Coon collects Greco-Roman World silver in first Senior World Championship appearance

BUDAPEST, Hungary – Adam Coon ended his incredible 2018 World Championships run at 130 kg in Greco-Roman with a World silver medal on Sunday afternoon in Budapest, Hungary.

“It’s been an amazing experience,” Coon said. “I’ve been able to go out and compete with everything I have, every God-given talent. Being on the international scene again and competing in the sport I love is fantastic.”

After pinning his way to the finals on Saturday, Coon was set to face three-time age-group World champion and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Sergey Semenov of Russia in the gold-medal bout.

Semenov, who owns two Junior World titles (2013, 2014) and a 2017 U23 World championship, used his strong body lock to overpower the American and end the bout in the first period, 9-0, with a step out and a pair of four-point tosses.

“Right when I was getting to my lock, he was able to adjust well,” Coon said. “I never could quite get to the lock that I wanted to because he could feel that it was coming. I got close a few times. I knew where his lock was, and if I was going to go for mine, I probably would’ve gone higher than I did.”

Coon is the first World finalist for the U.S. since 2009, when Dremiel Byers took silver at the World Championships in Herning, Denmark.

Along with his newly earned Senior World silver medal, Coon also won 2014 Junior World bronze medals in both freestyle and Greco-Roman as well as a 2011 Cadet World gold medal.

The USA put together a record-setting performance at the 2018 World Championships, collecting 12 World medals, beating the previous record of 10 medals was set in 1979 and was repeated in 1989 and 1991.

USA Wrestling ends its run in Budapest with four gold medals, three silver medals and five bronze medals.

Russia won the other two Greco gold medals up for grabs on the final day of the 2018 Worlds, with Aleksandr Chekhirkin winning at 77 kg and Musa Evloev taking the crown at 97 kg.

In the team race, Russia won first with 178 points, followed by Hungary with 83 points and Turkey with 75 points. The U.S. finished in 17th with 28 points, which were scored by Coon and Kamal Bey, who earned seventh at 77 kg.

2018 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIIPS

at Budapest, Hungary

Finals results
77 kg
1st - Aleksandr Chekhirkin (Russia) dec. Tamas Lorincz (Hungary), 3-1
3rd – Viktor Nemes (Serbia) dec. Alex Bjurberg Kessidis (Sweden), 6-2
3rd - Hyeonwoo Kim (Korea) dec. Bilan Nalgiev (Uzbekistan), 3-1

97 kg
1st - Musa Evloev (Russia) dec. Kiril Milov (Bulgaria), 7-2
3rd - Mahdi Aliyarifeizabadi (Iran) over Artur Aleksanyan (Armenia), forfeit
3rd – Mihail Kajala (Serbia) dec. Balazs Kiss (Hungary), 4-4

130 kg
1st - Sergey Semenov (Russia) tech. fall Adam Coon (USA), 9-0
3rd – Minseok Kim (Korea) dec. Eduard Popp (Germany), 2-1
3rd – Oscar Pino Hinds (Cuba) dec. Heiki Nabi (Estonia), 3-1

U.S. Greco-Roman results
77 kg/169.5 lbs. - Kamal Bey, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids/OTC) – 7th
WIN Ridong Zhang (China), 9-0
WIN Reiner Jimenez Terry (Guatemala), 8-1
LOSS Elvin Mursaliyev (Azerbaijan), 6-2
97 kg/213.75 lbs. - G’Angelo Hancock, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids) – 23rd/dnp
LOSS Peter Oehler (Germany), 6-3
130 kg/286 lbs. - Adam Coon, Fowlerville, Mich. (New York AC/Michigan RTC) - SILVER
WIN Rafal Krajewski (Poland), fall 1:54
WIN Lingzhe Meng (China), fall 4:13
WIN Eduard Popp (Germany), fall 2:32
WIN Min-Seok Kim (Korea), fall 3:42
LOSS Sergey Semenov (Russia), 9-0

Final team standings (top 10)
1. Russia, 178
2. Hungary, 89
3. Turkey, 75
4. Azerbaijan, 60
5. Serbia, 60
6. Armenia, 56
7. Germany, 49
8. China, 49
9. Kyrgyzstan, 42
10. Ukraine, 39