By Richard Immel
USA Wrestling

The Greco-Roman group for Team USA at the 2026 Senior World Championships blends veteran experience with up-and-coming talent in its bid to end a four-year medal drought.

Six Americans have competed at a prior Senior Worlds, and nine hold age-group World Championships experience. None has a Senior World medal, but five have earned an age-group World medal.

Here’s a breakdown of the U.S. Greco-Roman team heading to Astana, Kazakhstan, plus background on the international competitors entered in the Greco-Roman competition.

Team USA Outlook 

The last American to medal in Greco-Roman was G’Angelo Hancock, who won a 97 kg bronze medal at the 2021 Worlds in Oslo, Norway. The top contenders to break through this year start with five-time World Team members Kamal Bey at 82 kg and Cohlton Schultz at 130 kg. Both Bey and Schultz are proven commodities, with age-group World titles to their names and extensive Senior-level experience. Bey was an Olympian in 2024.

Bey is one of four members of the U.S. Army WCAP who made the team. He is joined by 2024 Olympic Trials champion and three-time World Team member Dalton Roberts at 60 kg, two-time World Team member Xavier Johnson at 63 kg, and Senior Worlds newcomer Timothy Young at 97 kg.

Making his fourth Senior Worlds appearance is Max Nowry at 55 kg, who is another medal threat for the U.S. Nowry qualified for a bronze medal match twice (2019, 2022) but came up short of the podium both times.

Benji Peak at 72 kg and Beka Melelashvili at 87 kg round out the list of Americans with past Senior World Championships experience. Peak competed at the 2022 and 2024 Worlds before being sidelined in 2025 due to injury. After a disappointing outing in 2025, Melelashvili bumped up a weight class for his 2026 run. Melelashvili won silver at the 2024 U23 Worlds.

Age-group World medalists Otto Black at 67 kg and Joel Adams at 77 kg round out the list of U.S. entrants. Both are five-time age-group World Team members who will compete at the Senior Worlds for the first time. Black won U23 World bronze in 2025 and U20 World silver in 2024. Adams won the U17 World title in 2022.  

Eight Eye World Title Repeats 

Of the 10 World champions crowned last year, eight have returned for another run at gold: Vakhtang Lolua of Georgia (55 kg), Aytjan Khalmakhanov of Uzbekistan (67 kg), Saeid Esmaeili of Iran (67 kg), Ulvu Ganizadeh of Azerbaijan (72 kg), Malkhas Amoyan of Armenia (77 kg), Gholamreza Farokhi of Iran (82 kg), Aleksander Komarov of Serbia (87 kg) and Hadi Saravi of Iran (97 kg).

Khalmakhanov is the only returning champion to adjust weights, moving up from 63 kg to 67 kg. Esmaeili and Saravi were Olympic champions in 2024 before claiming the 2025 crown. Ganizade, Amoyan and Saravi are all two-time World champions.

22 Olympic and World Champions Entered 

In addition to last year’s crop of eight returning gold medalists, 14 others come to Astana with an Olympic or World title in Greco-Roman on their resume. Luis Orta Sanchez of Cuba (2020) joins Esmaeili and Saravi on the list of past Olympic champions entered.

Additional World title holders include five-time World champion Riza Kayaalp of Türkiye (2011, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022), four-time World champion Eldaniz Azizli of Azerbaijan (2018, 2022, 2023, 2024), two-time World champions Akzhol Makhmudov of Kyrgyzstan (2022, 2023) and Heiki Nabi of Estonia (2006, 2013), plus one-time World champions Orta Sanchez (2023), Nihat Mammadli of Azerbaijan (2024), Sergey Emelin of Russia (2018), Ibrahim Ghanem of France (2023), Ali Arsalan of Serbia (2022), Viktor Nemes of Serbia (2017), Lasha Gobadze of Georgia (2019), Ali Cengiz of Türkiye (2023), Gabriel Rosillo Kindelan of Cuba (2023) and Sergey Semenov of Russia (2018).

Kayaalp Returns, Seeks Sixth World Title 

After stepping away from international competition in 2025, legendary heavyweight Riza Kayaalp of Türkiye is back to run for the heavyweight crown. A gold medal in Astana would put Kayaalp in the elite club of six-time World champions. Only two Americans own six World titles—Jordan Burroughs in men’s freestyle and Adeline Gray in women’s freestyle. Kayaalp is a four-time Olympian, three-time Olympic medalist, and owns 10 World medals dating back to 2008. He is one of the few athletes to have beaten five-time Olympic champion Mijain Lopez Nunez of Cuba, and would likely have several more gold medals if not for the Cuban legend. The 130 kg bracket is expected to be one of the tournament's toughest, with three World champions and several other past medalists in the mix.

How To Follow The Action 

Greco-Roman will take the mats first at Barys Arena. Athletes will compete in three waves over the course of the event—group one (55-60-77-82 kg) starting October 24, group two (72-97-130 kg) on October 25, and group three (63-67-87 kg) on October 26. Each bracket will be contested over two days, with semifinals on day one and repechage and medal matches on day two.

To follow along in real time, refer to the event schedule below. Astana, Kazakhstan, is in the GMT +5 time zone, which is nine hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time. USA Wrestling will provide regular updates on TheMat.com and its social media platforms throughout the event.

The Senior World Championships will stream live on FloWrestling.com to the U.S. market. United World Wrestling will provide brackets and updated results on UWW Arena.

2026 Senior World Championships 

At Astana, Kazakhstan, October 24 – November 1 

Reference Links 

• Event entry list

• Live stream

• Brackets and results

Greco-Roman Event Schedule 

Saturday, October 24 

10:30 a.m. – Qualification Rounds (GR 55-60-77-82 kg)

7 p.m. – Semifinals (GR 55-60-77-82 kg)

Sunday, October 25 

10:30 a.m. – Qualification Rounds (GR 72-97-130 kg), Repechage (GR 55-60-77-82 kg)

4:45 p.m. – Semifinals (GR 72-97-130 kg)

6 p.m. – Medal Matches (GR 55-60-77-82 kg)

Monday, October 26 

10:30 a.m. – Qualification Rounds (GR 63-67-87 kg), Repechage (GR 72-97-130 kg)

4:45 p.m. – Semifinals (GR 63-67-87 kg)

6 p.m. – Medal Matches (GR 72-97-130 kg)

Tuesday, October 27 

10:30 a.m. –Repechage (GR 63-67-87 kg)

6 p.m. – Medal Matches (GR 63-67-87 kg)

*Listed times reflect local time in Astana, Kazakhstan, which is nine hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time.

U.S. Greco-Roman Roster 

55 kg – Max Nowry (Washington, Ill./Illinois RTC/New York AC)

60 kg – Dalton Roberts (Fountain, Colo./Army WCAP)

63 kg – Xavier Johnson (Pueblo, Colo./Army WCAP)

67 kg – Otto Black (Colorado Springs, Colo./USOPTC/New York AC)

72 kg – Benji Peak (Colorado Springs, Colo./Position Wrestling/New York AC)

77 kg – Joel Adams (Omaha, Neb./Beaver Dam Wrestling RTC)

82 kg – Kamal Bey (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP)

87 kg – Beka Melelashvili (Colorado Springs, Colo./USOPTC/New York AC)

97 kg – Timothy Young (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP)

130 kg – Cohlton Schultz (Tempe, Ariz./Southwest WC/New York AC)