Takedown Report

Seidel, Sinclair capture men’s freestyle gold at U20 World Championships

Aug 21, 2026, 5:20 PM EDT
by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia – Two up, two down for the U.S. men’s freestyle team—Aaron Seidel and Aeoden Sinclair completed masterful gold-medal runs on Friday night at the 2026 U20 World Championships. Seidel was the pace car for the men’s freestyle unit this week in Slovakia—keyword: pace.  He picked apart U20 Asian champion Bekassyl Assambek of Kazakhstan 7-0 in the 61 kg finals with masterful edge wrestling and a high attack rate.
It was the first international tournament for the NCAA All-American from Virginia Tech. Seidel finished the event with three technical falls and a pin in the preliminary rounds, in addition to his seven-point decision in the finals. He took out three age-group World medalists on his path to gold, in what was one of the more dominant U20 performances we have seen in recent memory.
Joining Seidel atop the medal stand was Sinclair, a fellow NCAA All-American from Missouri. He was put in an early 4-0 hole by Russia’s Akhmad Mukutov in the 86 kg finals. Like in yesterday’s semifinal comeback win, Sinclair remained steady and committed to his attacks. Three step outs, two takedowns and a caution point later, Sinclair earned the title of champion by an 8-4 margin. Sinclair, a two-time age-group World Team member, posted … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2026/august/21/seidel-sinclair-capture-men-s-freestyle-gold-at-u20-world-championships?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

August 25, 2026 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized