Sunnyside High School wrestling legend Roman Bravo-Young earned his first medal at a World Championships event, achieving a silver medal at 57 kilograms (125 pounds) at the Senior World Championships at Astana, Kazakhstan, last weekend.
Bravo-Young, a two-time national champion at Penn State after earning four state titles at Sunnyside, also made history by becoming Mexico’s first medalist in a in the World Championships.
In the Round of 32 match against Kazakhstan’s Meirambek Kartbay, Bravo-Young led 3-0 after one period behind a late takedown. Kartbay managed two step-outs, but Bravo-Young held off Kartbay to win 4-2.
World 🥈 https://t.co/wPKi0hDwCV
— Roman Bravo-Young (@RomanBravoYoung) November 1, 2026
Mauritius’s John Leopold competed against Bravo-Young in the Round of 16. Bravo-Young locked Leopold in a cradle mid-scramble a minute into the match. Bravo-Young scored four points on the subsequent move to take the lead. Two more takedowns and a gut wrench gave Bravo-Young 10-0 technical-fall victory.
Bravo-Young then drew Munkh Batkhuyag of Mongolia in the quarterfinals. He won in dramatic fashion after trailing 3-2 in the final minute. After he conceded a late takedown, a late flurry led to a go-behind takedown with 8 seconds remaining, giving him a 4-3 victory.
In the semifinal, Bravo-Young faced reigning world champion Chong Song Han of North Korea. Song Han defeated Bravo-Young at last year’s World Championships. Han led 1-0 after one period, but Bravo-Young finished a pair of takedowns early in the second period to take a 4-1 lead. Han tried to rally in the final two minutes, but Bravo-Young successfully held him off to advance to his first World final.
Roman Bravo-Young takes out the defending 57kg gold medalist to set up a final with Spencer Lee at #SeniorWorlds https://t.co/8yQveRejAy
— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) October 31, 2026
In the championship, he rekindled a rivalry with Team USA wrestler and Iowa legend Spencer Lee, who previously faced Bravo-Young in freestyle. Lee scored a takedown 15 seconds in and pulled out four consecutive leg laces in 11 seconds to win the World title via technical superiority in 26 seconds.
Despite the unfavorable ending, Bravo-Young made history as the first Mexican wrestler to make a World final while earning the silver medal.
Upon returning to Tucson from Kazahkstan, Bravo-Young was greeted by family and friends at his southside training facility — RBY Wrestling Club — for a celebration on Tuesday.
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