InterMat Staff

2020 Olympic champion Zhan Beleniuk (Photo courtesy of UWW) Monday marked the first medals that were handed out in wrestling at the 2020 Olympics. As each weight class has concluded we will have a wrap-up for each, which includes results and some notable facts related to the weight. Past Articles 60 kg Men's Greco-Roman 77 kg Men's Greco-Roman 97 kg Men's Greco-Roman 130 kg Men's Greco-Roman 68 kg Women's Freestyle 76 kg Women's Freestyle Qualification Results Viktor Lorincz (Hungary) over Atabek Azisbekov (Kyrgyzstan) 6-1 Denis Kudla (Germany) over Nursultan Tursynov (Kazakhstan) 4-1 Mohamed Metwally (Egypt) over Kiryl Maskevich (Belarus) 9-1 Daniel Gregorich Hechavarria (Cuba) over Islam Abbasov (Azerbaijan) 3-1 Rustam Assakalov (Uzbekistan) over Lasha Gobadze (Georgia) 6-5 Ivan Huklek (Croatia) over John Stefanowicz (USA) 5-3 Bachir Sid Azara (Algeria) over Fei Peng (China) 11-1 Zhan Beleniuk (Ukraine) over Zurabi Datunashvili (Serbia) 3-1 Quarterfinal Results Viktor Lorincz (Hungary) over Denis Kudla (Germany) 1-1 Mohamed Metwally (Egypt) over Daniel Gregorich Hechavarria (Cuba) Fall 1:16 Ivan Huklek (Croatia) over Rustam Assakalov (Uzbekistan) 4-1 Zhan Beleniuk (Ukraine) over Bachir Sid Azara (Algeria) 1-1 Semifinal Results Viktor Lorincz (Hungary) over Mohamed Metwally (Egypt) 9-2 Zhan Beleniuk (Ukraine) over Ivan Huklek (Croatia) 7-1 Repechage Results Denis Kudla (Germany) over Atabek Azisbekov (Kyrgyzstan) 10-2 Zurabi Datunashvili (Serbia) over Bachir Sid Azara (Algeria) 5-1 Bronze Medal Matches Zurabi Datunashvili (Serbia) over Ivan Huklek (Croatia) 6-1 Denis Kudla (Germany) over Mohamed Metwally (Egypt) Fall 5:36 Gold Medal Match Zhan Beleniuk (Ukraine) over Viktor Lorincz (Hungary) 5-1 Notes: Zhan Beleniuk became a two-time Olympic medalist. He took silver in 2016. Beleniuk is now a three-time World/Olympic champion. Beleniuk is also a six-time World/Olympic medalist He is also Ukraine's first Greco-Roman Olympic champion since Vyacheslav Oliynyk (90kg) in 1996. Beleniuk is also the first Ukrainian Greco-Roman wrestler to earn multiple Olympic medals (2nd in 2016). While not dominant on the scoreboard, Beleniuk was consistent. He only surrendered a single point in all four of his contests. He outscored the opposition 16-4 in four matches. Both finalists ended up getting pushed in the semifinals and prevailed via criteria after 1-1 wins. Viktor Lorincz is now a four-time World/Olympic medalist. His first world medal came in 2013. Zurabi Datunashvili earned his first World/Olympic medal. Datunashvili finally got over the hump. He was a two-time fifth place finisher at World Championship events and this was his third Olympic Games. Denis Kudla earned his fourth World/Olympic medal. It was his second Olympic bronze. Kudla grabbed his first Olympic medal in Rio while only 21 years old. He still was the youngest medalist in this weight class at 26. The other three medalists were all at least 30. Neither of the eventual bronze medal winners appeared in the semifinals. 87 kg ended up being the only Greco-Roman weight where all of the medalist hailed from European countries. This weight class only featured five returning World/Olympic medalists. Three ended up medaling. The other two (Rustam Assakalov - Uzbekistan and Lasha Gobadze - Georgia) met in the first round. Assakalov took the bout, 6-5.

David Taylor made the Olympic finals after three techs (Photo courtesy of Larry Slater; LBSphoto.smugmug.com) A pair of American's were in action in the second session of the day from the Makuhari Messe Event Hall on day four of the Olympic Games. Both suffered different fates, as David Taylor rolled to the gold medal match, while Helen Maroulis suffered a heartbreaking defeat. Wrestling in his first Olympic Games, Taylor squared off with Indian sensation Deepak Punia. In 2019, Punia was a Junior world champion and a silver medalist at the Senior World Championships. The second-seeded Punia proved to be an awkward matchup initially for Taylor. As the shot clock expired, in Taylor's favor, the American got in on a leg attack and earned a takedown. From the takedown, Taylor transitioned into a trapped-arm gut and got two turns. In the blink of an eye, Taylor was up 7-0. A short time later, after garnering another takedown and a step-out, Taylor ended the bout 10-0 on technical superiority. All before the first period ended. Taylor's win guaranteed another chapter in the history between himself and Iranian star Hassan Yazdani. A 2016 Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion, Yazdani has met Taylor on two occasions and lost both times. In each of those matchups, Yazdani jumped out to early leads, but crumbled under Taylor's constant pressure. Maroulis was in a super match of her own against fellow 2016 Olympic gold medalist, Risako Kawai of Japan. Kawai was able to slow down Maroulis for the bulk of the match and neither was able to generate an offensive point. The official deemed Maroulis was passive in the opening stanza and put her on the shot clock. After :30 seconds, Kawai got the only point of the first period. After little action early on in the second, the official made the unusual decision to put Maroulis on the shot clock, again. She would trail 2-0 after a second shot clock violation. With under a minute remaining in the second period, Kawai finally went on the clock, herself. Like the remainder of the bout, Maroulis was unable to penetrate the defense of her Japanese counterpart and she fell, 2-1. Since Maroulis was in the semifinals, she'll automatically drop into the bronze medal contest. There she'll face the winner between Fatoumata Camara (Guinea) and Khongorzul Boldsaikhan (Mongolia). Kawai defeated Camara 8-2 and Boldsaikhan 7-0. Also of note for American fans, Taylor's win pulls Michigan four-time All-American Myles Amine (San Marino) into repechage. He'll face four-time world medalist Ali Shabanau (Belarus). At 57 kg, two-time world champion Zavur Uguev (ROC) advanced to the gold medal bout after an 8-3 win over Reza Atrina (Iran). That win pulls Thomas Gilman into repechage. He'll need to go through Gulomjon Abdullaev (Uzbekistan) and then Atrina for the bronze medal. American Results 86 kg Men's Freestyle David Taylor (USA) over Deepak Punia (India) 10-0 57 kg Women's Freestyle Risako Kawai (Japan) over Helen Maroulis (USA) 2-1 Finals Matchups 57 kg Men's Freestyle Zavur Uguev (ROC) vs. Ravi Kumar (India) 86 kg Men's Freestyle David Taylor (USA) vs. Hassan Yazdani (Iran) 57 kg Women's Freestyle Risako Kawai (Japan) vs. Iryna Kurachkina (Belarus)

