UPDATE: Ahmadi, Johnson win golds as U.S. adds six more freestyle medals at Veterans Worlds in Greece
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Grant Johnson of the USA controls Pawel Wolonski of Poland in the finals at 97 kg in Div. A at the Veterans World Championships in Greece. Photo by Robbert Wijtman, CSC Photography.
ATHENS, Greece – The United States added two more gold medals in men’s freestyle on Thursday at the Veterans World Championships, with Grant Johnson of Houston, Texas (97 kg, Div. A) and Shirzad Ahmadi of Coventry, Conn. (63 kg, Div. G).
For Ahmadi, it was his 11th career Veterans World gold medal, the most of any American.
He won a four-athlete round-robin competition with a 3-0 record. He dominated the opponents, scoring a pin, a technical fall and a victory by withdrawl when leading 11-5. His opponents were from Iran, Russia and the United States.
“The trip to Greece has been great. I was hoping that we would have more USA Gold medals but the competition was a lot tougher from around the world. This is my 11th World Freestyle Championship and I'm very happy,” said Ahmadi.
Johnson won his first career Veterans World title, powering to four straight victories. He opened with a 6-1 win over Nazmi Kahveciler of Turkey and an 11-4 victory over Alireza Amanollahi of Iran. He finished strong with a pair of technical falls, putting away Igor Nencioni, 12-1 in the semifinals and Pawel Wolonski of Poland, 10-0 in the finals.
“This whole experience has been one of international brotherhood. I got a small taste of it at Las Vegas and decided to join the Veterans team. My phenomenal coach, Derrick Waldroup, started training me as soon as we got back from the US Open where I was just a spectator. Winning a world championship is just a remarkable feeling. I might want to do this again,” said Johnson.
The USA has won six medals in freestyle. In men’s freestyle, Ahmadi and Johnson joined James Kasser of Lewis Center, Ohio, who won a gold at 63 kg in Div. D on Wednesday and Antonio Peraza of Shoreham, N.Y., who won a gold medal at 85 kg in Div. F on Tuesday. In the first year of women’s competition at the Veterans Worlds, the USA had a pair of champions who won their weight class uncontested, Meghan Marcello of Indian Springs, Nev. at 53 kg in Div. A and Marie Ziegler of Kenmore, Wash. at 48 kg in Div. B.
“It was awesome being part of history with the first Veteran women wrestlers. I look forward to helping grow our USA women's team and our sport. Winning a World Championship gold medal in Greece is definitely one of the highlights of my wrestling career,” said Meghann Marchello.
The U.S. had a pair of silver medalists on Thursday, Brett Clark of Bakersfield, Calif.at 130 kg in Div. A and Joseph Reasbeck of Superior, Wis. at 130 kg in Div. G. Clark had a 2-1 record and Reasbeck went 1-1 in their competitions.
U.S. bronze medalists were Jason Goldman of Endicott, N.Y. at 58 kg in Div. A and Jack Hornbuckle of Poteau, Okla. at 63 kg in Div. G. Both are multiple past Veterans World medalists.
In the first three days of competition, the United States has won 28 medals.
Competition continues on Friday with Greco-Roman action in Div. C and Div. D.
