McKendree’s Nwachukwu wins world title

Adaugo Nwachukwu is a world champion.

The McKendree star won the 62-kilogram title at the 2026 Senior World Championships on Thursday night at Barys Arena, edging two-time world champion and Olympic bronze medalist Nonoka Ozaki of Japan 12-11 in a back-and-forth final that came down to the last seconds and two video challenges.

The gold-medal match was packed with action from the start, with both wrestlers scoring with big moves. Ozaki was called for passivity twice in the opening period, putting her on the activity clock. Ozaki got in on a low single near the edge, but the action was ruled a stalemate. When Ozaki drove up on another leg attack, Nwachukwu sprawled and whipped her over for four points. Ozaki failed to score on the activity clock, giving Nwachukwu another point and a 5-0 lead at the break. Nwachukwu briefly held her knee as the doctor checked on her, but she was cleared to continue.

Ozaki answered early in the second period with a four-point throw, but Nwachukwu fought off her back and earned two exposure points of her own to make it 7-4. Nwachukwu then won a simultaneous exchange of attacks, scoring a takedown to extend her lead to 9-4.

That’s when Ozaki made her move. The Japanese star used a misdirection to switch to a double-leg takedown, cutting the deficit to 9-6. With less than a minute remaining, Ozaki attacked a low single, finished the takedown and hit a leg lace with 13 seconds left to take a 10-9 lead. The United States challenged the call, arguing Nwachukwu’s head was out of bounds before the lace, but the ruling was upheld. Ozaki received an additional point for the failed challenge, making it 11-9.

Nwachukwu answered in dramatic fashion. She dragged the arm and drove through for a takedown with seconds remaining to take an 11-11 lead on criteria. Japan challenged but the call stood.

When asked how she felt after the match, Nwachukwu didn’t hesitate.

“Oh, like a million bucks,” said Nwachukwu.

Nwachukwu said she never doubted she could get the takedown she needed, even after the United States lost its challenge.

“I feel like I always have to put my coaches on the edge of the seat,” said Nwachukwu. “I know I can get a takedown, even though there’s literally four seconds left on the clock. … Even after we lost that challenge, I knew that I could go out there and get a [takedown]. Thirteen seconds? Let’s go get this. And that’s what I did.”

Nwachukwu said she embraced the back-and-forth nature of the match.

“I do love it, actually,” said Nwachukwu. “I looked at the scoreboard, I was like, ‘Crap. 11-11? What? Let’s go.’ I was pumped.”

Nwachukwu also credited a message from her coach before the final.

“I remember before I stepped on the mat, Coach Terry was like, ‘Don’t be scared. You’re here to compete, and that’s what you’re going to go do,’” said Nwachukwu. “And that’s what I did. I ain’t scared of nobody. Anybody that wants to wrestle me, come on, let’s step on the mat.”

Nwachukwu reached the final with a tactical semifinal win on Wednesday evening. In her second Senior World Championships appearance, she overcame a 1-0 deficit at the period break to defeat 2021 world champion Bilyana Dudova of Bulgaria 5-2. Tied 1-1 with 47 seconds left, Nwachukwu fought through for an edge takedown, then salted the match away with a reattack score in the waning moments.

Nwachukwu was dominant in Wednesday morning’s early rounds. She opened with a 10-0 technical superiority over Türkiye’s Sevim Akbas and followed with an 11-1 technical superiority over Sweden’s Johanna Lindborg.

The world title caps off a remarkable month on the international stage for Nwachukwu. Earlier this month, she claimed a silver medal at the U23 World Championships in Las Vegas, falling to Ukraine’s Iryna Bondar in the final. She also earned a bronze medal at the 2022 U20 World Championships.

Nwachukwu has been just as successful at the college level. She is a three-time NAIA national champion and will compete for McKendree this season. Nwachukwu is ranked No. 1 at 145 pounds in HerMat’s NCAA preseason rankings and No. 2 in HerMat’s NCAA pound-for-pound rankings, behind Iowa’s Kylie Welker.

Iowa’s Everest Leydecker reached the finals at 55 kilograms with a 6-1 semifinal win over Japan’s Nagisa Harada. The top-ranked Hawkeye freshman will face Ukraine’s Nataliia Klivchutska in the gold-medal match on Friday. HerMat will have a full recap of Leydecker’s performance after Friday’s final session.

Iowa State’s Esther Kolawole also made a deep run at 62 kilograms. Kolawole, a two-time NAIA national champion who represents Nigeria, came up just short in the bronze-medal match, surrendering a four-point move to Russia’s Amina Tandelova in the closing seconds. It was Kolawole’s second straight top-five finish at the Senior World Championships.