125 kg men's freestyle representative Gable Steveson (Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Brackets for the fifth day of the 2020 Olympic Games have been released. Men's freestyle continues with 74 kg and 125 kg, as well as, 53 kg in women's freestyle which will be conducted on day four of the wrestling competition. Below are all three brackets and information about the first-round opponent for each American entrant. 74 kg Men's Freestyle American Entry - Kyle Dake 1st Round Opponent: Moustafa Hosseinkhani (Iran) - 2016 World Bronze Medalist Top 1st Round Matches: Franklin Gomez (Puerto Rico) - 2011 World Silver Medalist vs. Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (Uzbekistan) - 2x World Bronze Medalist Frank Chamizo (Italy) - 2016 Olympic Bronze Medalist/2x World Champion vs. Avtandil Kentchadze (Georgia) - 2018 World Silver Medalist 125 kg Men's Freestyle American Entry - Gable Steveson 1st Round Opponent: Aiaal Lazarev (Kyrgyzstan) - 2020 Individual World Cup Bronze Medalist Top 1st Round Matches: Sergey Kozyrev (ROC) - 2021 European Champion vs. Zhiwei Deng (China) - 2x World Medalist Aleksander Khotsianivski (Ukraine) - 2019 World Bronze Medalist vs. Amir Zare (Iran) - 2019 U23 World Champion 53 kg Women's Freestyle American Entry - Jacarra Winchester 1st Round Opponent: Olga Khoroshavtseva (Russia) - 2019 World Bronze Medalist Top 1st Round Matches: Vinesh Phogat (India) - 2019 World Bronze Medalist vs. Sofia Mattsson (Sweden) - 2016 Olympic Bronze Medalist/2009 World Champion/6x World Medalist Tatyana Akhmetova (Kazakhstan) - 3x World fifth-place finisher vs. Roksana Zasina (Poland) - 2017 World Bronze Medalist

Helen Maroulis in the 2020 Olympic quarterfinals (Photo courtesy of Larry Slater; LBSphoto.smugmug.com) The first session that featured all freestyle action at the 2020 Olympics proved to be a good one for the Americans. Thomas Gilman (57 kg) and David Taylor (86 kg) were the first men's freestyle team members to take the mat in the tournament, while Helen Maroulis (57 kg) started her quest for back-to-back gold medals. Both Taylor and Maroulis advanced to the semifinals, while Gilman came up dangerously close to upsetting the two-time defending world champion. Though he has a laundry list of accolades during his decorated career, Taylor was still making his first Olympic appearance. The 2018 world champion was injured during the spring of 2019 and has not competed internationally much since his world title. Right off the bat, Taylor was paired with a legit contender in four-time world medalist Ali Shabanau of Belarus. Though Taylor started slower than we're accustomed to seeing, he poured it on and never let Shabanau have an opening. Eventually, Taylor would win by technical superiority, 11-0. The win set up a quarterfinal bout against Michigan's four-time All-American Myles Amine, who competed for San Marino. Right off the opening whistle, Taylor got in on the Wolverine's legs, but Amine was able to wrestle to a stalemate. Amine wasn't content to try and keep it close against the 2018 world champion; he went back at Taylor and earned a takedown to lead 2-0. That early deficit seemed to spark Taylor as he roared back and scored 12 unanswered points to win 12-2. In the next session, the two-time Hodge Trophy winner will face 2019 World silver medalist Deepak Punia (India). Maroulis made her return to the Olympic Games and seemingly had a rough draw, as she would face the fourth-seed, 2018 world champion Ningning Rong (China). Though Maroulis controlled most of the action in the early going, she was put on the shot clock in the first period. A point for a shot clock violation, paired with a takedown from Rong, saw her take a 3-0 lead over the American. Even so, Maroulis' coach Mark Perry could be heard instructing her that she was wearing down her Chinese foe. The most action in the first period took place in the closing seconds as Maroulis got a pair of points from exposure, while Rong ended up on top. Trailing 4-2 in the second period, Maroulis never took her foot off the gas. She would notch three takedowns in the final stanza to down Rong, 8-4. The quarterfinals gave Maroulis the opportunity for a rematch with Tetyana Kit of Ukraine. Just about two months ago, at the Poland Open, Maroulis fell to Kit, 8-2. That version of Helen was much different from the one we saw in Tokyo. In Poland, she was just seeking a tune-up after dealing with a knee injury from the Olympic Trials in April. Kit proved to be stout defensively, but was never able to mount any offense against the American. Maroulis methodically mowed through Kit to the tune of an 8-0. Maroulis' quarterfinal win sets the stage for perhaps one of the biggest matches of the entire Games. She'll face fellow 2016 Olympic gold medalist Risako Kawai (Japan). Kawai won her Olympic title at 63 kg, but has moved down to allow her sister to compete. In addition to her gold from the Olympics, Kawai has won each of the last three contested world titles. The two have combined to win five world titles and have eight world medals. With Maroulis looking close to her form of 2016-17, it should be a classic matchup. Like Maroulis, Gilman had a difficult draw, as well. He had to deal with two-time world champion Zavur Uguev (Russia) in his first bout. Gilman seemed to tire his Russian counterpart early in the first period and was able to take a 1-1 lead into the second period. After Uguev notched a takedown, Gilman continued to attack and earned a step-out point to trail, 3-2. He looked poised to gain another, yet was able to convert a takedown at the edge to lead 4-3, late in the match. With under :30 remaining, Uguev got into Gilman's leg and had his leg shelved for an inordinate amount of time. Finally, the Russian used a slick back trip to gather the second leg for the winning takedown. Gilman was a mere seconds away from pulling the stunner. The Gilman match forced Uguev to expend plenty of energy and it showed in the quarterfinals as he was often extremely slow to return to the center and trailed Gulomjon Abdullaev (Uzbekistan) late in the bout. Again, Uguev snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and earned a winning takedown with an inside trip. That win propelled him to the semifinals, where he'll face Reza Atri (Iran). More importantly for US wrestling fans, it keeps Thomas Gilman's repechage hopes alive. Also of note to Americans was Stevan Micic (Serbia), the top-seed at 57 kg. The NCAA finalist for Michigan could not mount any sort of offensive during a 7-0 first-round loss to 2017 world champion Yuki Takahashi (Japan). Takahashi fell in his next match to Nurislam Sanayev (Kazakhstan), which eliminated Micic. American Results 57 kg Men's Freestyle Zavur Uguev (Russia) over Thomas Gilman (USA) 5-4 86 kg Men's Freestyle David Taylor (USA) over Ali Shabanau (Belarus) 11-0 David Taylor (USA) over Myles Amine (San Marino) 12-2 57 kg Women's Freestyle Helen Maroulis (USA) over Ningning Rong (China) 8-4 Helen Maroulis (USA) over Tetyana Kit (Ukraine) 8-0 Semifinal Matchups 57 kg Men's Freestyle Nurislam Sanayev (Kazakhstan) vs. Ravi Kumar (India) Reza Atri (Iran) vs. Zavur Uguev (ROC) 86 kg Men's Freestyle Hassan Yazdani (Iran) vs. Artur Naifonov (ROC) David Taylor (USA) vs. Deepak Punia (India) 57 kg Women's Freestyle Risako Kawai (Japan) vs. Helen Maroulis (USA) Iryna Kurachkina (Belarus) vs. Evelina Nikolova (Bulgaria)

