VomBaur, Forsman secure gold on day one of Greco-Roman at Veterans World Championships

POREC, Croatia – Greco-Roman action at the 2024 Veterans World Championships began on Friday at Zatika Sport Centre. Two American men captured World titles, while three secured podium finishes.

Wrestlers in action on the day were Division B, athletes 41-to-45 years old, and Division E, athletes 56-60 years old.

There were two gold medalists in Division B on Friday. Ben VomBaur at 62 kg and Joseph Forsman at 88 kg.

This is the second gold of the tournament for VomBaur. Earlier this week, he secured gold in freestyle. En route to the top of the podium, VomBaur defeated Samat Ospan of Kazakhstan in a 3-0 decision, Daniel Franke of Germany in a 5-1 decision, Evgenii Butuzov (AIN) in a 7-4 decision. In the semifinals, VomBaur bested Ben Kjar of the United States in a 5-0 decision. He won gold with a 5-0 decision over Jarkko Wester of Sweden.

Forsman from Houston, Texas, also secured a gold medal at 88 kg. He achieved a 9-0 technical fall over Daniel Huzjak of Croatia and a 9-0 technical fall over Zholdubai Bekzhanov of Kyrgyzstan. A 5-2 decision over Attila Benko of Hungary in the semifinals, and a fall in just 48 seconds against Mats Rolfsen of Norway gave Forsman the top finish.

At 70 kg in Division E, Stephen Horton went 3-1, earning a silver medal. Horton collected dominant wins over Laszlo Bodai of Hungary, Alexandros Koutsis of Greece and Lars Jakobsson of Sweden. In the gold medal match, Horton dropped a narrow 2-2 decision to Domenico Piccinini of Italy, and ultimately claimed silver.

Two athletes secured bronze in Kjar at 62 kg in Divison B and Kevin Pine at 88 kg in Division E.

Three athletes earned crucial fifth place finishes in Andrei Stashonak at 78 kg in Division B, and Daniel Verr at 62 kg and Erik Hinckley at 100 kg in Division E.

The U.S. placed second as a team in both age brackets. The Division B group totaled 72 team points, finishing nine points behind Egypt. In Division E, the U.S. compiled 55 team points to finish five points behind Italy.

The Veterans World Championships continue on Saturday with the Divisions C and D Greco-Roman tournaments. The action begins at 10:30 a.m. local time, with the finals scheduled for 6 p.m. Poreč, 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.

Team Rankings

1. Egypt, 81 points

2. United States, 72 points

3. Sweden, 58 points

4. Croatia, 35 points

4. Norway, 35 points

6. Kazakhstan, 34 points

7. Hungary, 31 points

8. Iran, 30 points

9. Moldova, 25 points

10. Serbia, 20 points

Gold – Benjamin Vom Baur (United States)

Silver – Jarkko Wester (Sweden)

Bronze – Benjamin Kjar (United States)

4^th – Evgenii Butuzov (AIN)

5^th – Samat Ospan (Kazakhstan)

6^th – Daniel Franke (Germany)

7^th – Eric Caballero Madrid (United States)

Gold – Benjamin VomBaur (United States) dec. Jarkko Wester (Sweden), 5-0

Bronze – Benjamin Kjar (United States) dec. Evgenii Butuzov (AIN), 8-1

Gold – Gevorg Tonoian (AIN)
Silver – Milan Maric (Serbia)
Bronze – Hassan Ibrahim (Egypt)
Bronze – Argo Mitt (Estonia)
5th – Khalid Jafarov (Azerbaijan)
5th – Tom Erlandsson (Sweden)
7th – Grant Hutaff Nakamura (United States)
8th – Jozsef Varga (Hungary)
9th – Nikolay Georgiev (Bulgaria)
10th – Chingis Ukhinov (AIN)

