And he didn’t even need to be there.
Two-time U20 World bronze medalist Aden Attao (130 kg, Beaver Dam RTC) last month placed 3rd at the Senior World Team Trials, which made him a US National Team member for a second-consecutive year. This distinction meant that Attao had already qualified to represent the United States at the U23 World Championships in Serbia come October; however, and as was previously reported, the exciting young heavyweight still decided to compete in yesterday’s U23 Nationals in Geneva, Ohio.
Despite the presence of reigning U23 World Team member Keith Miley (Arkansas RTC) in the bracket, Attao entered as the top seed. He then proceeded to rip right through his side of the bracket on the strength of one pin and two technical falls before greeting Miley in the best-of-three finals.
Although Miley is himself a promising athlete in the 130 kg division, he was unable to meet Attao’s feel, explosiveness, and knack for execution in their series. Attao blew past Miley in the first round by a score of 9-1 and tacked on a 13-4 technical fall in Match 2. Each of the Oregon State wrestler’s five wins on Friday were recorded as stoppages.
In ’22, Attao made a definitive splash on the Greco-Roman circuit by coming away with a bronze medal at the U20 World Championships, which was also his first overseas event. After putting up a solid showing in ’23 but coming up short (in part due to illness), Attao was even more impressive in the event last year. He had fallen in the opening round to Hungarian Laszlo Darabos but won his next two bouts before pinning Russian Aleksandr Melekhov in the bronze-medal match.
Attao had also gotten a taste of U23 competition this season prior to yesterday. In February, he pinned three opponents at the Petko Sirakov-Ivan Iliev International Tournament in Bulgaria and came away with silver. One of the vanquished for him in that event was Achilleas Chrysidis (GRE), who had eliminated Attao from medal contention at the ’23 U20 Worlds.
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