2020 Olympic champion Tamyra Mensah-Stock (Photo courtesy of UWW) Monday marked the first medals that were handed out in wrestling at the 2020 Olympics. As each weight class has concluded we will have a wrap-up for each, which includes results and some notable facts related to the weight. Past Articles 60 kg Men's Greco-Roman 77 kg Men's Greco-Roman 97 kg Men's Greco-Roman 130 kg Men's Greco-Roman 76 kg Women's Freestyle Qualification Results Tamyra Mensah-Stock (USA) over Sara Dosho (Japan) 10-0 Feng Zhou (China) over Yudari Sanchez Rodriguez (Cuba) 13-2 Alla Cherkasova (Ukraine) over Agnieszka Wieszczek (Poland) 11-0 Anna Schell (Germany) over Enas Ahmed (Egypt) 7-0 Battsetseg Soronzonbold (Mongolia) over Koumba Larroque (France) Fall 5:41 Khanum Velieva (ROC) over Danielle Lappage (Canada) 7-0 Meerim Zhumanazarova (Kyrgyzstan) over Mimi Hristova (Bulgaria) 7-5 Blessing Oborududu (Nigeria) over Elis Manolova (Azerbaijan) 13-2 Quarterfinal Results Tamyra Mensah-Stock (USA) over Feng Zhou (China) 10-0 Alla Cherkasova (Ukraine) over Anna Schell (Germany) Fall 3:43 Battsetseg Soronzonbold (Mongolia) over Khanum Velieva (ROC) 8-5 Blessing Oborududu (Nigeria) over Meerim Zhumanazarova (Kyrgyzstan) 3-2 Semifinal Results Tamyra Mensah-Stock (USA) over Alla Cherkasova (Ukraine) 10-4 Blessing Oborududu (Nigeria) over Battsetseg Soronzonbold (Mongolia) 7-2 Repechage Results Meerim Zhumanazarova (Kyrgyzstan) over Elis Manolova (Azerbaijan) 4-1 Sara Dosho (Japan) over Feng Zhou (China) 7-2 Bronze Medal Matches Alla Cherkasova (Ukraine) over Sara Dosho (Japan) Fall 2:33 Meerim Zhumanazarova (Kyrgyzstan) over Battsetseg Soronzonbold (Mongolia) 10-0 Gold Medal Matches Tamyra Mensah-Stock (USA) over Blessing Oborududu (Nigeria) 4-1 Notes: Tamyra Mensah-Stock became just the second American woman to win gold in Olympic wrestling. Mensah-Stock won her second World/Olympic gold medal. Mensah-Stock now has three World/Olympic medals. She also became the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal in wrestling. Mensah-Stock's path to gold included a win over an Olympic gold medalist (Sara Dosho), a world silver medalist (Feng Zhou), and 2018 world champion (Alla Cherkasova) just to make the finals. With Mensah-Stock medaling (and Adeline Gray), it gave the American women multiple medalists for only the second time (2004; Sara McMann and Patricia Miranda). Of course, with three more left to compete. Despite the daunting competition, Mensah-Stock outscored her foes 34-5. Blessing Oborududu became the first Nigerian to win an Olympic medal. Oborududu's path to the finals was no cake walk either. She defeated a world bronze medalist (Elis Manolova), a Junior world silver medalist (Meerim Zhumanazarova), and a two-time world champion (Battsetseg Soronzonbold). Cherkasova became a three-time World/Olympic medalist. Cherkasova is the first women's Olympic medalist for Ukraine since Iryna Merleni (3rd at 48kg) did so in 2008. Zhumanazarova became a World/Olympic medalist for the first time at the Senior level. Zhumanazarova was also the first woman from Kyrgyzstan to win an Olympic medal. Sara Dosho finished fifth for a second consecutive World/Olympic tournament. She medaled at every World/Olympic event from 2012-17. Since Dosho did not medal, Japan started off without medaling in either of the first two weight contested. Even though 10 past World/Olympic medalists entered this weight, there was only one "close" match during the opening round. A 7-5 win by Zhumanazarova over Mimi Hristova.

2020 Olympic champion Musa Evloev (Photo courtesy of UWW) Monday marked the first medals that were handed out in wrestling at the 2020 Olympics. As each weight class has concluded we will have a wrap-up for each, which includes results and some notable facts related to the weight. Past Articles 60 kg Men's Greco-Roman 77 kg Men's Greco-Roman 130 kg Men's Greco-Roman 76 kg Women's Freestyle Qualification Results Musa Evloev (ROC) over Giorgi Melia (Georgia) 3-1 Alex Szoke (Hungary) over Artur Omarov (Czech Republic) 3-1 G'Angelo Hancock (USA) over Mihail Kajaia (Serbia) 5-1 Tadeusz Michalik (Poland) over Haikel Achouri (Tunisia) 10-0 Mohammadhadi Saravi (Iran) over Adem Boudjemline (Algeria) 9-0 Kiril Milov (Bulgaria) over Cenk Ildem (Turkey) 3-1 Arvi Savolainen (Finland) over Gabriel Rosillo Kindelan (Cuba) 3-1 Artur Aleksanyan (Armenia) over Uzur Dzhuzupbekov (Kyrgyzstan) 4-1 Quarterfinal Results Musa Evloev (ROC) over Alex Szoke (Hungary) 6-2 Tadeusz Michalik (Poland) over G'Angelo Hancock (USA) 4-3 Mohammadhadi Saravi (Iran) over Kiril Milov (Bulgaria) 6-0 Artur Aleksanyan (Armenia) over Arvi Savolainen (Finland) 5-1 Semifinal Results Musa Evloev (ROC) over Tadeusz Michalik (Poland) 7-1 Artur Aleksanyan (Armenia) over Mohammadhadi Saravi (Iran) 4-1 Repechage Results Alex Szoke (Hungary) over Giorgi Melia (Georgia) 5-1 Arvi Savolainen (Finland) over Uzur Dzhuzupbekov (Kyrgyzstan) 4-1 Bronze Medal Matches Tadeusz Michalik (Poland) over Alex Szoke (Hungary) 10-0 Mohammadhadi Saravi (Iran) over Arvi Savolainen (Finland) 9-2 Gold Medal Match Musa Evloev (ROC) over Artur Aleksanyan (Armenia) 5-1 Notes: Musa Evloev won his third World/Olympic gold medal; also his third in a row. Evloev now has four World/Olympic medals and has been in the last four finals. Evloev and finals opponent, Artur Aleksanyan, have met three times in World/Olympic finals. In 2019, won by Evloev, and 2017, won by Aleksanyan. Evloev made it through the tournament outscoring his competition by a 21-5 margin. While that's impressive, he only gave up a single point during his gold medal run in 2019. Aleksanyan is now a three-time Olympic medalist. He has all three colors of medals. Gold in 2016, bronze from 2012, and silver this time. Aleksanyan is now an eight-time World/Olympic medalist. Despite Aleksanyan's long resume and a history dating back through three Olympic Games, he's currently only 29 years old. After Evloev and Aleksanyan, this weight class had three other returning World/Olympic medalists. None captured medals this time and combined to go 1-3 (Cenk Ildem, Kiril Milov, Mihail Kajaia). The only win came when Milov defeated Ildem in the opening round. Tadeusz Michalik won his first World/Olympic medal. Michalik was Poland's first World/Olympic medalist in Greco since Gevorg Sahayan (3rd at 67 kg) in 2018. Michalik was Poland's first Olympic medalist in Greco since Damian Janikowski (3rd at 84 kg) in 2012. Mohammadhadi Saravi won his first World/Olympic medal (though he did take bronze at the 2020 Individual World Cup). Saravi's bronze medal marked the third straight Games where Iran had a medalist at the 96/97kg weight class. (Ghasem Rezaei; 1st - 2012, 3rd - 2016). This weight class saw all four seeded wrestlers earn medals, with Evloev and Aleksanyan wrestling to their exact seed. Additionally, all four medalists competed in the semifinals.

