OSLO, Norway – The United States came home with three medals on the first night of gold-medal finals at the Senior World Championships on Sunday, led by individual World champion Kyle Dake (Ithaca, N.Y./Spartan Combat WC/Titan Mercury WC) at 74 kg.
A 2020 Olympic bronze medalist, Dake became a three-time Senior World champion with a clutch victory in the finals over 2019 World bronze medalist and 2021 European champion Tajmuraz Salkazanov of Slovakia, 7-3. This is Dake’s first World title at 74 kg, after claiming 2018 and 2019 World titles up at 79 kg.
The match was close early on. Dake scored first on a step out but Salkazanov tied it up with a step out at 1-1. When Salkazanov scored another step out, he led 2-1 in the second period. However, Dake nailed a takedown with 1:23 left to take a 3-2 lead. Another takedown and gut wrench extended the lead to 7-2 and gave up a late step out for the final score. Continue reading at teamusa.org →