COLUMBIA, Mo. — Mizzou All-American Aeoden Sinclair claimed freestyle gold at the U20 World Wrestling Championship in Bratislava, Slovakia, on Friday, August 21.

The win marks the first U20 Champion for Mizzou since Keegan O’Toole (74 kg) and Rocky Elam (92 kg) in 2021, and the first age-level world champion since O’Toole (74 kg) became a U23 Champion in 2023.

Sinclair defeated four wrestlers from four different countries to earn the top spot on the 86-kilogram podium, starting with a win by technical superiority over Askhab Khajiyev (Kazakhstan), 12-2. The NCAA All-American followed with back-to-back come-from-behind wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals, ultimately besting Abolfazl Shamsipour Hajivand (Iran), 4-4, and Natsura Okazawa (Japan), 7-6.

In the final, Sinclair went down 4-0 early to Akhmad Mukutov (Russia) before storming back with eight-unanswered points for an 8-4 win.

Yandel Morales also competed in the U20 World Freestyle Championship at 65 kg for Puerto Rico. Morales, an incoming freshman to the Mizzou program, did not place but looked impressive in his opening match with a 15-3 tech of Aleksander Delchev (Bulgaria).

Sinclair will return to action at the U23 World Championship in Las Vegas on October 12- 18, with a chance to become the only Mizzou wrestler to win both U20 and U23 World Titles in the same year.

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