2020 Olympic champion Tamas Lorincz (Photo courtesy of UWW) Monday marked the first medals that were handed out in wrestling at the 2020 Olympics. As each weight class has concluded we will have a wrap-up for each, which includes results and some notable facts related to the weight. Past Articles 60 kg Men's Greco-Roman 130 kg Men's Greco-Roman 76 kg Women's Freestyle Qualification Results Tamas Lorincz (Hungary) over Zied Ait Ouagram (Morocco) Default Shohei Yabiku (Japan) over Demeu Zhadrayev (Kazakhstan) 5-3 Bozo Starcevic (Croatia) over Aik Mnatsakanian (Bulgaria) 3-1 Mohammadali Geraei (Iran) over Yosvanys Pena Flores (Cuba) 7-3 Karapet Chalyan (Armenia) over Jalgasbay Berdimuratova (Uzbekistan) 5-0 Aleksandr Chekhirkin (ROC) over Alfonso Levya Yepez (Mexico) 7-0 Akzhol Makhmudov (Kyrgyzstan) over Lamjed Maafi (Tunisia) 11-0 Rafig Huseynov (Azerbaijan) over Alex Bjurberg Kessidis (Sweden) 1-1 Quarterfinal Results Tamas Lorincz (Hungary) over Shohei Yabiku (Japan) 3-1 Mohammadali Geraei (Iran) over Bozo Starcevic (Croatia) 5-5 Karapet Chalyan (Armenia) over Aleksandr Chekhirkin (ROC) 2-1 Akzhol Makhmudov (Kyrgyzstan) over Rafig Huseynov (Azerbaijan) 9-1 Semifinal Results Tamas Lorincz (Hungary) over Mohammadali Geraei (Iran) 6-5 Akzhol Makhmudov (Kyrgyzstan) over Karapet Chalyan (Armenia) 6-2 Repechage Results Shohei Yabiku (Japan) over Zied Ait Ouagram (Morocco) Default Rafig Huseynov (Azerbaijan) over Lamjed Maafi (Tunisia) 11-1 Bronze Medal Matches Shohei Yabiku (Japan) over Mohammadali Geraei (Iran) 13-3 Rafig Huseynov (Azerbaijan) over Karapet Chalyan (Armenia) 4-1 Gold Medal Match Tamas Lorincz (Hungary) over Akzhol Makhmudov (Kyrgyzstan) 2-1 Notes: Nine years after taking silver in London, Tamas Lorincz was back on the podium and this time he left with a gold medal. Lorincz is now a six-time World/Olympic medalist. Lorincz is the first Hungarian wrestler to win Olympic gold since Istvan Majoros did so at 55 kg Greco-Roman in 2004. Lorincz's opponent in the Olympic finals, Akzhol Makhmudov, was 9 when Lorincz made his first Olympic team in 2008. American fans may remember Makhmudov as the opponent that Kamal Bey beat in the Junior World finals in 2017. A year later, Makhmudov defeated Bey for bronze at Junior Worlds. Makhmudov became the first wrestler from Kyrgyzstan to earn a medal at the Olympics since Bazar Bazarguruev was a bronze medalist (60 kg freestyle) in 2008. This was Makhmudov's first World/Olympic medal at the Senior level. Rafig Huseynov won his second World/Olympic medal. Shohei Yabiku won his first World/Olympic medal. Both semifinal losers ended up falling in the bronze medal matches. Karapet Chalyan defeated a pair of past world medalists Aleksandr Chekhirkin and Jalgasbay Berdimuratova, but missed out on earning a medal himself. All three world medalists (excluding Lorincz) from 2019 competed in Tokyo, but missed the podium.

