessary to be a gold medalist. It didn’t happen for him this time, but we are very proud of his bronze medal,” said U.S. coach David Beazley.
The other three U.S. wrestlers competing Wednesday were defeated in the morning session and did not qualify for the repechage rounds, Arthur Carmona (Brawley, Calif./USOTS) at 55 kg/121 lbs., Alejandro Sancho (Miami, Fla./USOTS) at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. and Richard Carlson (Mounds View, Minn./Minnesota Storm) at 84 kg/185 lbs.
Coon was the only wrestler on the U.S. team to place in the top 10 of his weight class. The other seven U.S. athletes were not able to qualify for repechage in their weight. The United States finished in a tie for 16th in the standings with eight points.
“This is the second year in a row that the heavyweight has come through for us. We have more medals ahead in the future. It was a great group of young men this year, fun, polite and hard-working,” said Beazley.
Azerbaijan won the team title with five individual champions.
FILA JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Zagreb, Croatia, August 6
55 kg/121 lbs.
Gold – Murad Mammadou (Azerbaijan)
Silver – Rustam Teiishov (Kyrgyzstan)
Bronze –Gizo Meladze (Georgia)
Bronze – Aslan Visaitov (Russia)
5th – Ion Lefter (Moldova)
5th – Behrooz Maleki (Iran)
7th – Kurshnath Kurade (India)
8th – Gevorg Gharibyan (Armenia)
9th – Mirambek Ainagulov (Kazakhstan)
10th – Hanjae Chung (Korea)
Gold – Mammadou dec. Teiishov, 4-1
Bronze – Meladze pin Lefter
Bronze – Visaitov tech. fall Maleki, 10-1
66 kg/145.5 lbs.
Gold – Shmagi Bolkvadze (Georgia)
Silver – Ruhin Mikayilov (Azerbaijan)
Bronze – Ibrahim Mamoud (Egypt)
Bronze – Zoltan Levai (Hungary)
5th – Daniel Cataraga (Moldova)
5th – Cengiz Arslan (Turkey)
7th – Ramin Taheri (Iran)
8th – Obioberdiev Khusrav (Tajikistan)
9th – Wuyunge (China)
10th – Shogo Takahashi (Japan)
Gold – Bolkvadze dec. Mikayilov, 3-0
Bronze – Mohmoud dec. Cataraga, 1-1
Bronze – Levai dex. Arslan, 2-0
84 kg/185 lbs.
Gold – Islam Abbasov (Azerbaijan)
Silver – Denis Kudla (Germany)
Bronze – Dimitros Tsekeridis (Greece)
Bronze – Lasha Gobadze (Georgia)
5th – Emil Sandahl (Sweden)
5th – Mohammed Metwally (Egypt)
7th – Andriy Gladkykh (Ukraine)
8th – Varuzhan Grigoryan (Armenia)
9th – Eric Szilvassy (Hungary)
10th – Mukhamed Kogotyzhev (Russia)
Gold – Abbasov dec. Kudla, 5-3
Bronze – Tserkeridis dec. Sandahl, 4-2
Bronze – Gobadze dec. Metwally, 6-0
120 kg/264.5 lbs.
Gold – Sergey Semenov (Russia)
Silver – Mantas Knystautas (Lithuania)
Bronze – Osman Yilidrim (Turkey)
Bronze – Adam Coon (USA)
5th – Beka Kandelaki (Georgia)
5th – Arata Sonoda (Japan)
7th – Ervin Imbierski (Poland)
8th – Adam Mertse (Hungary)
9th – Boban Zivanovic (Serbia)
10th – Vladyslav Voronyi (Ukraine)
Gold – Semenov dec. Knystautas, 3-1
Bronze – Yilidrim dec. Kandelaki, pin
Bronze – Coon pin Sonoda, 0:45
U.S. Greco-Roman performances on Wednesday
55 kg/121 lbs. –Arthur Carmona, Brawley, Calif. (USOTS), dnp/14th
LOSS Ion Lefter (Moldova), tech. fall, 4-12
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Alejandro Sancho, Miami, Fla. (USOTS), dnp/12th
WIN Stefan Steigl (Austria), pin 5:20
LOSS Cengiz Arslan (Turkey), 0-2
84 kg/185 lbs. – Richard Carlson, Mounds View, Minn. (Minnesota Storm), dnp/26th
LOSS Lasha Gobadze (Georgia), 10-0, 2:46
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Adam Coon, Fowlerville, Mich. (Cliff Keen WC), bronze medal
WIN Stepan David (Czech Republic), pin 0:45
WIN Seungchan Lee (Korea), 8-5
WIN Adam Mertse (Hungary), pin 5:10
LOSS Sergei Semenov (Russia), tech. fall 0-8
WIN Arata Sonoda (Japan), pin 0:45
Team Standings
1. Azerbaijan, 59 pts
2. Georgia, 44 pts.
3. Russia, 31 pts.
4. Armenia, 31 pts.
5. Turkey, 28 pts.
6. Hungary, 21 pts.
7. Egypt, 20 pts.
8. (tie) Iran, 19 pts.
