Dake’13 Earns 74kg Silver Medal at Senior World Championships, Qualifies Team USA For Olympics
BELGRADE, Serbia — Kyle Dake ’13 earned a silver medal at the 2023 Senior World Wrestling Championships in the 74kg weight class, after going 4-1 overall and falling short in the finals against Zaurbek Sidakov (independent) in a match that came down to the final seconds.
The silver medal marks his fifth on the world stage — he won gold medals in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022 — and he clinched a spot on the USA’s 2024 Olympic team in his weight class.
The match between Dake (USA) and Sidakov, the 2021 Olympic champion at 74kg, featured two critical challenges and wasn’t decided until after the horn sounded.
Dake took a 1-0 lead early, scoring first on a pushout. Sidakov and Dake would trade points, resulting in a 3-3 score with criteria advantage going to Dake.. Sidakov regained the lead by outscoring Dake 5-4 in a flurry that officials came together and reviewed, bringing the count to 8-7.
Dake took a shot while trailing 8-7 with time winding down, but Sidakov held strong and neither wrestler was awarded a point. Dake’s corner threw a challenge brick, and upon review, it was Sidakov who was awarded two points for a takedown, securing the 10-7 decision.
World Championships Roundup:
Representing the USA in the 61kg weight class, Vito Arujau beat Abasgadzhi Magomedov to win a gold medal on Sunday. He joined Dake and Yianni Diakomihalis ’23 as Cornellians to medal on the world stage in the last five years.
Ben Honis ’19 (Italy), who wrestled in the 97kg weight class, made his tournament debut on Monday and lost to Mojtaba Goleij (Iran).
