By Gary Abbott
USA Wrestling
OSLO, Norway – The United States came home with three medals on the first night of gold-medal finals at the Senior World Championships on Sunday, led by individual World champion Kyle Dake (Ithaca, N.Y./Spartan Combat WC/Titan Mercury WC) at 74 kg.

A 2020 Olympic bronze medalist, Dake became a three-time Senior World champion with a clutch victory in the finals over 2019 World bronze medalist and 2021 European champion Tajmuraz Salkazanov of Slovakia, 7-3. This is Dake’s first World title at 74 kg, after claiming 2018 and 2019 World titles up at 79 kg.

The match was close early on. Dake scored first on a step out but Salkazanov tied it up with a step out at 1-1. When Salkazanov scored another step out, he led 2-1 in the second period. However, Dake nailed a takedown with 1:23 left to take a 3-2 lead. Another takedown and gut wrench extended the lead to 7-2 and gave up a late step out for the final score.

Dake, a four-time NCAA champion for Cornell, has now won a medal in all four Senior World or Olympic events he has entered.

Two U.S. wrestlers came home with silver medals, 2020 Olympic champion and 2018 World champion David Taylor (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) at 86 kg and Daton Fix (Sand Springs, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) at 61 kg. Taylor was the national winner of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award in 2009 and Fix was the national winner in 2017.

Taylor was defeated for the first time in four battles with 2016 Olympic champion Hassan Yazdani Charati of Iran, in a highly-competitive 6-2 match. It was a rematch of the 2020 Olympic finals, which was won by Taylor, 4-3.

Yazdani scored first on a step out, then added another step out for a 2-0 lead at the break. Early in the second period, a Yazdani takedown made it 4-0. Taylor tightened it up with a takedown to make it 4-2 with just under a minute to go. Yazdani held his position and added a takedown in the closing seconds for the 6-2 victory.

Taylor has now won three career World or Olympic medals, with a 2018 World gold, 2020 Olympic gold and a 2021 World silver.

Fix claimed his first career Senior World medal by coming home with a silver medal at 61 kg. He was defeated in the finals by another young talent, Abasgadzhi Magomedov of the Russian Wrestling Federation, 4-1.

Magomedov scored first after Fix could not score on the activity clock. Fix quickly forced a step out to knot it at 1-1. In the second period, Fix was placed on the shot clock again and could not score, giving Magomedov the 2-1 lead. In a scramble with about a minute left, Magomedov added the only takedown of the match to secure his 4-1 victory.

Fix, who competes for Oklahoma State, is a past Junior World champion and has now won World medals at the Cadet, Junior and Senior age divisions.

It has been a breakthrough year for Magomedov, who added a Senior World title after winning the Russian Nationals, the European Championships and the Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix in order.

At 125 kg, two-time World bronze medalist Nick Gwiazdowski, (Ithaca, N.Y./Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC)who was the New York winner of the DSHSEA in 2011, finished fifth, after falling to 2016 Olympic champion and two-time World champion Taha Akgul of Turkey in the bronze-medal bout, 6-4.

Akgul came out strong, scoring two straight takedowns and adding a gut wrench for a 6-0 lead. Gwiazdowski scored his first takedown early in the second period to make it 6-2. Gwiazdowski was not able to score again until the closing seconds with another takedown, giving Akgul the 6-4 decision.

On Sunday, Iran won two gold medals, the United States added one and Russia won the other gold medal.

In the team standings after the first four weight classes, the United States is in first with 75 points, with the Russian Wrestling Federation in second with 63 points and Iran in third with 56 points. All three nations had success during the four Group Two weight classes also contested on Sunday, which went through the semifinals. We can expect a much closer team race as the final two days of men’s freestyle are contested.

A story on Group Two weight classes (57 kg, 65 kg, 79 kg and 92 kg) will follow.

SENIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Oslo, Norway, October 3

Group One Men’s freestyle final results

61 kg
Gold - Abasgadzhi Magomedov (Russia)
Silver - Daton Fix (USA)
Bronze - Arsen Harutyunyan (Armenia)
Bronze - Toshihiro Hasegawa (Japan)
5th - Ravinder (India)
5th - Tuvshintulga Tumenbileg (Mongolia)
7th - Georgi Vangelov (Bulgaria)
8th - Arman Norik Eloyan (France)
9th - Emrah Ormanoglu (Turkey)
10th - Alibeg Alibegov (Bahrain)
Gold – Magomedov dec. Fix, 4-1
Bronze – Hartunyan tech. fall Ravinder, 10-0
Bronze – Hasegawa tech. fall Temenbileg, 12-1

74 kg
Gold - Kyle Dake (USA)
Silver - Tajmuraz Salkazanov (Slovakia)
Bronze - Fazli Eryilmaz (Turkey)
Bronze - Timur Bizhoev (Russian Wrestling Federation)
5th - Azamat Nurykau (Belarus)
5th - Avtandil Kentchadze (Georgia)
7th - Hetik Cabolov (Serbia)
8th - Yones Aliakbar Emamichoghaei (Iran)
9th - Ali Pasha Umarpashaev (Bulgaria)
10th - Joshgun Azimov (Azerbaijan)
Gold – Dake dec. Salkazanov, 7-3
Bronze – Eriyilmaz dec. Nuyrkau, 2-1
Bronze – Bizhoev dec. Kentchadze, 8-6

86 kg
Gold - Hassan Yazdani Charati (Iran)
Silver - David Taylor (USA)
Bronze - Artur Naifonov (Russian Wrestling Federation)
Bronze - Abubakr Abakarov (Azerbaijan)
5th - Boris Makoev (Slovakia)
5th - Azamat Dauletbekov (Kazakhstan)
7th - Ethan Adrian Ramos (Puerto Rico)
8th - Taimuraz Friev Naskidaeva (Spain)
9th - Akhmed Aibuev (France)
10th - Noel Torres Chacon (Mexico)
Gold – Yazdani dec. Taylor, 6-2
Bronze – Abakarov dec. Makoev, 9-5
Bronze – Naifanov dec. Dauletbekov, 3-0

125 kg
Gold - Amir Hossein Abbas Zare (Iran)
Silver - Geno Petriashvili (Georgia)
Bronze - Taha Akgul (Turkey)
Bronze - Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur (Mongolia)
5th - Oleg Boltin (Kazakhstan)
5th - Nick Gwiazdowski (USA)
7th - Zelimkhan Khizriev (Russian Wrestling Federation)
8th - Youssif Hemida (Egypt)
9th - Oleksandr Koldovskiy (Ukraine)
10th - Robert Baran (Poland)
Gold – Zare dec. Petriashvili, 9-2
Bronze – Akgul dec. Gwiazdowski, 6-4
Bronze – Munkhtur dec. Boltin, 3-1

Men’s freestyle Group One final results

61 kg – Daton Fix (Sand Springs, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC), silver medal
WIN Giorgi Vangelov (Bulgaria), tech. fall 11-0, 6:00
WIN Arman Norik Eloyan (France), tech. fall 10-0, 0:54
WIN Ravinder (India), tech. fall 10-0, 1:54
WIN Arsen Harutyunyan (Armenia), 10-0, 0:34
LOSS Abasgadzhi Magomedov (Russian Wrestling Federation), 4-1

74 kg –Kyle Dake (Ithaca, N.Y./Spartan Combat WC/Titan Mercury WC), gold medal
WIN Vasile Diacon (Moldova), tech. fall, 11-0, 1:11
WIN Fazli Eryilmaz (Turkey), 5-0
WIN Azamat Nurykau (Belarus), 9-1
WIN Tajmuraz Salkazanov (Slovakia), 7-3

86 kg –David Taylor (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC), silver medal
WIN Boris Makoev (Slovakia), tech. fall 11-0, 4:21
WIN Akhmed Aibuev (France), tech. fall 10-0, 0:28
WIN Abubakr Abakarov (Azerbaijan), pin 1:35
LOSS Hassan Yazdani Charati (Iran), 6-2

125 kg – Nick Gwiazdowski (Ithaca, N.Y./Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC), 5th place
WIN Amarveer Dhesi (Canada), 8-3
LOSS Amir Hossein Abbas Zare (Iran), 10-0, 1:49
WIN Dzianis Khramiankou (Belarus), 6-1
LOSS Taha Akgul (Turkey), 6-4

Team Standings after first four weight classes
1. USA, 75
2. Russian Wrestling Federation, 63
3. Iran, 56
4. Turkey, 34
5. (tie) Georgia and Slovakia, 30
7. Mongolia, 25
8. Kazakhstan, 20
9. Azerbaijan, 17
10. (tie) Armenia and Japan, 15