U20 World silver medalist Isaiah Cortez celebrates his semifinal victory in Pontevedra, Spain.
U.S. finishes sixth in Greco-Roman at U20 World Championships with three medalists
by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling
PONTEVEDRA, Spain – Team USA finished in sixth place in the Greco-Roman team standings on the strength of three medalists and five top ten finishers at the 2024 U20 World Championships.
The Greco-Roman portion of the competition concluded on Wednesday evening at Pontevedra Municipal Sports Hall in Spain. No U.S. athletes participated in the final Greco-Roman session. However, Team USA scored silver medals from Isaiah Cortez and Otto Black, in addition to a bronze medal from Aden Attao, during the Tuesday evening medal rounds.
It was the first time on a World podium for both Cortez and Black, who put forth a sensational brand of Greco-Roman wrestling during their finals runs. Cortez made his first appearance at a World competition. Black previously competed at the U17 World Championships, finishing fifth in 2021.
The U.S. has not had multiple Greco-Roman finalists at this event since 2017 when Kamal Bey won gold at 74 kg and Cevion Severado earned silver at 50 kg. Bey, who recently competed at the Olympic Games, is the last American to win the U20 Worlds in Greco-Roman.
Attao became a two-time U20 World bronze medalist at heavyweight following a stellar run in the wrestle-backs. The last American to win two U20 World medals in Greco-Roman was Cohlton Schultz, who accomplished the feat in 2018-19, also at 130 kg. Schultz has gone on to represent the U.S. at the Senior World Championships three times (2021-23), a promising sign for the up-and-comer Attao, who currently ranks No. 3 on the U.S. National Team at the Senior level.
In addition to its three medalists, the U.S. earned top ten finishes and team points from Cory Land, who earned eighth place at 60 kg, and Aydin Rix McElhinney, who took ninth at 77 kg.
Iran cruised to the team title with four champions, six medalists and 147 team points. Kazakhstan came in a distant second place with one champion, five medalists and 100 team points. Turkey finished two points behind Kazakhstan with four medalists to take the third-place trophy.
2024 marks the first time the U.S. cracked the top ten in Greco-Roman since 2019, where it finished in ninth place. Additionally, 2019 is the last time the U.S. secured three Greco-Roman medals at the U20 level prior to this year—Cohlton Schultz (130 kg) earned silver, plus Alston Nutter (63 kg) and Peyton Omania (67 kg) scored bronzes.
The U20 World Championships continue tomorrow at 10 a.m. local time with the women’s freestyle group one (50-55-59-68-76 kg) repechage and the qualification rounds for women’s freestyle group two (53-57-62-65-72 kg). Pontevedra, Spain, is located six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time.
A full set of brackets and match-by-match results is available on UWW Arena. A live broadcast of the event is available for the U.S. market at FloWrestling.com.
Stay tuned to TheMat.com and USA Wrestling’s social media platforms for complete coverage of the U20 World Championships.
2024 U20 World Championships | Sept. 4, Pontevedra, Spain #
Greco-Roman Results #
Final Results #
Team Standings #
1. Iran, 147
2. Kazakhstan, 100
3. Turkey, 98
4. Armenia, 75
5. Georgia, 66
6. United States, 65
7. Azerbaijan, 63
8. Kyrgyzstan, 58
9. Japan, 50
10. Ukraine, 45
55 kg #
Gold – Ali Ahmadi Vafa (Iran)
Silver – Isaiah Cortez (United States)
Bronze – Alibek Amirov (Individual Neutral Athlete)
Bronze – Aibek Aitbekov (Kazakhstan)
5th – Rahim Hasanov (Azerbaijan)
5th – Maxim Sarmanov (Moldova)
