Ismael Borrero Molina celebrates with the Cuban flag (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Medal matches at 59 kilograms
Cuba's Ismael Borrero Molina won the gold medal at 59 kilograms in dominant style with an 8-0 technical fall over 12th-ranked Shinobu Ota of Japan. The top-ranked, 24-year-old Cuban -- who had won the gold at the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas -- opened up the scoring in the first period with a four-point throw, followed with a turn to take a 6-0 lead. He then followed with a takedown in the second period to claim the gold.
Stig-Andre Berge and Elmurat Tasmuradov each won bronze medals at 59 kilograms.
The No. 8 ranked Berge of Norway won his first Olympic medal -- and the first for his country since 1992 -- by defeating Azerbaijan's Rovshan Bayramov in a 1-1 criteria decision. Bayramov, who had been ranked No. 2 in the world, scored the first point off passivity, but Berge came back to score the final point to take the match.
Uzbekistan's ninth-ranked Tasmuradov defeated No. 7 ranked Arsen Eraliev of Kazakhstan, 13-8. Tasmuradov led 5-0 after the first period and appeared to be in control. Eraliev came out strong in the second, scoring a four-point throw on the way to knotting the score 6-6. In the third period, Tasmuradov broke the tie it to take a five-point victory.
Russia's Roman Vlasov repeated as Olympic champ (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Medal matches at 75 kilograms
In the battle for gold, Russia's top-ranked Roman Vlasov claimed his second straight Olympic title by defeating No. 3 Mark Madsen of Denmark, 5-1, using a four-point throw in the first period to build an insurmountable lead. One could consider Madsen the perpetual bridesmaid; he is now a five-time silver medalist in world-level events.
Iran's Saeid Mourad Abdvali and Korea's Kim Hyeon-Woo will each be bringing home bronze medals at 75 kilograms.
Abdvali defeated 33-year-old Peter Bacsi of Hungary, 5-2, in a battle of past world champions. The tenth-ranked Iranian scored a takedown in the first 10 seconds of the match, which was challenged and upheld, making the score 3-0. No. 8-ranked Bacsi tightened the score after a two-point throw. In the second period Abdvali added a step-out and point-off passivity to win 5-2.
Kim, a 2012 London Olympic gold medalist at 66 kilograms who was ranked No. 4 in Rio, defeated Bozo Starcevic of Croatia, 6-4. The Korean jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but Starcevic came back with two gut wrench turns to take a 4-2 lead heading into the second period. In the second period Kim reversed his fortune with a duckunder and a two-point throw to get to the 6-4 win.
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