Gold – Gevorg Tonoian (AIN) tech. fall Milan Maric (Serbia), 12-3

Bronze – Hassan Ibrahim (Egypt) dec. Khalid Jafarov (Azerbaijan), 5-3

Bronze – Argo Mitt (Estonia) dec. Tom Erlandsson (Sweden), 5-3

Gold – Dumitru Popov (Moldova)
Silver – Aake Tobias Kantola (Sweden)
Bronze – Robert Ribaric (Croatia)
Bronze – Ali Rahimi (Norway)
5th – Andrei Stashonak (United States)
5th – Anvar Kasymov (Kyrgyzstan)
7th – Kanat Primzhanov (Kazakhstan)
8th – Elsayed Aboughonim (Egypt)
9th – Iurii Cherbadzhiants (AIN)
10th – Richard Addinall (South Africa)

Gold – Dumitru Popov (Moldova) dec. Aake Tobias Kantola (Sweden), 5-2

Bronze – Robert Ribaric (Croatia) dec. Andrei Stashonak (United States), 1-1

Bronze – Ali Rahimi (Norway) tech. fall Anvar Kasymov (Kyrgyzstan), 11-3

Gold – Joseph Forsman (United States)
Silver – Mats Rolfsen (Norway)
Bronze – Karam Ebrahim (Egypt)
Bronze – Attila Benko (Hungary)
5th – Evgenii Glazkov (AIN)
5th – Zholdubai Bekzhanov (Kyrgyzstan)
7th – Klas Svensson (Sweden)
8th – Bakytzhan Nuradinov (Kazakhstan)
9th – Andreas Kiefer (Germany)
10th – James Medeiros II (United States)

Gold – Joseph Forsman (United States) pin Mats Rolfsen (Norway), 0:48

Bronze – Karam Ebrahim (Egypt) tech. fall Evgenii Glazkov (AIN), 8-0

Bronze – Attila Benko (Hungary) tech. fall Zholdubai Bekzhanov (Kyrgyzstan), 9-0

Gold – Vladimir Galkin (AIN)
Silver – Ahmed Ahmed (Egypt)
Bronze – Hosam Mady (Egypt)
Bronze – Shahab Moeinifar (Iran)
5th – Daniyar Yarmukhamedov (Kazakhstan)
5th – Choucri Atafi (Morocco)
7th – Vanik Karapetyan (Armenia)
8th – Sandjar Umarkhodjaev (Uzbekistan)
9th – Konstantin Frolov (AIN)
10th – Harun Demir (Turkey)

Gold – Vladimir Galkin (AIN) dec. Ahmed Ahmed (Egypt), 5-3

Bronze – Hosam Mady (Egypt) pin Daniyar Yarmukhamedov (Kazakhstan), 1:53

Bronze – Shahab Moeinifar (Iran) dec. Choucri Atafi (Morocco), 6-0

Gold – Saleh Omara (Egypt)
Silver – Josip Matkovic (Croatia)
Bronze – Davit Tkeshelashvili (Georgia)
Bronze – Gholamreza Poursallakh (Iran)
5th – Ulas Cicek (Turkey)
5th – Istvan Kalmar (Hungary)
7th – Ferenc Danosi (Hungary)
8th – Sergiy Sergiev (Bulgaria)
9th – Ronald Williams (United States)
10th – Amir Lak (Great Britain)

Gold – Saleh Omara (Egypt) tech. fall Josip Matkovic (Croatia), 10-2

Bronze – Davit Tkeshelashvili (Georgia) pin Ulas Cicek (Turkey), not specified

Bronze – Gholamreza Poursallakh (Iran) dec. Istvan Kalmar (Hungary), 3-0

Team Rankings

1. Italy, 60 points

2. United States, 55 points

3. Turkiye, 50 points

4. Hungary, 48 points

5. Kazakhstan, 35 points

6. Bulgaria, 35 points

7. Finland, 33 points

8. Germany, 31 points

9. France, 26 points

10. Serbia, 25 points

Gold – Terho Kettunen (Finland)
Silver – Zholaman Daurenbekov (Kazakhstan)
Bronze – Winfried Hoeflich (Germany)
Bronze – Jacek Kusmierek (Poland)
5th – Vasil Atanasov (Bulgaria)
5th – Daniel Verr (United States)
7th – Istvan Kleber (Hungary)
8th – Michael Madry (United States)
9th – Zhumabek Sultanov (Kazakhstan)