2021 Women's freestyle 68 kg Olympic champion Tamyra Mensah-Stock (Photo/Larry Slater; LBSphoto.smugmug.com) The best place to start is here, inside Makuhari Messe Hall, where Tamyra Mensah-Stock is holding up the American flag, circling Mat B. The tears are flowing, but it's impossible to miss her smile. She jumps with excitement, then wraps herself in the flag. This is the best place to start, because this is the moment Tamyra Mensah-Stock has dreamt of, waited for, worked for. On Tuesday, she became an Olympic champion, storming to first in the women's freestyle competition at 68 kilograms (150 pounds). "I'm feeling very happy," Mensah-Stock said in a TV interview afterward. "I keep trying not to cry but it keeps happening." This is the best place to start because this moment is historic. Mensah-Stock is just the second American woman to win Olympic wrestling gold, joining Helen Maroulis, who won in 2016. She is the fourth to ever reach an Olympic final, joining Maroulis, Sara McMann (2004) and Adeline Gray, who won silver this week at 76-kg (167). This is the best place to start because Mensah-Stock took the hardest path to gold, having to wrestle: Japan's Sara Dosho, the 2016 Olympic champ and 2017 world champ; China's Zhou Feng, 2015 world silver-medalist who beat Mensah-Stock in 2020; Ukraine's Alla Cherkasova, 2018 world champion; and Nigeria star Blessing Oborududu, who powered through her side of the bracket by outscoring her foes 23-6. Mensah-Stock beat them all, by a combined 34-5. She registered back-to-back 10-0 technical falls over Dosho and Feng, then rallied from a 4-2 hole to defeat Cherkasova, 10-4, in the semifinals, then scored two more takedowns to knock off Oborududu, 4-1, in the finals. She scored 12 total takedowns in four matches and allowed just one. This is the best place to start telling Tamyra Mensah-Stock's unbelievable wrestling story. But where do you go from there? ... You could go to Katy, Texas, where the family moved after she and her twin sister, Tarkyia, were born in Chicago. Go to Morton Ranch High School, on the northwest side of Houston. That's where she first discovered wrestling. Mensah-Stock was a track athlete, a sprinter and a jumper. Wrestling was Tarkyia's sport, but she pleaded for Mensah-Stock to try it after she was bullied by some of her track teammates. She hated it, then she grew to love it. She was also pretty damn good at it. In her first dual meet, Mensah-Stock wrestled up a weight and pinned a returning state qualifier. She reached the state finals that year, then won state titles as a junior and a senior. She took second at the Junior women's freestyle national championships, then went to Wayland Baptist and won two collegiate national titles. It did not take long for her to start dreaming big. "When I first started wrestling, I felt I could be an Olympic champ," Mensah-Stock said, "so I just kept going." … You could go to Louisiana, just over the Texas state line, where her father, Prince, died in a tragic car accident during her first wrestling season. Prince Mensah lived in Louisiana after the family moved to Texas. After driving in to watch Tamyra and Tarkyia wrestle one weekend, he fell asleep at the wheel on the way home. Tamyra became angry, blaming wrestling for her father's death. But Prince loved that his daughters wrestled. He grew up in Ghana, and often shared stories with Tamyra about the fights he and his brothers got into. When he was 30, he came to America and met their mother, Shonda. She grew up in Chicago, and Tamyra jokes that she has a little fight in her, too. Tamyra got married in 2016 to Jacob Stock, a fine wrestler in his own right at Morton Ranch. She made the decision to hyphenate her last name, to Mensah-Stock, to honor her father and keep part of him with her. "He would've been the loudest one here," Tamyra Mensah-Stock said Tuesday. "He would be so proud. He would be so happy." … You could go to Iowa City, in 2016, when Mensah-Stock first qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team. By then, she was on the brink of international wrestling stardom. She had barreled through the Olympic Trials: 9-0 over Veronica Carlson, 11-1 over Julia Salata, then a finals sweep over Brittney Roberts, by identical 8-1 scores. She was primed to become a potential breakout star in Rio. There was just one problem … her Olympic weight, then 69 kilograms, was not qualified for the Olympics. She tried her damndest to punch her ticket to Rio. She went to Mongolia and Turkey for last-chance qualifying events, but took third in both competitions when she needed at least second. She traveled with the team to the Games that year, but only as a training partner. Mensah-Stock took in the sights and sounds. She watched Maroulis make history as America's first Olympic gold-medalist in women's wrestling. The experience fueled everything we've seen over the last five years: she's made every U.S. world and Olympic team from 2017-20, won a world bronze in 2018, a world title in 2019. Then, last April, in her home state and with her family in the stands, she again blew through the field to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic team - and this time, she knew she'd get to compete at the Olympics. "I've been wanting this," Mensah-Stock said that weekend through teary eyes. "It gets frustrating knowing that you're capable of doing something and it's been pushed back again and again and again, but it's finally here. I can finally call myself an Olympian. "But it feels like - I'm not done yet," she continued. "There are bigger moments to come." … That brings us back to Japan's Makuhari Messe Hall, where Tamyra Mensah-Stock's biggest wrestling moment unfolded better than she could have imagined. Knowing she would get the full Olympic experience this time around, she decided to make the most of it. She brought an Xbox, a Nintendo Switch, and a karaoke machine (with two microphones, of course). USA Wrestling camped out in Nakatsugawa for a pre-Olympics training camp, and she wanted to help her teammates pass the time. "I'm here … to enjoy … the journey," she said this week, "and I am." She sang many songs throughout the week, both by herself and with teammates (she and Alejandro Sancho, the U.S. Greco-Roman rep at 67 kilos, sang Evanescence's "Bring Me To Life" together). When she wasn't singing or playing her Switch, she binged "The Walking Dead" to relax her mind and prepare for the competition. Put another way: Tamyra Mensah-Stock was unapologetically herself at the Olympics this week, and the wrestling community better get ready to share her. Stories have already been written about her in the Houston Chronicle, Reuters, USA Today, even The Guardian: Is US wrestler Tamyra Mensah-Stock the most upbeat athlete at Tokyo 2020? (Answer: yes.) Olympic gold medals change lives, and Mensah-Stock's naturally bubbly personality is going to rocket her to the top of international sporting stardom. We will see the 28-year-old on billboards and in commercials and on the cover of magazines in the year's ahead. More and more people will get to experience her warm hugs. Those who woke up early to watch her gold-medal match against Oborududu got the full Tamyra Mensah-Stock experience afterward. She cried during her post-match interview, then sang, then smiled as she told stories. She told the reporter, "Don't say this out loud" - yes, during a nationally-televised moment - "but my dad (from Ghana) was like enemies with Nigeria, so it's kind of poetic that I had to wrestle Nigeria in the finals. That was kind of cool." She talked about what her accomplishment means to the ongoing girls' and women's wrestling movements around the world: "It means that they see someone like themselves on that podium, someone like Helen on that podium - showing them, just because you're a female doesn't mean you can't accomplish the biggest of goals." "Being an Olympic champ is one of the hardest things I have ever done in my entire life," she continued, "and I'd say it was totally worth it." And, of course, she offered up her next karaoke song - "Champion," by Carrie Underwood, featuring Ludacris. "Maya Nelson showed me that song at the 2019 world championships, and I can't get it out of my head," Mensah-Stock said, then without missing a beat, she started singing. "Because. I. Am. A. Champion. I was born for this. I was made to win." She smiled. "I love it!"

Two-time world medalist Nurislam Sanayev is back int he rankings at 57 kg (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 57 KG #8 (61) Nurislam Sanayev (KAZ), a two-time world medalist during the 2016-2020 quad at 57 KG who took silver and bronze in 2018 & 2019, returned to the 57 KG rankings at #11 ahead of the Olympics, where he'll compete at 57 KG. The other big move of the month was #9 Gulomyon Abdullaev (UZB), moving up four spots in the rankings to #5 in the rankings. Abdullaev has more than carved out his place in the top 5, winning tournament titles at the International Ukrainian Tournament, the Ziolkowski and the Asian Olympic qualifier. He avenged his only loss of the year to #6 Ravi Kumar (IND) in the finals of the Ziolkowski and also beaten #9 Aryan Tyutrin (BLR), #7 (61) Taras Markovych (UKR), Sanayev, #15 (61) Adlan Askarov (KAZ), #20 Nodiryon Safarov (UZB) and 2018 Asian championships runner-up Makhmudjon Shavkatov (UZB). 61 KG Nurislam Sanayev was moved out to the 57 KG rankings ahead of the 57 KG Olympics, where he will be coming in as a 2018 world silver and 2019 world runner-up at the weight. 2020 57 KG Individual World Cup bronze medalist Rahman Amouzadkhalili (IRI) makes his debut in the 61 KG rankings after winning the Yasar Dogu back from June with wins over Muenir Recep Aktas and 2019 U-23 world champion Ulukbek Zholdoshbekov (KGZ). 2020 Asian champion Zholdoshbekov is back in the rankings at #17 after a bronze medal finish at the Yasar Dogu. 65 KG There were no changes to the rankings ahead of The Olympic Games. 70 KG U-23 European champion #12 Dzhabrail Gadzhiev (AZE) moved up to 74 KG, where he won the Junior European championships and pinned Oleg Dukanov Memorial runner-up #17 Magomed Abdulkadyrov (RUS) to debut in the rankings at #18. Senior European runner-up #14 Turan Bayramov (AZE) has made the move up to 74 KG to replace the injured Khadzhimurad Gadzhiev (AZE) as Azerbaijan's 74 KG entry at the Olympics. Levan Kelekhsashvili (GEO) takes the #18 spot in the rankings after a runner-up finish at the Yasar Dogu to 2018 world bronze medalist, #15 Zurab Iakobishvili (GEO), with wins over Selehattin Killicsallyan (TUR) and #17 Servet Coskun (TUR). Killicsallyan makes his debut in the rankings at #19 after beating Coskun for bronze at the Yasar Dogu. 74 KG 70 KG U-23 European champion #12 (70) Dzhabrail Gadzhiev (AZE) moved up to 74 KG, where he won the Junior European championships and pinned #17 Magomed Abdulkadyrov (RUS). Gadzhiev debuts in the rankings at #18. 79 KG 2019 U-23 74 KG world runner-up Mohammad Nokholdilarimi (IRI) makes his debut in the rankings at #17 after winning the Yasar Dogu with victories over 2020 Individual World Cup runner-up Muhammet Nuri Kotanoglu (TUR) and Hamidreza Zarinpeykar (IRI). Zarinpeykar takes the #18 slot in the rankings after a runner-up finish at the Yasar Dogu with victories over 2019 U-23 world champion Tariel Gaphdrinashvili (GEO) and 2014 74 KG Junior world bronze medalist Tarzan Maisuradze (GEO).

(Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com/Graphic courtesy of Anna-Lee Boerner) Journeymen Wrestling is excited to announce the reformation of one of the most popular events of the college wrestling season. Until the 2018 season, National Duals was annually among the crown jewels of Division I Wrestling and among the most attended and watched event of the year. After that season however, the event dissolved. But we're bringing it back! Journeymen's Frank Popolizio, who has run national level wrestling events for over a decade, took on the task of making National Duals a reality again out of both nostalgia and the desire to fill a void in collegiate team competition. "Ever since my brother Pat, wrestled in the National Duals while at Oklahoma state in the late 1990s , I have been fascinated by duals and particularly a dual championship. Twice a year I would get on an airplane to go watch collegiate wrestling: NCAAs and the National Duals. It created an awesome ambiance. I know I'm not alone . I know wrestling fans appreciate duals and I thought the timing was right to bring a high stakes - unyielding dual competition back to wrestling." When & Where National Duals will feature 12 teams and will be held in Fort Walton Beach, Florida on December 20th and 21st, 2021 at NW Florida State College. Hotel and ticket information for fans will be available soon. All mats and rounds will be streamed on this channel. The Field Five of the top seven teams from NCAA's are in the field including defending team champions, the Iowa Hawkeyes. Additionally, Cornell, who did not compete last year, and three other Top 25 finishers are in the mix. Defending EIWA Champions Lehigh, along with Oregon State and Hofstra, round out the 12-team field. Invitations were extended to the two top returning teams in each conference. #22 Central Michigan, the top returning team in the MAC, was the only team in the conference to accept the invitation. Hofstra, who was 4th in the EIWA last year replaced a second team from the MAC. All representatives from SoCon conference declined. Participating Teams #1 Iowa Hawkeyes (Big Ten) #4 Arizona State Sun Devils (Pac 12) #5 Michigan Wolverines (Big Ten) #6 North Carolina State Wolfpack (ACC) #7 Missouri Tigers (Big 12) #15 Virginia Tech Hokies (ACC) #19 Northern Iowa Panthers (Big 12) #22 Central Michigan Chippewas (MAC) Cornell Big Red (EIWA) Lehigh Mountain Hawks (EIWA) Oregon State Beavers (Pac 12) Hofstra Pride (EIWA) The Format The twelve teams will be placed in four pools of three by seed but also avoiding conference opponents. On Day 2, winners of the pools will advance to a four-team bracket for semi's and finals to determine a National Dual Champion. The remaining schools will wrestle extra duals vs. teams of correlating pool placement. About Journeymen Wrestling Journeymen Wrestling runs camps, clinics and events of all age groups under the leadership of Frank Popolizio. Annual and past events include the Northeast Duals (DI College), Collegiate Classic (DI Individual), Journeymen Fall Classic (HS), Journeymen Duals (HS), World Freestyle Challenge (HS), MiniMen (Youth) and Tussle for the Troops: NC State vs. Oklahoma State in Naples, Italy. For more information on any of Journeymen's events contact info@journeymenwrestling.com

Timmy McCall (right) at the 2021 NCAA Championships (Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State wrestling head coach Pat Popolizio has named Timmy McCall as an assistant coach for the Wolfpack. McCall has been in Raleigh involved with the NC State wrestling program since 2015, and now will be elevated to a full-time assistant coach. "Timmy's loyalty and commitment to our program over the last seven years has been unmatched," said Popolizio. "As a head coach, it is always my goal to reward that kind of commitment I see in our room. "Anybody that has sat down and talked to Timmy knows what a special skill set he brings to our program, and he has always fit right in with our staff over the years. He has built some great relationships with so many of our current and past wrestlers, and that has helped elevate our program. I can't wait to see how Timmy develops in this new role on our staff." McCall first made the move to Raleigh in 2015 as a Regional Training Center (RTC) athlete with the Woflpack Wrestling Club. In 2019, McCall was named a volunteer assistant with the Wolfpack's collegiate program. While competing for the Wolfpack Wrestling Club, McCall took first place at the 2017 Henri Deglane Challenge and was a 2016 Bill Farrell International runner-up. He also placed second at the 2019 Grand Prix of France/Henri Deglane Challenge and seventh at the 2019 U.S. Open to qualify for the World Team Trials held in Raleigh. During his time in Raleigh, McCall not only trained full-time but has worked extensively with Athletes in Action on NC State's campus. McCall competed collegiately at Wisconsin, and was ranked as high as ninth nationally as a senior. He wrestled for the Badgers from 2012-15 at both 184 and 197 pounds and qualified for the NCAA Championships at 197 pounds as both a junior and senior. He graduated from South View High School in Hope Mills, N.C., where he was a state champion and two-time NHSCA All-American. He also graduated with a 3.9 GPA and was a member of Academically Gifted (AG) program. McCall married his wife Beth in the summer of 2020.

57 kg men's freestyle representative Thomas Gilman (Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Brackets for the fourth day of the 2020 Olympic Games have been released. Men's freestyle gets underway with 57 kg and 86 kg, as well as, 57 kg in women's freestyle which will be conducted on day four of the wrestling competition. Below are all three brackets and information about the first-round opponent for each American entrant. 57 kg Men's Freestyle American Entry - Thomas Gilman 1st Round Opponent: Zavur Uguev (ROC) - 2x World Champion Top 1st Round Matches: Yuki Takahashi (Japan) - 2017 World Champion/2x World Medalist vs. Stevan Micic (Serbia) - 2019 World fifth-place Suleyman Atli (Turkey) - 2x World Medalist vs. Reza Atrinagharchi (Iran) - 2019 World fifth-place 86 kg Men's Freestyle American Entry - David Taylor 1st Round Opponent: Ali Shabanau (Belarus) - 4x World Bronze Medalist Top 1st Round Matches: Artur Naifonov (ROC) - 2019 World Bronze Medalist vs. Boris Makoev (Slovakia) - 2017 World Silver Medalist 57 kg Women's Freestyle American Entry - Helen Maroulis 1st Round Opponent: Ningning Rong (China) - 2018 World Champion/2x World Medalist Top 1st Round Matches: Irina Kurachkina (Belarus) - 2x World Bronze Medalist vs. Anshu Malik (India) - 2021 Asian Champion Anastasia Nichita (Moldova) - 2019 World fifth-place vs. Odunayo Adekuoroye (Nigeria) - 2019 World Bronze Medalist

