Team USA medalists from day one at the 2024 Veterans World Championships.
U.S. tallies five freestyle champions, nine medals on day one of Veterans World Championships
by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling
POREC, Croatia – The 2024 Veterans World Championships kicked off with a powerful U.S. performance on Tuesday at Zatika Sport Centre. Five American men claimed World titles, while four others found a place on the podium.
Wrestlers in action on the day were Division B, athletes 41-to-45 years old, and Division E, athletes 56-60 years old.
Two Americans defended freestyle titles in the same division and weight class from last year’s event—Ben VomBaur at 62 kg in Division B and Eric Mittlestead at 130 kg in Division E.
VomBaur, a Greeley, Colo., native, won four bouts on his way to the gold medal. He earned two bonus-point victories, a 16-4 technical fall against Individual Neutral Athlete Tumen Vasilev and a pin in 2:17 over Adlet Rakhimberdinov of Kazakhstan. He topped fellow American Ben Kjar, a past Veterans World champion, on criteria in the finals, 3-3.
Mittlestead owned the heavyweight division in his age bracket with two pins and a thrilling 13-8 victory in the championship bout against Individual Neutral Athlete Abdurashid Bagavdinov. The Exeter, Calif., product doubled up on titles one year ago and is in position to repeat the feat.
Other gold medalist for Team USA include Gerald Harris at 88 kg in Division B, plus Stephen Horton at 70 kg and Kevin Pine at 88 kg in Division E.
Division B produced silver medalists Kjar and Joseph Forsman at 88 kg, in addition to bronze medalists Grant Nakamura at 70 kg and Michael Harbison at 130 kg.
The U.S. topped the team ranking in both age brackets. The Division B crew compiled 90 team points, finishing 30 points ahead of runner-up Egypt. In Division E, the U.S. posted 94 team points to come out 19 points ahead of second place Iran.
The Veterans World Championships continue on Wednesday with the Divisions C and D freestyle tournaments. The action begins at 10:30 a.m. local time, with the finals scheduled for 6 p.m. Porec, Croatia, is located six hours ahead of the U.S. Eastern Time Zone.
Complete brackets and match-by-match results are available to browse on UWW Arena. A live stream and archived matches are available to the U.S. market through FloWrestling.
Veterans World Championships | Porec, Croatia, Oct. 8
Men’s Freestyle Results
Division B
Team Standings
1. United States, 90
2. Egypt, 60
3. Moldova, 45
4. Mongolia, 44
5. Japan, 41
6. Iran, 40
7. Romania, 34
8. South Africa, 29
9. Kazakhstan, 24
10. Ukraine, 20
62 kg
Gold – Ben VomBaur (United States)
Silver – Ben Kjar (United States)
Bronze – Tumen Vasilev (Individual Neutral Athlete)
Bronze – Leon Pentelei (Moldova)
5th – Adlet Rakhimberdinov (Kazakhstan)
5th – Oleksandr Halahan (Ukraine)
7th – Kenta Fujimoto (Japan)
8th – Leevy Mears (United States)
9th – Dan Popa (Romania)
Gold – Ben VomBaur (United States) dec. Ben Kjar (United States), 3-3
Bronze – Tumen Vasilev (Individual Neutral Athlete) tech. fall Adlet Rakhimberdinov (Kazakhstan), 10-0
Bronze – Leon Pentelei (Moldova) fall Oleksandr Halahan (Ukraine), 0:41
70 kg
Gold – Masanori Sakamoto (Japan)
Silver – Hassan Ibrahim (Egypt)
Bronze – Chingis Ukhinov (Individual Neutral Athlete)
