97 kg world champion Kyle Snyder (photo courtesy of Kostadin Andonov/UWW)The 2022 Senior World Championships wrapped up Sunday from Belgrade, Serbia, as the medal matches for the final three men's freestyle weights took place. Saturday's action officially wrapped up a team title for the United States; however, they were able to officially celebrate the win at the conclusion of the tournament.
In the tournament's final match, Kyle Snyder picked up his fourth World/Olympic gold medal with a 6-0 victory over Slovakia's Batyrbek Tsakulov, a 2019 U23 World silver medalist. Just :16 seconds into the 97 kg bout Snyder picked up the matches only taken and never looked back. He added another point in the first for a shot clock violation from Tsakulov. The third period saw Snyder gain three points from step-outs as he coasted to the final buzzer unscathed.
Snyder only surrendered two points in his four bouts at the 2022 World Championships. Not only did Snyder grab his fourth gold medal, but he also claimed his eighth Senior world medal, in as many tries. Seven times during that span Snyder reached the finals.
The first wrestler to hit the mat for the Americans was Seth Gross at 61 kg. Gross fell 12-0 to Armenia's Arsen Harutyunyan in the bronze medal match. He'll settle for fifth place in his first Senior World appearance.
Yesterday, Yianni Diakomihalis broke the 65/66 kg medal drought that went back to 2007, as he made the world finals at 65 kg. Diakomihalis and Rahman Amouzadkhalili (Iran) got off to a quick start with a scramble situation that was initially run 4-2 in Yianni's favor. After a challenge, the score was changed to 8-6, still with the Cornell star leading. From there, Amouzadkhalili would take over. He locked up three takedowns and a step out during the final period and a half to emerge victorious, 13-8.
The US men's freestyle team finished with eight world medals which matched the record set by the 1987 team. All eight medalists made the finals, which set an American record for finalists in a single year. The team also had four gold medalists, a mark that hadn't been hit since the 1995 squad.
2022 Senior World Championships US results
61 kg Men's Freestyle
Bronze Medal Match: Arsen Harutyunyan (Armenia) over Seth Gross 12-0
65 kg Men's Freestyle
Gold Medal Match: Rahman Amouzadkhalili (Iran) over Yianni Diakomihalis 13-8
97 kg Men's Freestyle
Gold Medal Match: Kyle Snyder over Batyrbek Tsakulov (Slovakia) 6-0
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