Former Colby Community College All-American wrestler Bekzod Abdurakhmonov earned a bronze medal for Uzbekistan in the Freestyle 74 kg event at the 2018 World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

After dropping his opening match, Abdurakhmonov defeated Poland's Andrzej Sokalski by tech fall (12-1) and Azerbaijan's Abubakr Abakarov 7-0 before beating Turkey's Soner Demirtas in the medal round.

"Everyone at Colby Community College is extremely proud of Bekzod for an amazing performance at the World Championships," said Colby head coach Mitch Houghton. "He has always represented Colby in a positive way, and we are excited for him and his entire family in this amazing accomplishment."

Abdurakhmonov attended CCC from 2008-10. He grew up in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, before arriving in Colby to compete under Hall-of-Fame coach Steve Lampe. Abdurakhmonov went 84-8 on his way to two NJCAA runner-up finishes. After graduating, he transferred to Clarion University and went 38-12 his senior year while placing third at 165 pounds in the 2012 NCAA Championships.

In other notable tournaments, Abdurakhmonov claimed gold at the 2014 Asian Freestyle Wrestling Championships and bronze at the 2014 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships. He also represented Uzbekistan in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Today, Abdurakhmonov is a volunteer assistant coach at Harvard University while he prepares for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.