7th – Barsbek Asankozhoev (Kyrgyzstan)
8th – Giorgi Kochalidze (Georgia)
9th – Peter Totok (Hungary)
10th – Anil Mor (India)
Gold – Ali Ahmadi Vafa (Iran) tech. fall Isaiah Cortez (United States), 11-3
Bronze – Alibek Amirov (Individual Neutral Athlete) tech. fall Rahim Hasanov (Azerbaijan), 10-0
Bronze – Aibek Aitbekov (Kazakhstan) tech. fall Maxim Sarmanov (Moldova), 10-1
60 kg #
Gold – Mohammadmehdi Gholampour (Iran)
Silver – Servet Angi (Turkey)
Bronze – Papik Dzhavadian (Individual Neutral Athlete)
Bronze – Ongdassyn Khamitov (Kazakhstan)
5th – Tural Ahmadov (Azerbaijan)
5th – Kohaku Kanazawa (Japan)
7th – Yunlong Hu (China)
8th – Cory Land (United States)
9th – Armen Sukiasyan (Armenia)
10th – Ahmed Shaban (Egypt)
Gold – Mohammadmehdi Gholampour (Iran) tech. fall Servet Angi (Turkey), 9-0
Bronze – Papik Dzhavadian (Individual Neutral Athlete) dec. Tural Ahmadov (Azerbaijan), 2-0
Bronze – Ongdassyn Khamitov (Kazakhstan) tech. fall Kohaku Kanazawa (Japan), 9-0
63 kg #
Gold – Erzu Zakriev (Individual Neutral Athlete)
Silver – Otto Black (United States)
Bronze – Yurik Hoveyan (Armenia)
Bronze – Erfan Jarkani (Iran)
5th – Enes Ulku (Turkey)
5th – Anri Khozrevanidze (Georgia)
7th – William Ekerot (Sweden)
8th – Mahammad Shukurzade (Azerbaijan)
9th – Shina Yasumi (Japan)
10th – Emirlan Duishenaliev (Kyrgyzstan)
Gold – Erzu Zakriev (Individual Neutral Athlete) tech. fall Otto Black (United States), 8-0
Bronze – Yurik Hoveyan (Armenia) dec. Enes Ulku (Turkey), 2-1
Bronze – Erfan Jarkani (Iran) dec. Anri Khozrevanidze (Georgia), 6-2
67 kg #
Gold – Ahmadreza Mohsen Nezhad (Iran)
Silver – Yussuf Ashrapov (Kazakhstan)
Bronze – Grair Oganesian (Individual Neutral Athlete)
Bronze – Kojiro Hasegawa (Japan)
5th – Rati Khozrevanidze (Georgia)
5th – Ramazan Aktas (Turkey)
7th – Imed Khudzhadze (Ukraine)
8th – Tim Eklund Bergfalk (Sweden)
9th – Gaspar Terteryan (Armenia)
10th – Artur Jeremejev (Estonia)
Gold – Ahmadreza Mohsen Nezhad (Iran) dec. Yussuf Ashrapov (Kazakhstan), 2-0
Bronze – Grair Oganesian (Individual Neutral Athlete) tech. fall Rati Khozrevanidze (Georgia), 9-0
Bronze – Kojiro Hasegawa (Japan) dec. Ramazan Aktas (Turkey), 8-7
72 kg #
Gold – Zaur Beslekoev (Individual Neutral Athlete)
Silver – Ashot Khachatryan (Armenia)
Bronze – Ruslan Nurullayev (Azerbaijan)
Bronze – Muhammed Gocmen (Turkey)
5th – Wenhao Hu (China)
5th – Illia Valeuski (Individual Neutral Athlete)
7th – Moustafa Alameldin (Egypt)
8th – Hajime Kikuta (Japan)
9th – Luka Ivancic (Croatia)
10th – Hubert Sidoruk (Poland)
Gold – Zaur Beslekoev (Individual Neutral Athlete) dec. Ashot Khachatryan (Armenia), 6-5
Bronze – Ruslan Nurullayev (Azerbaijan) dec. Wenhao Hu (China), 6-5
Bronze – Muhammed Gocmen (Turkey) dec. Illia Valeuski (Individual Neutral Athlete), 4-3
77 kg #
Gold – Alireza Abdevali (Iran)
Silver – Magomed Iarbilov (Individual Neutral Athlete)
Bronze – Tornike Mikeladze (Georgia)
Bronze – Levente Levai (Hungary)
5th – Karl Baff (Sweden)
5th – Irfan Mirzoiev (Ukraine)
7th – Alexandru Solovei (Moldova)
8th – Vikke Tarkkio (Finland)
9th – Aydin Rix McElhinney (United States)
10th – Ognjen Jakovljevic (Serbia)
Gold – Alireza Abdevali (Iran) dec. Magomed Iarbilov (Individual Neutral Athlete), 3-1
Bronze – Tornike Mikeladze (Georgia) dec. Karl Baff (Sweden), 5-3
Bronze – Levente Levai (Hungary) dec. Irfan Mirzoiev (Ukraine), 3-2
82 kg #
Gold – Islam Yevloyev (Kazakhstan)
Silver – Alperen Berber (Turkey)
Bronze – Taizo Yoshida (Japan)
Bronze – Shichang Zheng (China)
5th – Anri Davitadze (Georgia)
5th – Abdurakhman Abdulkadyrov (Individual Neutral Athlete)
7th – Erik Ter Matevosyan (Armenia)
8th – Mohammad Arjmanddashtaki (Iran)
9th – Sukmin Yoon (Korea)