John Stefanowicz in the qualification round at the 2020 Olympics (Photo courtesy of Larry Slater; LBSphoto.smugmug.com) The third day of wrestling competition at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo was not friendly to the American competitors. Team USA went 0-3 on the day, as the Greco-Roman team wrapped up their competition and the women's freestyle team continued on. 67 kg Greco-Roman entry Alex Sancho had a difficult draw in 2018 world champion Artem Surkov (ROC), the third seed at the weight class. Sancho was penalized for passivity first and therefore had to go down in par terre. Surkov took advantage of the situation and turned the American twice for a 5-0 lead. During the closing seconds of the first period, Sancho struck with a four-point arm-throw, which closed the deficit to one point at the break. Inexplicably in the second period, Sancho was deemed to be passive again and again was sent down in par terre. Once again, Surkov capitalized and was able to expose Sancho twice for a 10-4 lead. That would be the final score. Surkov then was upset by Parviz Nasibov (Ukraine), 1-1, which ended Sancho's tournament. Sancho's Greco-Roman teammate John Stefanowicz was in action a short time later against 2017 U23 World silver medalist Ivan Huklek of Croatia. Once again, the American was called for passivity in the opening period. Huklek got a pair of turns with a gut wrench and lead 5-0 at the break. Stefanowicz got his opportunity in the second period from par terre and was able to get a single exposure. That brought Huklek's lead to 5-3. Stefanowicz couldn't put any more points on the board despite his best efforts and fell by that score. Stefanowicz is still in the hunt for a bronze medal. Huklek defeated Rustam Assakalov (Uzbekistan), 4-1, to advance to the semifinals. If Huklek unseats two-time world champion Zhan Beleniuk (Ukraine), Stefanowicz will get to compete in repechage. The only member of the women's freestyle team, Kayla Miracle, started her tournament at 62 kg. Miracle was matched up with Jia Long (China), an opponent who defeated her in 2020 by the score of 6-1 at the Matteo Pellicone. After each wrestler fended off an attack by the other, Miracle was put on the shot clock immediately after her offensive attempt was thwarted. Miracle took no risks on the shot clock and was down early, 1-0. Right before the buzzer at the end of the first period, Miracle ended up on top of Long after a flurry for two points. It appeared to be close to a four-point move, but the sequence was never challenged. Late in the second period, Long was able to expose Miracle to jump ahead 3-2. Miracle kept on the offensive and was left stuffed on a leg for much of the final 30 seconds of the bout and ended up losing by that score. Long was pinned in the quarterfinals, which dashed any repechage hope for Miracle. American Results Men's Greco Roman 67 kg Artem Surkov (ROC) over Alex Sancho (USA) 10-4 87 kg Ivan Huklek (Croatia) over John Stefanowicz (USA) 5-3 Women's Freestyle 62 kg Jia Long (China) over Kayla Miracle (USA) 3-2 Semifinal Matchups 67 kg Greco-Roman Ramaz Zoidze (Georgia) vs. Mohammadreza Geraei (Iran) Parviz Nasibov (Ukraine) vs. Mohamed El-Sayed (Egypt) 87 kg Greco-Roman Viktor Lorincz (Hungary) vs. Mohamed Metwally (Egypt) Ivan Huklek (Croatia) vs. Zhan Beleniuk (Ukraine) 62 kg Women's Freestyle Aisuluu Tynybekova (Kyrgyzstan) vs. Iryna Koliadenko (Ukraine) Yukako Kawai (Japan) vs. Taybe Yusein (Bulgaria)

Four-time Olympic champion Mijain Loopez (Photo courtesy of UWW) Today marked the first medals that were handed out in wrestling at the 2020 Olympics. As each weight class has concluded we will have a wrap-up for each, which includes results and some notable facts related to the weight. Past Articles 60 kg Men's Greco-Roman 76 kg Women's Freestyle Qualification Results Riza Kayaalp (Turkey) over Mantas Knystautas (Lithuania) 5-1 Eduard Popp (Germany) over Eduard Soghomonyan (Brazil) 2-0 Mijain Lopez (Cuba) over Alin Alexuc Ciurariu (Romania) 9-0 Amin Mirzazadeh (Iran) over Minseok Kim (South Korea) 6-0 Muminjon Abdullaev (Uzbekistan) over Artur Vititin (Estonia) 8-0 Yasmani Acosta Fernandez (Chile) over Amine Guennichi (Tunisia) 5-1 Iakobi Kajaia (Georgia) over Elias Kuosmanen (Finland) Fall Sergey Semenov (ROC) over Abdellatif Mohamed (Egypt) 3-1 Quarterfinal Results Riza Kayaalp (Turkey) over Eduard Popp (Germany) 6-2 Mijain Lopez (Cuba) over Amin Mirzazadeh (Iran) 8-0 Yasmani Acosta Fernandez (Chile) over Muminjon Abdullaev (Uzbekistan) 2-0 Iakobi Kajaia (Georgia) over Sergy Semenov (ROC) 3-1 Semifinal Results Mijain Lopez (Cuba) over Riza Kayaalp (Turkey) 2-0 Iakobi Kajaia (Georgia) over Yasmani Acosta Fernandez (Chile) 1-1 Repechage Results Sergey Semenov (ROC) over Elias Kuosmanen (Finland) 11-0 Amin Mirzazadeh (Iran) over Alin Alexuc Ciurariu (Romania) 5-1 Bronze Medal Matches Sergey Semenov (ROC) over Yasmani Acosta Fernandez (Chile) 1-1 Riza Kayaalp (Turkey) over Amin Mirzazadeh (Iran) 7-2 Gold Medal Match Mijain Lopez (Cuba) over Iakobi Kajaia (Georgia) 5-0 Notes: Cody Goodwin put together an excellent article with plenty of Mijain Lopez-related stats Lopez earned his ninth career World/Olympic gold medal Lopez also earned his 12th career World/Olympic medal Lopez and Kayaalp have met in each of the last three Olympic Games. In 2012 and 2020, Lopez prevailed in the semifinals. In 2016, they wrestled in the finals. The last time Lopez surrendered a single point at the Olympic Games was in 2008. This was the first time that Lopez's opponent in the gold medal match was not a returning world champion. In 2008, Khasan Baroev was already an Olympic champion and two-time world champ. 2012 saw him down Heiki Nabi who was a 2006 world champion. Kayaalp was a two-time world champion at the time of their 2016 meeting. A Cuban has medaled at the World/Olympic Championships every year since 2014. Lopez did so in 2014-16 and 2020, while Oscar Pino Hines grabbed bronze from 2017-19. Olympic silver medalist Kajaia became a two-time World/Olympic medalist. Kajaia is also the first Georgian heavyweight to ever earn a World/Olympic medal in Greco-Roman. Bronze medalist Sergey Semenov became a three-time World/Olympic medalist. Fifth-place finisher Yasmani Acosta Fernandez lost both of his bouts by the score 1-1 each time. For the third time since the 2016 Olympics, Eduard Popp ran into Kayaalp in a World/Olympic Championship. Each time he has taken a loss.