United World Wrestling will host a live webstream from the Veterans World Championships all week, along with complete results updates at:
https://unitedworldwrestling.org/event/world-championship-13
VETERANS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Athens, Greece
Men’s Freestyle champions
Div. A champions
58 kg – Abdolreza Rastekar (Iran)
63 kg – Vadim Khalitov (Russia)
69 kg – Nozadze Paata (Georgia)
76 kg – Oleg Akhmetov (Russia)
85 kg –Dmitri Darmodekhin (Russia)
97 kg – Grant Johnson (USA)
130 kg - Ali Darzinezhadrami (Iran)
Div. G
58 kg – Fedot Solovet (Russia)
63 kg – Shirzad Ahmadi (USA)
69 kg – Ismail Koukoglu (Turkey)
76 kg – Rossi Diego (Italy)
85 kg – Magomed Badrudinov (Russia)
97 kg – Theodor Sammet (Germany)
130 kg - Estate Goglichidze (Georgia)
Women’s Div. A champions
53 kg – Meghann Marchello (USA)
63 kg – Lotta Anderson (Sweden)
69 kg – Maria Strandberg (Sweden)
75 kg – Athina Giannousa (Greece)
Women’s Div. B champions
48 kg – Marie Ziegler (USA)
58 kg – Britt Eli Pedersen (Norway)
Women’s Div. C champions
63 kg – Ine Barlie (Norway)
U.S. men’s freestyle results
Div. A
58 kg – Jason Goldman, Endicott, N.Y., bronze medal
WIN Hidemasa Okada (Japan), 1-1
LOSS Abdolreza Rastekar (Iran), tech. fall 0-10
WIN Morne Brewis (South Africa), 7-1
63 kg – Dustin Marchello, Gladstone, Ore., 8th
LOSS Vadim Tozik (Belarus), tech. fall 0-10
63 kg – Mark Bader, Austin, Texas, 7th
LOSS Arthouros Kalpatsanidis (Greece), 1-2
69 kg – Rustin Marchello, Indian Springs, Nev., 7th
WIN Burhan Ozdemir (Turkey), 12-11
LOSS Hajibabaei Taheri (Iran), tech. fall 0-10
69 kg – Jason Cappiello, San Bruno, Calif., 10th
LOSS Csaba Sipos (Hungary), pin
69 kg – John Kokolakis, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., 5th
LOSS Ramil Ismayilov (Azerbaijan)
LOSS Csaba Sipos (Hungary)
76 kg – Ryan Meloche, Bakersfield, Calif., 8th
WIN Alik Sahakyan (Armenia), 7-4
LOSS Davood Gholipoor (Iran), tech. fall 0-10
76 kg – Rudy James, St. Paul, Minn., 7th
WIN Kirk Valentini (Italy), pin
LOSS Azim Akhmedov (Russia), 2-8
85 kg – Matthew Corona, Gilroy, Calif., 5th
LOSS Eri Tudor (Moldova), 3-4
WIN Pietnik Henrich (Slovakia), 6-5
LOSS Serghei Bolgar (Moldova), tech. fall 2-12
85 kg – Brian Cobb, Bakersfield, Calif., 9th
WIN Cem Ozdem (Turkey), tech. fall 11-0
LOSS Zabihollar Motalebi Aghjer (Iran), tech. fall, 0-11
97 kg – Grant Johnson, Houston, Texas, gold medal
WIN Nazmi Kahveciler (Turkey), 6-1
WIN Alireza Amanollahi (Iran), 11-4
WIN Igor Nencioni (Italy), tech. fall 12-1
WIN Pawel Wolonski (Poland), tech. fall 10-0
97 kg – Shawn Henebry, San Jose, Calif., 10th
LOSS Igor Nencioni (Italy), 1-8
97 kg – Octavius Bellamy, Chicago, Ill., 7th
WIN John Schutte (South Africa), 11-0
LOSS Igor Nencioni (Italy), 5-7
130 kg – Brett Clark, Bakersfield, Calif., silver medal
WIN Nikolaos Sotiriadis (Greece), pin
WIN Adan Krolak (Poland), 8-3
LOSS Ali Darzinezhadrami (Iran), 2-5
Div. G
63 kg – Shirzad Ahmadi, Coventry, Conn., gold medal
WIN Viktor Chipkov (Russia), withdraw
WIN Abasali Ahsan (Iran), pin
WIN Jack Hornbuckle (USA), tech. fall 10-0
63 kg – Jack Hornbuckle, Poteau, Okla., bronze medal
WIN Ahsan Abbasali (Iran), pin
LOSS Viktor Chipkov (Russia), tech. fall 2-13
LOSS Shirzad Ahmadi (USA), tech. fall 0-10
130 kg – Joseph Reasbeck, Superior, Wis., silver medal
WIN Abakir Rysov (Kyrgyzstan), 2-0
LOSS Estate Goglichidze (Georgia), 2-5
U.S. women’s freestyle results
Div. A
53 kg – Meghann Marcello, Indian Springs, Nev., gold medal
Uncontested
Div. B
48 kg – Marie Ziegler, Kenmore, Wash., gold medal
Uncontested
ATHENS, Greece – The United States added two more gold medals in men’s freestyle on Thursday at the Veterans World Championships, with Grant Johnson of Houston, Texas (97 kg, Div. A) and Shirzad Ahmadi of Coventry, Conn. (63 kg, Div. G).
