Davino wins U23 World gold at 61kg in Las Vegas
The Ohio State 133-pounder outscored four opponents 32-2 on his way to the title.
Ben Davino is a U23 World champion at 61kg. The Ohio State 133-pounder beat Kyrgyzstan's Iukhan Dokturbek Uulu in the final in Las Vegas for Team USA's first men's freestyle gold of the tournament, per Justin Basch, with NCAA Men's Wrestling and FloWrestling both posting the result. It is the first gold for an American man in freestyle at this event after a week that US coach Kozak called very disappointing.
How the final ended is still unclear
Basch reported the final as a 4-1 decision over Dokturbek Uulu. FloWrestling posted that Davino won by fall. Nobody has reconciled the two accounts yet.
The run
Davino opened in the round of 16 with a 7-1 win over Iran's Ebrahim Khari. He teched Japan's Akito Mukaida 11-0 in the quarterfinal, then teched Oregon State's Gabe Whisenhunt 10-0 in the semifinal.
Add the final and the math is brutal. Basch put it at 32-2 on the scoreboard across four matches, with the only points against him coming in the round of 16 and the final.
Why it matters
Davino was the 2026 NCAA runner-up and is now a World champion at the U23 level, and he did it in a tournament where the American men had been shut out of the top of the podium. He heads back to Ohio State's lineup at 133 with a freestyle gold on the resume.
For context on how the rest of the US men's freestyle group fared in Las Vegas, Bo Bassett and Luke Lilledahl both went out in the quarterfinals, Bassett on a last-second four in a 6-3 loss and Lilledahl 3-1 at 57kg.
Watch for a final scoring confirmation from the official U23 Worlds results on whether Davino's gold came by fall or by 4-1 decision.
That's 32-2 on the scoreboard across four matches.
Ben Davino wins by FALL in the finals at #U23Worlds
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