Bronze – Grant Nakamura (United States)
5th – Sainbayar Sugar (Mongolia)
5th – Oleksandr Kosyntsev (Ukraine)
7th – Sodnom Budazhapov (Individual Neutral Athlete)
8th – Abu Dastan Zinaliyev (Kazakhstan)
9th – Rudolph Nice (South Africa)
10th – Vadim Budazhapov (Individual Neutral Athlete)
Gold – Masanori Sakamoto (Japan) dec. Hassan Ibrahim (Egypt), 8-2
Bronze – Chingis Ukhinov (Individual Neutral Athlete) tech. fall Sainbayar Sugar (Mongolia), 10-0
Bronze – Grant Nakamura (United States) tech. fall Oleksandr Kosyntsev (Ukraine), 12-2
78 kg
Gold – Richard Brian Addinall (South Africa)
Silver – Alexandru Burca (Moldova)
Bronze – Seyedabdolreza Razavi (Iran)
Bronze – Csaba Fazakas (Romania)
5th – Ashton Buswell (United States)
5th – Kumar Joginder (India)
7th – Assylbek Alkey (Kazakhstan)
8th – Urmat Mamytov (Kyrgyzstan)
9th – Ali Rahimi (Norway)
10th – Arzhan Turatbekov (Kyrgyzstan)
Gold – Richard Brian Addinall (South Africa) dec. Alexandru Burca (Moldova), 6-2
Bronze – Seyedabdolreza Razavi (Iran) tech. fall Ashton Buswell (United States), 11-0
Bronze – Csaba Fazakas (Romania) dec. Kumar Joginder (India), 7-1
88 kg
Gold – Gerald Harris (United States)
Silver – Joseph Forsman (United States)
Bronze – Gabor Hatos (Hungary)
Bronze – Rustem Kale (Turkey)
5th – Serghei Bolgar (Moldova)
5th – Alexei Gershanov (Israel)
7th – Dmitrii Darmodekhin (Individual Neutral Athlete)
8th – Altay Hajiyev (Azerbaijan)
9th – Batmunkh Lkhagvasuren (Mongolia)
10th – Roman Sarybaev (Kyrgyzstan)
Gold – Gerald Harris (United States) dec. Joseph Forsman (United States), 6-0
Bronze – Gabor Hatos (Hungary) dec. Serghei Bolgar (Moldova), 8-0
Bronze – Rustem Kale (Turkey) tech. fall Alexei Gershanov (Israel), 11-0
100 kg
Gold – Shahab Tayeb Moeinifar (Iran)
Silver – Ulamsaikhan Davaa (Mongolia)
Bronze – Ahmed Ahmed (Egypt)
4th – Araik Gevorkyan (Individual Neutral Athlete)
5th – Hosam Mady (Egypt)
6th – Wolfgang Fruehwirth (Austria)
7th – Toru Kono (Japan)
Gold – Shahab Tayeb Moeinifar (Iran) tech. fall Ulamsaikhan Davaa (Mongolia), 10-0
Bronze – Ahmed Ahmed (Egypt) dec. Araik Gevorkyan (Individual Neutral Athlete), 7-2
130 kg
Gold – Saleh Omara (Egypt)
Silver – Alexander Salamov (Individual Neutral Athlete)
Bronze – Michael Harbison (United States)
Bronze – Cosmin Podar Petho (Romania)
5th – Marin Vlahovic (Croatia)
5th – Tsevelsodnom Davaakhuu (Mongolia)
7th – Ronald Williams II (United States)
8th – Murad Ukhmusultanov (Individual Neutral Athlete)
9th – Ferenc Danosi (Hungary)
10th – Amir Lak (Great Britain)
Gold – Saleh Omara (Egypt) dec. Alexander Salamov (Individual Neutral Athlete), 7-1
Bronze – Michael Harbison (United States) inj. def. Marin Vlahovic (Croatia), 0:02
Bronze – Cosmin Podar Petho (Romania) dec. Tsevelsodnom Davaakhuu (Mongolia), 2-0
Division E
Team Standings
1. United States, 94
2. Iran, 75
3. Bulgaria, 40
4. Germany, 40
5. Kazakhstan, 37
6. Mongolia, 27
7. South Africa, 25
T8. Armenia, 20
T8. Italy, 20
T8. Ukraine, 20
62 kg
Gold – Remzi Redzheb Osman (Bulgaria)
Silver – Arkadii Ilimetov (Ukraine)
Bronze – Yoshiyuki Mayuzumi (Japan)
Bronze – Aleksandr Garmaev (Individual Neutral Athlete)
5th – Vadim Danilov (Individual Neutral Athlete)
5th – Daniel Verr (United States)
7th – Zhumabek Sultanov (Kazakhstan)
8th – Istvan Kleber (Hungary)