For Ahmadi, it was his 11th career Veterans World gold medal, the most of any American.
He won a four-athlete round-robin competition with a 3-0 record. He dominated the opponents, scoring a pin, a technical fall and a victory by withdrawl when leading 11-5. His opponents were from Iran, Russia and the United States.
“The trip to Greece has been great. I was hoping that we would have more USA Gold medals but the competition was a lot tougher from around the world. This is my 11th World Freestyle Championship and I'm very happy,” said Ahmadi.
Johnson won his first career Veterans World title, powering to four straight victories. He opened with a 6-1 win over Nazmi Kahveciler of Turkey and an 11-4 victory over Alireza Amanollahi of Iran. He finished strong with a pair of technical falls, putting away Igor Nencioni, 12-1 in the semifinals and Pawel Wolonski of Poland, 10-0 in the finals.
“This whole experience has been one of international brotherhood. I got a small taste of it at Las Vegas and decided to join the Veterans team. My phenomenal coach, Derrick Waldroup, started training me as soon as we got back from the US Open where I was just a spectator. Winning a world championship is just a remarkable feeling. I might want to do this again,” said Johnson.
The USA has won six medals in freestyle. In men’s freestyle, Ahmadi and Johnson joined James Kasser of Lewis Center, Ohio, who won a gold at 63 kg in Div. D on Wednesday and Antonio Peraza of Shoreham, N.Y., who won a gold medal at 85 kg in Div. F on Tuesday. In the first year of women’s competition at the Veterans Worlds, the USA had a pair of champions who won their weight class uncontested, Meghan Marcello of Indian Springs, Nev. at 53 kg in Div. A and Marie Ziegler of Kenmore, Wash. at 48 kg in Div. B.
“It was awesome being part of history with the first Veteran women wrestlers. I look forward to helping grow our USA women's team and our sport. Winning a World Championship gold medal in Greece is definitely one of the highlights of my wrestling career,” said Meghann Marchello.
The U.S. had a pair of silver medalists on Thursday, Brett Clark of Bakersfield, Calif.at 130 kg in Div. A and Joseph Reasbeck of Superior, Wis. at 130 kg in Div. G. Clark had a 2-1 record and Reasbeck went 1-1 in their competitions.
U.S. bronze medalists were Jason Goldman of Endicott, N.Y. at 58 kg in Div. A and Jack Hornbuckle of Poteau, Okla. at 63 kg in Div. G. Both are multiple past Veterans World medalists.
In the first three days of competition, the United States has won 28 medals.
Competition continues on Friday with Greco-Roman action in Div. C and Div. D.