Gold – Terho Kettunen (Finland) dec. Zholaman Daurenbekov (Kazakhstan), 8-5

Bronze – Winfried Hoeflich (Germany) dec. Vasil Atanasov (Bulgaria), 9-6

Bronze – Jacek Kusmierek (Poland) tech. fall Daniel Verr (United States), 9-0

Gold – Domenico Piccinini (Italy)
Silver – Stephen Horton (United States)
Bronze – Lars Jakobsson (Sweden)
Bronze – Ibrahim Polga (Turkey)
5th – Laszlo Bodai (Hungary)
5th – Massimo Aresti (Italy)
7th – Hannu Vuoppola (Finland)
8th – Frédéric Paul (France)
9th – Marc Cecconi (United States)
10th – Peter Kaercher (Switzerland)

Gold – Domenico Piccinini (Italy) dec. Stephen Horton (United States), 2-2

Bronze – Lars Jakobsson (Sweden) pin Laszlo Bodai (Hungary), 0:51

Bronze – Ibrahim Polga (Turkey) tech. fall Massimo Aresti (Italy), 9-0

Gold – Jonathan Molfino (Italy)
Silver – Osman Onder (Turkey)
Bronze – Kadyrzhan Zhanpeisov (Kazakhstan)
Bronze – Fahri Kut (Turkey)
5th – Stig Eriksson (Sweden)
5th – Stancho Spirdonov (Bulgaria)
7th – Nurzhan Assilbekov (Kazakhstan)
8th – Claudio Evangelisti (Italy)
9th – Munkhbat Namsrai (Mongolia)
10th – Rashid Mussin (Kazakhstan)

Gold – Jonathan Molfino (Italy) dec. Osman Onder (Turkey), 5-1

Bronze – Kadyrzhan Zhanpeisov (Kazakhstan) inj. def. Stig Eriksson (Sweden)

Bronze – Fahri Kut (Turkey) dec. Stancho Spirdonov (Bulgaria), 3-1

Gold – Igor Dokuchaev (AIN)
Silver – Martin Dalsbotten (Norway)
Bronze – Kevin Pine (United States)
Bronze – Daniel Kapsazov (Bulgaria)
5th – Fulvio Giraldi (Italy)
5th – Ganbaatar Nasan (Mongolia)
7th – Baatarkhuu Orosoo (Mongolia)
8th – Theofanis Kyriakos (Germany)

Gold – Igor Dokuchaev (AIN) dec. Martin Dalsbotten (Norway), 4-1

Bronze – Kevin Pine (United States) pin Fulvio Giraldi (Italy), 0:58

Bronze – Daniel Kapsazov (Bulgaria) tech. fall Ganbaatar Nasan (Mongolia), 9-0

Gold – Zeljko Jovisic (Serbia)
Silver – Mohammed El Haddad (France)
Bronze – Tamas Fabian (Hungary)
Bronze – Zeki Bayraktar (Turkey)
5th – Erik Hinckley (United States)
5th – Frank Drescher (Germany)
7th – Florin Ivanciu (Romania)
8th – Vladimir Nikitaev (AIN)
9th – Bernhard Bauer (Germany)
10th – Silvio Zivkovic (Croatia)

Gold – Zeljko Jovisic (Serbia) dec. Mohammed El Haddad (France), 3-1

Bronze – Tamas Fabian (Hungary) dec. Erik Hinckley (United States), 5-0

Bronze – Zeki Bayraktar (Turkey) dec. Frank Drescher (Germany), 2-0

Gold – Abdurashid Bagavdinov (AIN)
Silver – Asghar Marani (Iran)
Bronze – Istvan Dezsereczky (Hungary)
Bronze – Nikola Matic (Croatia)
5th – Ardeshir Poorhekmat (Iran)
5th – Zayamandakh Otgonbayar (Mongolia)
7th – Ankhbayar Tsendee (Mongolia)
8th – Zoltan Pozsonyi (Hungary)
9th – Gantulga Gursed (Mongolia)
10th – Szabolcs Toth (Hungary)

