Photo: Tony Rotundo
Saturday in Astana was another big one for Team USA's men. Kyle Dake won his fifth World title, Marcus Blaze, Zain Retherford and Wyatt Hendrickson all won bronze, and Spencer Lee, Levi Haines and Trent Hidlay all won their semifinals. The Americans head into the final day with a commanding lead in the team race.
Kyle Dake: Five-Time World Champion
Dake beat Azerbaijan's Arsenii Dzhioev, the No. 1 seed, 3-2 in the 86kg final to finish 6-0. At 35, he is the oldest American to win a World title, and he has now done it at three different weights: 79kg in 2018 and 2019, 74kg in 2021 and 2022, and 86kg in 2026. He got to the final by beating Russia's Ibragim Kadiev, the No. 3 seed, 6-3 in the semifinals.
Three Bronze Medals
- Wyatt Hendrickson (125kg): teched India's Jaspooran 10-0 in 25 seconds for bronze to finish 4-1.
- Zain Retherford (70kg): beat Canada's Lachlan McNeil 4-0 for bronze to finish 4-1, his third Senior World medal.
- Marcus Blaze (61kg): beat Kazakhstan's Assyl Aitakyn 4-2 for bronze to finish 4-1, after a 9-1 repechage win over India's Nikhil.
Three More Americans Wrestling for Gold Sunday
- Spencer Lee (57kg) pinned Azerbaijan's Islam Bazarganov, the No. 3 seed, in the semifinals. He faces Mexico's Roman Bravo-Young in the final, about 8:25 AM ET. Iowa's Lee against Penn State's Bravo-Young, for World gold.
- Levi Haines (79kg) beat Mongolia's Suldkhuu Olonbayar, the No. 2 seed, 3-3 on criteria in the semifinals. He faces Iran's Mohammad Nokhodilarimi in the final, about 8:09 AM ET.
- Trent Hidlay (92kg) beat Iran's Amirhossein Firouzpourbandpei, the No. 4 seed, 11-8 in the semifinals. He faces Russia's Amanula Gadzhimagomedov in the final, about 8:41 AM ET.
James Green (74kg) is also still alive in repechage, about 6:57 AM ET Sunday. U.S. clocks fall back overnight, so all of Sunday's times are standard time.
The Team Race
Counting every medal already locked in, including at least silver for all three finalists, the United States has 180 team points to Russia's 145. Russia can reach 185 at most. That leaves a very short list of ways for the U.S. to come up short:
- Two U.S. gold medals on Sunday clinch it.
- One U.S. gold plus one Russian loss clinches it.
- Two Russian losses clinch it.
Hidlay's final against Russia's Gadzhimagomedov could decide it head to head. The U.S. won this title in 2022 and 2023 before Iran took it in 2025.
Across all three styles, Team USA has 12 medals in Astana (five gold, one silver, six bronze), with at least three more on the way Sunday. The U.S. women already clinched their first World team title since 1999.
Follow every final live on our World Championships tracker, with brackets, the full mat order and the live team race.