United World Wrestling will host a live webstream from the Veterans World Championships all week, along with complete results updates at:
https://unitedworldwrestling.org/event/world-championship-13
VETERANS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Athens, Greece
Men’s Freestyle champions
Div. A champions
58 kg – Abdolreza Rastekar (Iran)
63 kg – Vadim Khalitov (Russia)
69 kg – Nozadze Paata (Georgia)
76 kg – Oleg Akhmetov (Russia)
85 kg –Dmitri Darmodekhin (Russia)
97 kg – Grant Johnson (USA)
130 kg - Ali Darzinezhadrami (Iran)
Div. G
58 kg – Fedot Solovet (Russia)
63 kg – Shirzad Ahmadi (USA)
69 kg – Ismail Koukoglu (Turkey)
76 kg – Rossi Diego (Italy)
85 kg – Magomed Badrudinov (Russia)
97 kg – Theodor Sammet (Germany)
130 kg - Estate Goglichidze (Georgia)
Women’s Div. A champions
53 kg – Meghann Marchello (USA)
63 kg – Lotta Anderson (Sweden)
69 kg – Maria Strandberg (Sweden)
75 kg – Athina Giannousa (Greece)
Women’s Div. B champions
48 kg – Marie Ziegler (USA)
58 kg – Britt Eli Pedersen (Norway)
Women’s Div. C champions
63 kg – Ine Barlie (Norway)
U.S. men’s freestyle results
Div. A
58 kg – Jason Goldman, Endicott, N.Y., bronze medal
WIN Hidemasa Okada (Japan), 1-1
LOSS Abdolreza Rastekar (Iran), tech. fall 0-10
WIN Morne Brewis (South Africa), 7-1
63 kg – Dustin Marchello, Gladstone, Ore., 8th
LOSS Vadim Tozik (Belarus), tech. fall 0-10
63 kg – Mark Bader, Austin, Texas, 7th
LOSS Arthouros Kalpatsanidis (Greece), 1-2
69 kg – Rustin Marchello, Indian Springs, Nev., 7th
WIN Burhan Ozdemir (Turkey), 12-11
LOSS Hajibabaei Taheri (Iran), tech. fall 0-10
69 kg – Jason Cappiello, San Bruno, Calif., 10th
LOSS Csaba Sipos (Hungary), pin
69 kg – John Kokolakis, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., 5th
LOSS Ramil Ismayilov (Azerbaijan)
LOSS Csaba Sipos (Hungary)
76 kg – Ryan Meloche, Bakersfield, Calif., 8th
WIN Alik Sahakyan (Armenia), 7-4
LOSS Davood Gholipoor (Iran), tech. fall 0-10
76 kg – Rudy James, St. Paul, Minn., 7th
WIN Kirk Valentini (Italy), pin
LOSS Azim Akhmedov (Russia), 2-8
85 kg – Matthew Corona, Gilroy, Calif., 5th
LOSS Eri Tudor (Moldova), 3-4
WIN Pietnik Henrich (Slovakia), 6-5
LOSS Serghei Bolgar (Moldova), tech. fall 2-12
85 kg – Brian Cobb, Bakersfield, Calif., 9th
WIN Cem Ozdem (Turkey), tech. fall 11-0
LOSS Zabihollar Motalebi Aghjer (Iran), tech. fall, 0-11
97 kg – Grant Johnson, Houston, Texas, gold medal
WIN Nazmi Kahveciler (Turkey), 6-1
WIN Alireza Amanollahi (Iran), 11-4
WIN Igor Nencioni (Italy), tech. fall 12-1
WIN Pawel Wolonski (Poland), tech. fall 10-0
97 kg – Shawn Henebry, San Jose, Calif., 10th
LOSS Igor Nencioni (Italy), 1-8
97 kg – Octavius Bellamy, Chicago, Ill., 7th
WIN John Schutte (South Africa), 11-0
LOSS Igor Nencioni (Italy), 5-7
130 kg – Brett Clark, Bakersfield, Calif., silver medal
WIN Nikolaos Sotiriadis (Greece), pin
WIN Adan Krolak (Poland), 8-3
LOSS Ali Darzinezhadrami (Iran), 2-5
Div. G
63 kg – Shirzad Ahmadi, Coventry, Conn., gold medal
WIN Viktor Chipkov (Russia), withdraw
WIN Abasali Ahsan (Iran), pin
WIN Jack Hornbuckle (USA), tech. fall 10-0
63 kg – Jack Hornbuckle, Poteau, Okla., bronze medal
WIN Ahsan Abbasali (Iran), pin
LOSS Viktor Chipkov (Russia), tech. fall 2-13
LOSS Shirzad Ahmadi (USA), tech. fall 0-10
130 kg – Joseph Reasbeck, Superior, Wis., silver medal
WIN Abakir Rysov (Kyrgyzstan), 2-0
LOSS Estate Goglichidze (Georgia), 2-5
U.S. women’s freestyle results
Div. A
53 kg – Meghann Marcello, Indian Springs, Nev., gold medal
Uncontested
Div. B
48 kg – Marie Ziegler, Kenmore, Wash., gold medal
Uncontested