8. (tie) Germany, 19 pts.
10. Ukraine, 17 pts.
11. Kyrgyzstan, 14 pts.
12. (tie) Korea, 12 pts.
12. (tie) Moldova, 12 pts.
14. (tie) Croatia, 9 pts.
14. (tie) Lithuania, 9 pts.
16 (tie) United States, 8 pts.
16 (tie) Kazakhstan, 8 pts.
16 (tie) Slovakia, 8 pts.
16 tie) China, 8 pts.
16 (tie) Greece, 8 pts.
16. (tie), France, 8 pts.
16. (tie) Norway, 8 pts.
23 (tie) India, 7 pts.
23 (tie) Japan, 7 pts.
23 (tie) Romania, 7 pts.
23 (tie) Poland, 7 pts.
27 (tie) Bulgaria, 6 pts.
27 (tie) Finland, 6 pts.
27 (tie) Sweden, 6 pts.
30. Tajikistan, 3 pts.
31 (tie) Serbia, 2 pts.
31 (tie) Belarus, 2 pts.
31 (tie) Israel, 2 pts.
ZAGREB, Croatia – Adam Coon (Fowlerville, Mich./Cliff Keen WC) completed a strong day of wrestling by winning the bronze medal at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. at the FILA Junior World Championships.
Coon needed only 45 seconds to pin Arata Sonoda of Japan in his bronze-medal match. Arata attempted to throw Coon but Coon took him the other way directly to his back, and pressed for the fall. It was his third pin of the day.
Coon won his second career age-group World medal, after claiming a gold medal in freestyle at the 2011 FILA Cadet World Championships. Sonoda was fourth in the 2014 Dave Schultz Memorial International in the USA.
“In my final match here, I went out the best as I could. I got into a position where I thought I could get the fall, so I worked extremely hard to get that fall,” said Coon.
In a day that he called full of “ups and downs,” Coon scored pins over Stepan David of the Czech Republic in 45 seconds in round one and Adam Mertse of Hungary in the quarterfinals in 5:10.
However, his second round was a come-from-behind win over Seungchan Lee of Korea, 8-5. Early in the bout, Lee had Coon on his back in danger of being pinned.
In his semifinal match, 2013 Junior World champion Sergei Semenov of Russia hit Coon with a big throw for four-points, then executed a pair of gutwrenches to score an 8-0 technical fall. Semenov went on to win the gold medal.
“It has been a pretty good day. I had some ups and downs with it. I got caught in a few positions I didn’t like, and got beat up by the Russian in the semifinals. It is just the mentality that you never give up. Until that final whistle, you don’t give up. That was my mentality for each match,” said Coon.
Coon, who wrestles for Michigan, was a 2011 Cadet World champion in freestyle and also wrestled in Greco-Roman at the Cadet Worlds that year. This year, Coon will also compete in both styles at the Junior Worlds.
“I have known Adam since he was seven years old. That is his character. He is tough and he has all the tools necessary to be a gold medalist. It didn’t happen for him this time, but we are very proud of his bronze medal,” said U.S. coach David Beazley.
The other three U.S. wrestlers competing Wednesday were defeated in the morning session and did not qualify for the repechage rounds, Arthur Carmona (Brawley, Calif./USOTS) at 55 kg/121 lbs., Alejandro Sancho (Miami, Fla./USOTS) at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. and Richard Carlson (Mounds View, Minn./Minnesota Storm) at 84 kg/185 lbs.
Coon was the only wrestler on the U.S. team to place in the top 10 of his weight class. The other seven U.S. athletes were not able to qualify for repechage in their weight. The United States finished in a tie for 16th in the standings with eight points.
“This is the second year in a row that the heavyweight has come through for us. We have more medals ahead in the future. It was a great group of young men this year, fun, polite and hard-working,” said Beazley.
Azerbaijan won the team title with five individual champions.
FILA JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Zagreb, Croatia, August 6
55 kg/121 lbs.
Gold – Murad Mammadou (Azerbaijan)
Silver – Rustam Teiishov (Kyrgyzstan)
Bronze –Gizo Meladze (Georgia)
Bronze – Aslan Visaitov (Russia)
5th – Ion Lefter (Moldova)
5th – Behrooz Maleki (Iran)
7th – Kurshnath Kurade (India)
8th – Gevorg Gharibyan (Armenia)
9th – Mirambek Ainagulov (Kazakhstan)
10th – Hanjae Chung (Korea)
Gold – Mammadou dec. Teiishov, 4-1
Bronze – Meladze pin Lefter
Bronze – Visaitov tech. fall Maleki, 10-1
66 kg/145.5 lbs.
