Team USA medalists from day three at the 2024 Veterans World Championships.

Graff, Johnson score gold to wrap freestyle competition at Veterans World Championships

Oct. 10, 2024, 10:28 PM (ET)

by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling

POREC, Croatia – Tyler Graff and Garrett Johnson gave the U.S. a pair of gold medalists in Division A at the 2024 Veterans World Championships on Thursday to wrap the freestyle portion of the event. Five other Americans found a place on the podium.

Wrestlers in action on the day at Zatika Sport Centre were Division A, athletes 35-to-40 years old.

Graff cruised to the 62 kg gold medal with three impressive wins. He opened with an 11-0 technical fall over Daulet Bekgozhayev of Kazakhstan, followed by a 4-1 decision against Jalal Suleymanov of Azerbaijan, and capped his run with an 8-0 thumping against Davaakhuyag Tumur of Mongolia in the championship match.

Graff was a member of the U.S. Senior World Team in 2019, where he finished in fifth place at the World Championships. He also competed at two Junior World Championships for Team USA.

Up at 130 kg, Johnson brought home the gold with a three-win effort. His first two matches were finished early—a 13-1 technical fall over American Mingo Grant and a 59-second pin against Germany’s Christian Lombardi. Johnson edged Gani Izbagambetov of Kazakhstan, 4-3, in the heavyweight final.

Finding a place in the World finals was 70 kg representative Matthew Collum, who finished with a 3-1 record and silver medal. Collum was an offensive machine, putting up 29 points in his first three matches of the day. His run fell short in the championship bout against Dmitrii Malencov of Moldova, 10-0.

Battling to bronze medal finishes were Jon Schiewe at 62 kg, Ted Bristol at 78 kg, DeAndre Nunn at 100 kg and Mingo Grant at 130 kg.

The Division A crew compiled 108 team points to finish atop the team standings, 30 points ahead of runner-up Kazakhstan. The U.S. won the aggregate team title by compiling the most team points of any country across all age divisions in freestyle.

The Veterans World Championships continue on Friday with the Division B and Division E Greco-Roman tournaments. The action begins at 10:30 a.m. local time, with the finals scheduled for 6 p.m. Porec, Croatia, is located six hours ahead of the U.S. Eastern Time Zone.

Complete brackets and match-by-match results are available to browse on UWW Arena. A live stream and archived matches are available to the U.S. market through FloWrestling.

Veterans World Championships | Porec, Croatia, Oct. 10

Men’s Freestyle Results

Division A

Team Standings

1. United States, 108

2. Kazakhstan, 78

3. Japan, 45

4. Mongolia, 40

5. Lithuania, 35

6. Azerbaijan, 32

7. Ukraine, 28

8. Moldova, 25

9. Iran, 25

10. Egypt,20

62 kg

Gold – Tyler Graff (United States)

Silver – Davaakhuyag Tumur (Mongolia)

Bronze – Jon Schiewe (United States)

Bronze – Jalal Suleymanov (Azerbaijan)

5^th – Hiroshi Nakamura (Japan)

5^th – Daulet Bekgozhayev (Kazakhstan)

7^th – Timur Andreev (Individual Neutral Athlete)

8^th – Tsubasa Takanoyama (Japan)

Gold – Tyler Graff (United States) dec. Davaakhuyag Tumur (Mongolia), 8-0

Bronze – Jon Schiewe (United States) dec. Hiroshi Nakamura (Japan), 7-2

Bronze – Jalal Suleymanov (Azerbaijan) fall Daulet Bekgozhayev (Kazakhstan), 1:11

70 kg

Gold – Dmitrii Malencov (Moldova)

Silver – Matthew Collum (United States)

Bronze – Elchin Hasanov (Azerbaijan)

Bronze – Timur Shanbayev (Kazakhstan)

5^th – Iaroslav Turcan (Moldova)

5^th – Nurlan Serikbol (Kazakhstan)

7^th – Serhii Reivakh (Ukraine)

8^th – Gan Erdene Bilegtsaikhan (Mongolia)

9^th – Tommaso Pisapia (Italy)

10^th – Amantay Nuradilov (Kazakhstan)

Gold – Dmitrii Malencov (Moldova) tech. fall Matthew Collum (United States), 10-0

Bronze – Elchin Hasanov (Azerbaijan) dec. Iaroslav Turcan (Moldova), 8-1

Bronze – Timur Shanbayev (Kazakhstan) dec. Nurlan Serikbol (Kazakhstan), 4-0

78 kg

Gold – Bulat Dashinimaev (Individual Neutral Athlete)

Silver – Ivan Dorochenko (Ukraine)

Bronze – Andrius Reisch (Lithuania)

Bronze – Ted Bristol (United States)

5^th – Soslan Marzoev (Individual Neutral Athlete)

5^th – Kensuke Otani (Japan)

7^th – Dauren Zhumagazyyev (Kazakhstan)

8^th – Finlay Marshall (Great Britain)

9^th – Ben Youel (United States)

10^th – Marco Menta (Italy)

Gold – Bulat Dashinimaev (Individual Neutral Athlete) dec. Ivan Dorochenko (Ukraine), 6-0

Bronze – Andrius Reisch (Lithuania) dec. Soslan Marzoev (Individual Neutral Athlete), 5-4

Bronze – Ted Bristol (United States) dec. Kensuke Otani (Japan), 5-0

88 kg

Gold – Alan Zasseev (Individual Neutral Athlete)

Silver – Edgaras Voitechovskis (Lithuania)

