Justin Rademacher named USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare

Justin Rademacher (West Linn, Ore./Beaver Dam Wrestling RTC) has been named USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week, presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare, on August 20, 2025.

The Oregon native was tremendous at the 2025 U20 World Championships in Samokov, Bulgaria. Rademacher navigated the 97 kg men’s freestyle field with a 4-0 record at Arena Samokov on his way to the gold medal.

During the preliminary rounds, Rademacher earned a pin against 2022 U17 European champion Ibrahim Benekli of Türkiye, a 9-1 decision on 2024 U17 European runner-up Nikolaos Karavanos of Greece and a 16-5 technical fall over 2024 U17 World champion and reigning U20 European champion Konstantine Petriashvili of Georgia.

A 4-1 decision favored Rademacher in the gold medal final versus UWW athlete Magomedgadzhi Magomedov, who was a U20 European bronze medalist. Rademacher took control of the match with a four-point double leg in the first period and never let the score get within reach.

The gold medal is Rademacher’s second U20 World medal performance. He collected a bronze medal at last year’s event in Pontevedra, Spain. Rademacher won Senior and U20 Pan American titles earlier this year.

The 20-year-old will continue his collegiate career this season as a redshirt sophomore at Oregon State University under head coach Chris Pendleton. Rademacher was a NCAA qualifier for the Beavers in 2024 as a true freshman.

To nominate a wrestler for this honor please email the athlete's name, wrestling program, weekly accomplishments, and career accolades to communications@usawrestling.org.