9th – Winfried Thomas Hoeflich (Germany)
10th – Altanbagana Khishigt (Mongolia)
Gold – Remzi Redzheb Osman (Bulgaria) dec. Arkadii Ilimetov (Ukraine), 7-2
Bronze – Yoshiyuki Mayuzumi (Japan) fall Vadim Danilov (Individual Neutral Athlete), 1:48
Bronze – Aleksandr Garmaev (Individual Neutral Athlete) fall Daniel Verr (United States), 1:08
70 kg
Gold – Stephen Horton (United States)
Silver – Hamidreza Rabiei Kenari (Iran)
Bronze – Jevgenijs Boiko (Latvia)
Bronze – Gheorghe Bistritchi (Moldova)
5th – Jamshed Maqsudov (Tajikistan)
5th – Antanas Merkevicius (Lithuania)
7th – Talant Begaliev (Kyrgyzstan)
8th – Nasanbayar Bodigerel (Germany)
9th – Lars Krister Jakobsson (Sweden)
10th – Narangerel Ochirkhuu (Mongolia)
Gold – Stephen Horton (United States) dec. Hamidreza Rabiei Kenari (Iran), 8-2
Bronze – Jevgenijs Boiko (Latvia) dec. Jamshed Maqsudov (Tajikistan), 10-6
Bronze – Gheorghe Bistritchi (Moldova) tech. fall Antanas Merkevicius (Lithuania), 12-2
78 kg
Gold – Mohammadkazem Narimani Kenari (Iran)
Silver – Jonathan Molfino (Italy)
Bronze – Pakherdin Tokhtiyev (Kazakhstan)
Bronze – Dirk Stastny (Germany)
5th – Petr Osipov (Individual Neutral Athlete)
5th – Stig Eriksson (Sweden)
7th – Osman Onder (Turkey)
8th – Rashid Mussin (Kazakhstan)
9th – Imre Timar (Hungary)
10th – Nurzhan Assilbekov (Kazakhstan)
Gold – Mohammadkazem Narimani Kenari (Iran) dec. Jonathan Molfino (Italy), 7-0
Bronze – Pakherdin Tokhtiyev (Kazakhstan) tech. fall Petr Osipov (Individual Neutral Athlete), 14-3
Bronze – Dirk Stastny (Germany) fall Stig Eriksson (Sweden), 1:29
88 kg
Gold – Kevin Pine (United States)
Silver – Azat Sheroyan (Armenia)
Bronze – Aleksandr Gabriel (Germany)
Bronze – Evgeny Lisitsa (Individual Neutral Athlete)
5th – Mark Drake (United States)
5th – Jeffery Anderson (United States)
7th – Baatarkhuu Orosoo (Mongolia)
8th – Ganbaatar Nasan (Mongolia)
9th – Kenzhebek Unalbayev (Kazakhstan)
10th – Ayhan Ozdemir (Turkey)
Gold – Kevin Pine (United States) inj. def. Azat Sheroyan (Armenia), 1:10
Bronze – Aleksandr Gabriel (Germany) fall Mark Drake (United States), 3:49
Bronze – Evgeny Lisitsa (Individual Neutral Athlete) tech. fall Jeffery Anderson (United States), 15-3
100 kg
Gold – Matthys De Beer (South Africa)
Silver – Farzad Helali (Iran)
Bronze – Habiballah Khajevand Sarivi (Iran)
4th – Adam Chojnacki (Poland)
5th – Kim Skhashok (Individual Neutral Athlete)
6th – Erik Hinckley (United States)
Gold – Matthys De Beer (South Africa) dec. Farzad Helali (Iran), 3-3
Bronze – Habiballah Khajevand Sarivi (Iran) dec. Adam Chojnacki (Poland), 1-1
130 kg
Gold – Eric Mittlestead (United States)
Silver – Abdurashid Bagavdinov (Individual Neutral Athlete)
Bronze – Marcho Markov (Bulgaria)
Bronze – Ankhbayar Tsendee (Mongolia)
5th – Ardeshir Poorhekmat (Iran)
5th – Anuar Uxumbayev (Kazakhstan)
7th – Zayamandakh Otgonbayar (Mongolia)
8th – Gantulga Gursed (Mongolia)
Gold – Eric Mittlestead (United States) dec. Abdurashid Bagavdinov (Individual Neutral Athlete), 13-8
Bronze – Marcho Markov (Bulgaria) fall Ardeshir Poorhekmat (Iran), 1:06
Bronze – Ankhbayar Tsendee (Mongolia) dec. Anuar Uxumbayev (Kazakhstan), 7-2
U.S. Men’s Freestyle Results
Division B
62 kg – Ben Kjar (Pleasant Grove, Utah), silver medal
WIN Leon Pentelei (Moldova), 8-3
WIN Oleksandr Halahan (Ukraine), fall, 1:12