Bronze – Yoshiaki Narabu (Japan)

Bronze – Temur Gelitashvili (Georgia)

5^th – Ismet Karabulut (Turkey)

5^th – Morteza Afzali (Iran)

7^th – Theodore Banks (United States)

8^th – Janarbyek Makhsat (Mongolia)

9^th – Valeriy Golubkov (Individual Neutral Athlete)

10^th – Gan Erdene Erdenebaatar (Mongolia)

Gold – Alan Zasseev (Individual Neutral Athlete) dec. Edgaras Voitechovskis (Lithuania), 6-6

Bronze – Yoshiaki Narabu (Japan) tech. fall Ismet Karabulut (Turkey), 16-5

Bronze – Temur Gelitashvili (Georgia) dec. Morteza Afzali (Iran), 4-1

100 kg

Gold – Rustam Ekazhev (Kazakhstan)

Silver – Mostafa Frhat (Egypt)

Bronze – Deandre Nunn (United States)

Bronze – Vladimir Zholobov (Individual Neutral Athlete)

5^th – Nathan Thobaben (United States)

5^th – Masayuki Amano (Japan)

7^th – Buman Erdene Sanjaasuren (Mongolia)

8^th – David Foord (South Africa)

9^th – Daulet Kuanov (Kazakhstan)

10^th – Fariz Ibadov (Azerbaijan)

Gold – Rustam Ekazhev (Kazakhstan) fall Mostafa Frhat (Egypt), 0:43

Bronze – Deandre Nunn (United States) tech. fall Nathan Thobaben (United States), 12-2

Bronze – Vladimir Zholobov (Individual Neutral Athlete) dec. Masayuki Amano (Japan), 8-1

130 kg

Gold – Garret Johnson (United States)

Silver – Gani Izbagambetov (Kazakhstan)

Bronze – Maysam Lashkari (Iran)

Bronze – Mingo Grant (United States)

5^th – Ryan Pearl (United States)

5^th – Christian Lombardi (Germany)

7^th – Aleksei Pintaev (Individual Neutral Athlete)

8^th – Mahdi Noori (Iran)

Gold – Garret Johnson (United States) dec. Gani Izbagambetov (Kazakhstan), 4-3

Bronze – Maysam Lashkari (Iran) tech. fall Ryan Pearl (United States), 12-0

Bronze – Mingo Grant (United States) tech. fall Christian Lombardi (Germany), 10-0

U.S. Men’s Freestyle Results

Division A

62 kg – Tyler Graff (Blacksburg, Va.), gold medal

WIN Daulet Bekgozhayev (Kazakhstan), tech. fall, 11-0

WIN Jalal Suleymanov (Azerbaijan), 4-1

WIN Davaakhuyag Tumur (Mongolia), 8-0

62 kg – Jon Schiewe (Morton Grove, Ill.), bronze medal

LOSS Davaakhuyag Tumur (Mongolia), 8-2

WIN Hiroshi Nakamura (Japan), 7-2

70 kg – Matthew Collum (Arlington Heights, Ill.), silver medal

WIN Elchin Hasanov (Azerbaijan), 9-4

WIN Zhanabay Umbetov (Kazakhstan), tech. fall, 10-0

WIN Iaroslav Turcan (Moldova), 10-7

LOSS Dmitrii Malencov (Moldova), tech. fall, 10-0

78 kg – Ted Bristol (San Diego, Calif.), bronze medal

WIN Rinat Toktobekov (Kyrgyzstan), fall, 2:59

WIN Marco Menta (Italy), tech. fall, 12-2

LOSS Bulat Dashinimaev (Individual Neutral Athlete), 6-2

WIN Kensuke Otani (Japan), 5-0

78 kg – Ben Youel (Naperville, Ill.), 9^th place

LOSS Andrius Reisch (Lithuania), 4-3

88 kg – Luis Onofre Valencia (San Francisco, Calif.), 11^th place

LOSS Temur Gelitashvili (Georgia), 5-1

88 kg – Theodore Banks (Durham, Maine), 7^th place

WIN Batbayar Tserendalai (Mongolia), tech. fall, 12-1

LOSS Alan Zasseev (Individual Neutral Athlete), tech. fall, 12-1

LOSS Ismet Karabulut (Turkey), 9-0

100 kg – DeAndre Nunn (Joliet, Ill.), bronze medal

WIN Fariz Ibadov (Azerbaijan), tech. fall, 10-0

LOSS Mostafa Frhat (Egypt), 12-9

WIN Nathan Thobaben (United States), tech. fall, 12-2

100 kg – Nathan Thobaben (St. Louis, Mo.), 5^th place

WIN David Foord (South Africa), fall, 3:13

LOSS Mostafa Frhat (Egypt), 12-4

LOSS DeAndre Nunn (United States), tech. fall, 12-2

130 kg – Mingo Grant (Baltimore, Md.), bronze medal

LOSS Garret Johnson (United States), tech. fall, 13-1

WIN Christian Lombardi (Germany), tech. fall, 10-0

130 kg – Garret Johnson (Spokane, Wash.), gold medal

WIN Mingo Grant (United States), tech. fall, 13-1

WIN Christian Lombardi (Germany), fall, 0:59

WIN Gani Izbagambetov (Kazakhstan), 4-3

130 kg – Ryan Pearl (San Diego, Calif.), 5^th place

LOSS Gani Izbagambetov (Kazakhstan), 7-0

LOSS Maysam Lashkari (Iran), tech. fall, 12-0