Gold – Abdurashid Bagavdinov (AIN) dec. Asghar Marani (Iran), 7-3

Bronze – Istvan Dezsereczky (Hungary) pin Ardeshir Poorhekmat (Iran), not specified

Bronze – Nikola Matic (Croatia) dec. Zayamandakh Otgonbayar (Mongolia), 1-0

Division B

62 kg – Ben VomBaur (Greeley, Colo.), gold medal

WIN Samat Ospan (Kazakhstan), 3-0 decision

WIN Daniel Franke (Germany), 5-1 decision

WIN Evgenii Butuzov (AIN), 7-4 decision

WIN Ben Kjar (United States), 5-0 decision

WIN Jarkko Wester (Sweden), 5-0 decision

62 kg – Ben Kjar (Pleasant Grove, Utah), bronze medal

WIN Eric Caballero Madrid (United States), 7-1 decision

LOSS Jarkko Wester (Sweden), 2-1 decision

WIN Evgenii Butuzov (AIN), 8-1 decision

62 kg – Eric Caballero Madrid (Houston, Texas), 7^th place

LOSS Ben Kjar (United States), 7-1 decision

LOSS Jarkko Wester (Sweden), 5-1 decision

70 kg – Grant Nakamura (Pukalani, Hawaii), 7^th place

WIN Rudolph Nice (South Africa), fall 1:24

LOSS Chingis Ukhinov (AIN), 6-0 decision

70 kg – Andrei Stashonak (Brooklyn, N.Y.) , 5^th place

WIN Richard Addinall (South Africa), 5-2 decision

WIN Eduard Durmanov (Kazakhstan), 1-1 decision

LOSS Aake Kantola (Sweden), 3-1 decision

LOSS Robert Ribaric (Croatia), 1-1 decision

88 kg – Joseph Forsman (Houston, Texas), gold medal

WIN Daniel Huzjak (Croatia), 9-0 technical fall

WIN Zholdubai Bekzhanov (Kyrgyzstan), 9-0 technical fall

WIN Attila Benko (Hungary), 5-2 decision

WIN Mats Rolfsen (Norway), fall 0:48

130 kg – Ronald Williams II (North Las Vegas, Nev.), 9^th place

LOSS Sergiy Sergiev (Bulgaria), 5-2 decision

Division E

62 kg – Michael Madry (Saint Petersburg, Fla.), 8^th place

LOSS Istvan Kleber (Hungary), 1-1 decision

62 kg – Daniel Verr (Villa Park, Ill.) , 5^th place

LOSS Zholaman Daurenbekov (Kazakhstan), 2:17

LOSS Jacek Kusmierek (Poland), 9-0 technical fall

70 kg – Stephen Horton (Cibolo, Texas), silver medal

WIN Laszlo Bodai (Hungary), 9-0 technical fall

WIN Alexandros Koutsis (Greece), fall 0:32

WIN Lars Jakobsson (Sweden), fall 1:22

LOSS Domenico Piccinini (Italy), 2-2 decision

70 kg - Marc Cecconi (Waynesville, Ga.), 9^th place

LOSS Hannu Vuoppola (Finland), 6-2 decision

88 kg – Kevin Pine (Aberdeen, Wash.), bronze medal

WIN Theofanis Kyriakos (Germany), 9-0 technical fall

LOSS Martin Dalsbotten (Norway), 7-7 decision

WIN Fulvio Giraldi (Italy), fall 0:58

100 kg – Erik Hinckley (Lansing, Kan.), 5^th place

WIN Silvio Zivkovic (Croatia), 11-0 technical fall

LOSS - Mohammed El Haddad (France), fall 2:49

LOSS Tamas Fabian (Hungary), 5-0 decision