10th – Ismayil Rzayev (Azerbaijan)
Gold – Islam Yevloyev (Kazakhstan) dec. Alperen Berber (Turkey), 9-3
Bronze – Taizo Yoshida (Japan) dec. Anri Davitadze (Georgia), 6-1
Bronze – Shichang Zheng (China) forfeit Abdurakhman Abdulkadyrov (Individual Neutral Athlete)
87 kg #
Gold – Asan Zhanyshov (Kyrgyzstan)
Silver – Joju Samadov (Azerbaijan)
Bronze – Temirlan Turdakyn (Kazakhstan)
Bronze – Achiko Bolkvadze (Georgia)
5th – Ruben Gevorgyan (Armenia)
5th – Patrik Gordan (Romania)
7th – Hamza Sertcanli (Sweden)
8th – Eleftherios Pappas (Greece)
9th – Wojciech Iwanowski (Poland)
10th – Andrija Mihajlovic (Serbia)
Gold – Asan Zhanyshov (Kyrgyzstan) tech. fall Joju Samadov (Azerbaijan), 8-0
Bronze – Temirlan Turdakyn (Kazakhstan) dec. Ruben Gevorgyan (Armenia), 3-1
Bronze – Achiko Bolkvadze (Georgia) tech. fall Patrik Gordan (Romania), 10-0
97 kg #
Gold – Yehor Yakushenko (Ukraine)
Silver – Darius Kiefer (Germany)
Bronze – Ahmet Eremekter (Turkey)
Bronze – Anatolii Averin (Individual Neutral Athlete)
5th – Rakhat Berzhanov (Kazakhstan)
5th – Branko Dukic (Serbia)
7th – Bekzhan Zhumabekov (Kyrgyzstan)
8th – Hamidreza Keshtkar (Iran)
9th – Arshak Geghamyan (Armenia)
10th – Naman Naman (India)
Gold – Yehor Yakushenko (Ukraine) dec. Darius Kiefer (Germany), 6-4
Bronze – Ahmet Eremekter (Turkey) dec. Rakhat Berzhanov (Kazakhstan), 5-1
Bronze – Anatolii Averin (Individual Neutral Athlete) dec. Branko Dukic (Serbia), 7-3
130 kg #
Gold – Laszlo Darabos (Hungary)
Silver – Abolfazl Fathitazangi (Iran)
Bronze – Aden Attao (United States)
Bronze – Samagan Ormonov (Kyrgyzstan
5th – Aleksandr Melekhov (Individual Neutral Athlete)
5th – Aramayis Harutyunyan (Armenia)
7th – Cemal Bakir (Turkey)
8th – Seunggyu Min (Korea)
9th – Alan Dzabiev (Bulgaria)
10th – Artur Boichuk (Ukraine)
Gold – Laszlo Darabos (Hungary) dec. Abolfazl Fathitazangi (Iran), 5-3
Bronze – Aden Attao (United States) fall Aleksandr Melekhov (Individual Neutral Athlete), 2:46
Bronze – Samagan Ormonov (Kyrgyzstan) fall Aramayis Harutyunyan (Armenia), 1:56
U.S. Greco-Roman Results #
55 kg – Isaiah Cortez (Los Banos, Calif./Gilroy), silver medal
WIN Anil Mor (India), 9-8
WIN Peter Totok (Hungary), 7-4
WIN Maxim Sarmanov (Moldova), 9-6
WIN Aibek Aitbekov (Kazakhstan), tech. fall, 9-0
LOSS Ali Ahmadi Vafa (Iran), tech. fall, 11-3
60 kg – Cory Land (Moody, Ala./Ironclad WC), 8th place
WIN Ilias Zairakis (Greece), tech. fall, 8-0
LOSS Papik Dzhavadian (AIN), 6-4
63 kg – Otto Black (Parker, Colo./Colorado Top Team WC), silver medal
WIN Dejan Berkec (Serbia), 5-1
WIN Enes Ulku (Turkey), 7-6
WIN Yurik Hoveyan (Armenia), 7-2
LOSS Erzu Zakriev (Individual Neutral Athlete), tech. fall, 8-0
67 kg – Joel Adams (Omaha, Neb./The Best Wrestler), 15th place
LOSS Imed Khudzhadze (Ukraine), 5-2
72 kg – Patrick Brackett (Superior, Colo./Mile High WC), 27th place
LOSS Hubert Sidoruk (Poland), fall, 0:55
77 kg – Aydin Rix McElhinney (South Berwick, Maine/Northern Colorado WC), 9th place
LOSS Alireza Abdevali (Iran), 7-3
WIN Jixin Yu (China), 8-3
LOSS Karl Baff (Sweden), tech. fall, 9-0
82 kg – Arian Khosravy (Woodland Hills, Calif./LAWC/Chaminade), 14th place
WIN Jesper Haerkaenen (Finland), 3-0
LOSS Taizo Yoshida (Japan), 8-1
87 kg – Ryder Rogotzke (Lakeland, Minn./Ohio RTC), 22nd place
LOSS Patrik Gordan (Romania), tech. fall, 8-0
97 kg – Soren Herzog (Colorado Springs, Colo./Air Force RTC), 18th place
LOSS Bekzhan Zhumabekov (Kyrgyzstan), tech. fall, 8-0
130 kg – Aden Attao (Boise, Idaho/Beaver Dam RTC/New York AC), bronze medal
LOSS Laszlo Darabos (Hungary), tech. fall, 9-0
WIN Ethan Vergara (Puerto Rico), tech. fall, 8-0
WIN Cemal Bakir (Turkey), 5-5
WIN Aleksandr Melekhov (Individual Neutral Athlete), fall, 2:46