Aden Attao (130 kg, Beaver Dam RTC) might very well enjoy a successful collegiate folkstyle career — but there is little debate as to his tremendous capability in Greco-Roman competition.
On Saturday, and thanks to three pulverizing wins by way of fall, Attao earned silver at the 2025 Petko Sirakov-Ivan Iliev International Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria. The event was exclusive to athletes from the U23 age division, thus providing the American with an opportunity to keep sharp and ply his trade in the classical style against contemporaries he could potentially encounter later this year.
Two-time U20 World bronze Attao was in his element right from the start as he waffled Antonio Tahov (BUL) in the opening round. From the feet, Attao landed an arm spin before smoothly transitioning to a front headlock that had Tahov literally “tapping out” just as the mat official was signaling for the fall. In the proceeding match, Attao gained a measure of revenge against Achilleas Chrysidis (GRE). Chrysidis had downed the Oregon State student at the ’23 U20 Worlds by a score of 6-4. On Saturday, their return bout did not go to a decision. Instead, Attao, who was trailing 2-0, whammed a headlock and pinned Chrysidis to reach a 2-0 record in pool competition.
In his penultimate match of the day, Attao was on the wrong end of a 4-0 decision loss to Iranian heavyweight prospect Amirhossein Abdevali. Abdevali had capitalized in the first period for a 3-0 lead and added a step-out in Period 2 to acquire his points. However, Attao indeed closed out his performance on a high note. Facing Akarys Berdashov (KAZ), Attao went for a headlock and then made an impressive adjustment on the back-end of the attack to pin Berdashov in just over a minute. Two matches later, Abdevali defeated Chrysidis, which meant that Attao had secured silver in the 130 kg bracket.
Attao — who is also a current US Senior National Team member — is amid his redshirt freshman season at Oregon State University and prior to Saturday had not competed in Greco-Roman since this past September when he earned his second-career U20 World bronze.
2025 Petko Sirakov-Ivan Iliev International Tournament
February 15 — Sofia, BUL
TEAM USA RESULTS
130 kg: Aden Attao (Beaver Dam RTC) — SILVER
WON Antonio Tahov (BUL) via fall
WON Achilleas Chrysidis (GRE) via fall
LOSS Amirhossein Abdevali (IRI) 4-0
WON Akarys Berdashov (KAZ) via fall
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