Gold – Shmagi Bolkvadze (Georgia)
Silver – Ruhin Mikayilov (Azerbaijan)
Bronze – Ibrahim Mamoud (Egypt)
Bronze – Zoltan Levai (Hungary)
5th – Daniel Cataraga (Moldova)
5th – Cengiz Arslan (Turkey)
7th – Ramin Taheri (Iran)
8th – Obioberdiev Khusrav (Tajikistan)
9th – Wuyunge (China)
10th – Shogo Takahashi (Japan)
Gold – Bolkvadze dec. Mikayilov, 3-0
Bronze – Mohmoud dec. Cataraga, 1-1
Bronze – Levai dex. Arslan, 2-0
84 kg/185 lbs.
Gold – Islam Abbasov (Azerbaijan)
Silver – Denis Kudla (Germany)
Bronze – Dimitros Tsekeridis (Greece)
Bronze – Lasha Gobadze (Georgia)
5th – Emil Sandahl (Sweden)
5th – Mohammed Metwally (Egypt)
7th – Andriy Gladkykh (Ukraine)
8th – Varuzhan Grigoryan (Armenia)
9th – Eric Szilvassy (Hungary)
10th – Mukhamed Kogotyzhev (Russia)
Gold – Abbasov dec. Kudla, 5-3
Bronze – Tserkeridis dec. Sandahl, 4-2
Bronze – Gobadze dec. Metwally, 6-0
120 kg/264.5 lbs.
Gold – Sergey Semenov (Russia)
Silver – Mantas Knystautas (Lithuania)
Bronze – Osman Yilidrim (Turkey)
Bronze – Adam Coon (USA)
5th – Beka Kandelaki (Georgia)
5th – Arata Sonoda (Japan)
7th – Ervin Imbierski (Poland)
8th – Adam Mertse (Hungary)
9th – Boban Zivanovic (Serbia)
10th – Vladyslav Voronyi (Ukraine)
Gold – Semenov dec. Knystautas, 3-1
Bronze – Yilidrim dec. Kandelaki, pin
Bronze – Coon pin Sonoda, 0:45
U.S. Greco-Roman performances on Wednesday
55 kg/121 lbs. –Arthur Carmona, Brawley, Calif. (USOTS), dnp/14th
LOSS Ion Lefter (Moldova), tech. fall, 4-12
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Alejandro Sancho, Miami, Fla. (USOTS), dnp/12th
WIN Stefan Steigl (Austria), pin 5:20
LOSS Cengiz Arslan (Turkey), 0-2
84 kg/185 lbs. – Richard Carlson, Mounds View, Minn. (Minnesota Storm), dnp/26th
LOSS Lasha Gobadze (Georgia), 10-0, 2:46
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Adam Coon, Fowlerville, Mich. (Cliff Keen WC), bronze medal
WIN Stepan David (Czech Republic), pin 0:45
WIN Seungchan Lee (Korea), 8-5
WIN Adam Mertse (Hungary), pin 5:10
LOSS Sergei Semenov (Russia), tech. fall 0-8
WIN Arata Sonoda (Japan), pin 0:45
Team Standings
1. Azerbaijan, 59 pts
2. Georgia, 44 pts.
3. Russia, 31 pts.
4. Armenia, 31 pts.
5. Turkey, 28 pts.
6. Hungary, 21 pts.
7. Egypt, 20 pts.
8. (tie) Iran, 19 pts.
8. (tie) Germany, 19 pts.
10. Ukraine, 17 pts.
11. Kyrgyzstan, 14 pts.
12. (tie) Korea, 12 pts.
12. (tie) Moldova, 12 pts.
14. (tie) Croatia, 9 pts.
14. (tie) Lithuania, 9 pts.
16 (tie) United States, 8 pts.
16 (tie) Kazakhstan, 8 pts.
16 (tie) Slovakia, 8 pts.
16 tie) China, 8 pts.
16 (tie) Greece, 8 pts.
16. (tie), France, 8 pts.
16. (tie) Norway, 8 pts.
23 (tie) India, 7 pts.
23 (tie) Japan, 7 pts.
23 (tie) Romania, 7 pts.
23 (tie) Poland, 7 pts.
27 (tie) Bulgaria, 6 pts.
27 (tie) Finland, 6 pts.
27 (tie) Sweden, 6 pts.
30. Tajikistan, 3 pts.
31 (tie) Serbia, 2 pts.
31 (tie) Belarus, 2 pts.
31 (tie) Israel, 2 pts.
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