LOSS Ben VomBaur (United States), 3-3
62 kg – Ben VomBaur (Greeley, Colo.), gold medal
WIN Tumen Vasilev (Individual Neutral Athlete), tech. fall, 16-4
WIN Dan Popa (Romania), 7-0
WIN Adlet Rakhimberdinov (Kazakhstan), fall, 2:17
WIN Ben Kjar (United States), 3-3
62 kg – Leevy Mears (Boca Raton, Fla), 8th place
LOSS Adlet Rakhimberdinov (Kazakhstan), 1-1
70 kg – Grant Nakamura (Pukalani, Hawaii), bronze medal
WIN Abu Dastan Zinaliyev (Kazakhstan), fall, 0:29
WIN Vadim Budazhapov (Individual Neutral Athlete), tech. fall, 10-0
LOSS Masanori Sakamoto (Japan), 11-4
WIN Oleksandr Kosyntsev (Ukraine), tech. fall, 12-2
78 kg – Ashton Buswell (Chula Vista, Calif.), 5th place
LOSS Richard Brian Addinall (South Africa), tech. fall, 10-0
LOSS Ashton Buswell (United States), tech. fall, 11-0
88 kg – Joseph Forsman (Houston, Texas), silver medal
WIN Batmunkh Lkhagvasuren (Mongolia), 12-6
WIN Rustem Kale (Turkey), 8-4
WIN Alexei Gershanov (Israel) Tech. Fall, 10-0
LOSS Gerald Harris (United States), 6-0
88 kg – James Medeiros (Granada Hills, Calif.), 11th place
LOSS Rustem Kale (Turkey), 4-2
88 kg – Gerald Harris (Broken Arrow, Okla.), gold medal
WIN Kazys Kleinas (Sweden), fall, 1:01
WIN Serghei Bolgar (Moldova), 3-1
WIN Gabor Hatos (Hungary), 3-2
WIN Joseph Forsman (United States), 6-0
130 kg – Ronald Williams II (North Las Vegas, Nev.), 7th place
LOSS Saleh Omara (Egypt), tech. fall, 11-0
LOSS Cosmin Podar Petho (Romania), 8-0
130 kg - Michael Harbison (Las Vegas, Nev.), bronze medal
WIN Ferenc Danosi (Hungary), 7-0
WIN Murad Ukhmusultanov (Individual Neutral Athlete), inj. def., 1:01
LOSS Alexander Salamov (Individual Neutral Athlete), tech. fall, 13-3
WIN Marin Vlahovic (Croatia), inj. def., 0:02
Division E
62 kg – Daniel Verr (Villa Park, Ill.), 5th place
LOSS Arkadii Ilimetov (Ukraine), fall, 2:35
LOSS Aleksandr Garmaev (Individual Neutral Athlete), fall, 1:08
70 kg – Marc Cecconi (Waynesville, Ga.), 11th place
LOSS Nasanbayar Bodigerel (Germany), tech. fall, 12-2
70 kg – Stephen Horton (Cibolo, Texas), gold medal
WIN Antanas Merkevicius (Lithuania), tech. fall, 11-0
WIN Narangerel Ochirkhuu (Mongolia), fall, 2:50
WIN Gheorghe Bistritchi (Moldova), tech. fall, 11-0
WIN Hamidreza Rabiei Kenari (Iran), 8-2
88 kg – Jeffery Anderson (Zeeland, Mich.), 5th place
WIN Stuart McKay (Great Britain), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Baatarkhuu Orosoo (Mongolia), 10-8
LOSS Kevin Pine (United States), 6-3
LOSS Evgeny Lisitsa (Individual Neutral Athlete), tech. fall, 15-3
88 kg – Kevin Pine (Aberdeen, Wash.), gold medal
WIN Evgeny Lisitsa (Individual Neutral Athlete), 6-1
WIN Jeffery Anderson (United States), 6-3
WIN Azat Sheroyan (Armenia), inj. def., 1:10
88 kg – Mark Drake (Lithia, Fla.), 5th place
WIN Ayhan Ozdemir (Turkey), fall, 2:52
WIN Tsandeleg Jadamba (Mongolia), fall, 0:40
LOSS Azat Sheroyan (Armenia), 10-1
LOSS Aleksandr Gabriel (Germany), fall, 3:49
100 kg – Erik Hinckley (Lansing, Kan.), 6th place
LOSS Adam Chojnacki (Poland), 9-0
LOSS Habiballah Khajevand Sarivi (Iran), 4-1
130 kg – Eric Mittlestead (Exeter, Calif.), gold medal
WIN Ardeshir Poorhekmat (Iran), fall, 2:49
WIN Marcho Markov (Bulgaria), fall, 1:15
WIN Abdurashid Bagavdinov (Individual Neutral Athlete), 13-8
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