2020 Olympic champion Aline Rotter-Focken (Photo courtesy of Kadir Caliksen; UWW) Today marked the first medals that were handed out in wrestling at the 2020 Olympics. As each weight class has concluded we will have a wrap-up for each, which includes results and some notable facts related to the weight. Past Articles 60 kg Men's Greco-Roman 76 kg Women's Freestyle Final Results Qualification Results Adeline Gray (USA) over Zaineb Sghaier (Tunisia) Fall 2:11 Yasemin Adar (Turkey) over Aline Silva (Brazil) 6-0 Natalia Vorobieva (ROC) over Samar Hamza (Egypt) 16-12 Aiperi Medet Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan) over Elmira Syzdkova (Kazakhstan) 8-1 Hiroe Minagawa (Japan) over Burmaa Ochirbat (Mongolia) 8-0 Epp Mae (Estonia) over Erica Wiebe (Canada) 5-4 Qian Zhou (China) over Alla Belinska (Ukraine) 4-3 Aline Rotter-Focken (Germany) over Vasilisa Marzaliuk (Belarus) 2-1 Quarterfinal Results Adeline Gray (USA) over Yasemin Adar (Turkey) 6-4 Aiperi Medet Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan) over Natalia Vorobieva (ROC) 12-0 Hiroe Minagawa (Japan) over Epp Mae (Estonia) 3-0 Aline Rotter-Focken (Germany) over Qian Zhou (China) 8-3 Semifinal Results Adeline Gray (USA) over Aiperi Medet Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan) 3-2 Aline Rotter-Focken (Germany) over Hiroe Minagawa (Japan) 3-1 Repechage Results Yasemin Adar (Turkey) over Zaineb Sghaier (Tunisia) Fall 1:21 Qian Zhou (China) over Vasilisa Marzaliuk (Belarus) 2-1 Bronze Medal Matches Yasemin Adar (Turkey) over Aiperi Medet Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan) Fall 1:24 Qian Zhou (China) over Hiroe Minagawa (Japan) Fall 2:30 Gold Medal Match Aline Rotter-Focken (Germany) over Adeline Gray (USA) 7-3 Notes: Aline Rotter-Focken became the first German woman wrestler to win a gold medal at the Olympics Before the Olympics, Rotter-Focken stated that this would be the final tournament of her career. Rotter-Focken is the first German to win gold in any style since Maik Bullman who won (90 kg Greco-Roman) in 1992. Rotter-Focken is now a five-time World/Olympic medalist. Adeline Gray became just the third American woman to make an Olympic final (Helen Maroulis: gold/2016; Sara McMann silver/2004). Gray now is an eight-time world/Olympic medalist. Adar is a three-time world/Olympic medalist. Zhou is a three-time world/Olympic medalist. This weight class had two previous Olympic champions (Erica Wiebe and Natalia Vorobieva). The pair combined to win only one match and neither medaled. All four medalists at this weight are at least 29 years old (Adar/29, Gray/Rotter-Focken/30, Zhou/32). For the third consecutive Olympics, Japan did not capture a medal at the highest weight class. According to our friend at Mat-Talk Online, Jason Bryant, these are the only occasions where Japan has failed to earn a medal in women's wrestling since its inception in 2004.

Four-time Greco-Roman Olympic champion Mijain Lopez (Photo courtesy of Kadir Caliksen; UWW) With 12 seconds left in the gold-medal match, Georgia's Iakob Kajaia disengaged, clapped his hands, took a step back and dropped his head. His attempt to spoil history fell short. On the other side of the mat, Cuba's Mijaín López waved his arms and smiled. His coaches and teammates counted down those final seconds from the stands. When the horn sounded, López brought his hands together and bowed. The party was just beginning. López won the Greco-Roman gold at heavyweight (130 kilograms, or 286 pounds), defeating Kajaia, 5-0, in the Olympic finals. In doing so, López joins Japan's Kaori Icho as the second wrestler ever to win four Olympic gold medals. "It's incredible," Lopez said afterward. "I have sacrificed 20 years and I deserve the gold medals and I have achieved that with the help of my coaches … I am going to enjoy it." Yes, López now inhabits a place where no male wrestler has ever gone before. He won gold in Beijing in 2008, then again in London in 2012, then again in Rio in 2016, then again inside Makuhari Messe Hall A on Monday. He cruised to his fourth gold this week, going 4-0 and outscoring his opponents 24-0. There are many ways to view López's longevity and dominance. Here are a few: - he went 16-0 across all four Games and outscored his opponents by a combined 78-3; - in his last three gold-medal runs, he posted a 54-0 scoring advantage; - when he won in Beijing, United World Wrestling was still called "FILA"; - that same year, Luis Orta Sanchez, the Greco-Roman champ at 60-kg (132) this week, was just 9 years old; - when López won in London, he won matches by winning two out of three periods; - he won for so long that Yasmani Acosta defected from Cuba to Chile so he could wrestle in bigger international competitions (he took fifth at these Games); - He also replaced another Cuban heavyweight Oscar Pino, a three-time world medalist from 2017-19 and would've been a medal contender in Tokyo … until López said he wanted to compete again. We are conditioned to believe that this kind of thing isn't supposed to be possible, four Olympic gold-medal performances. At least not in wrestling. Four separate Games is too long a career, too taxing on the body, too difficult a task. It takes the perfect mix of supreme talent, better health, and maybe a sprinkle or two of luck along the way. Yet here we are, with two examples of what that formula looks like when perfectly calculated in back-to-back Olympics. Icho did it in 2016, winning a fourth gold in women's freestyle. López now joins her with a fourth gold in Greco-Roman. Those two are now in elite company. The list of 4-time Olympic champions in a single event is short, just six people: - Paul Elvstrøm, a 4-time gold medalist in sailing from Denmark (1948-60); - Al Oerter, a 4-time Olympic champ in the discus from the U.S. (1956-86); - Carl Lewis, who won four long jump golds for the U.S. (1984-96); - Michael Phelps, a 4-time champ in the 200-meter individual medley (2004-16); - plus Icho and López. That's a fun spot for two international wrestling stars to be in. "This is a huge effort," UWW President Nenad Lalovic said this week. "A newborn superstar of wrestling." Thing is, López isn't "newborn." He's the old guy. He'll turn 39 later this month. This was actually his fifth appearance at the Olympics. He qualified for the 2004 Games, too. Went 3-1 and took fifth in Athens, because his one loss came in the quarterfinals to Russia's Khasan Baroev, the eventual champ. In that same competition, an American named Rulon Gardner won bronze, and promptly retired afterward. We mention him because that is the direct link between López's historic accomplishment and the last man to attempt it. Gardner, of course, is most known for his 1-0 win over Russia's Aleksandr Karelin in the Olympic finals in 2000. Karelin is widely considered the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of all time. He went undefeated for 13 years, winning every world and Olympic gold from 1988 until Gardner beat him in 2000. That victory taught us to believe in the impossible, that unsinkable ships really do sink sometimes, that David truly can defeat Goliath - and that historic runs, as tremendous as they are to watch in real-time, always come to an end. Time is undefeated, of course. It so often dictates so many of our decisions. How long will this take? What time does this end? López has never worried about time, only his focus. He said so himself after his 2-0 semifinal win over Turkey's Riza Kayaalp, a four-time world champion. "My matches are mostly about dedication and preparation," López said. López was not like Karelin, not exactly. Karelin supposedly had a career record of 887-2. He once went six years without giving up a point. Even Icho won every world and Olympic title from 2002 through Rio. López won an additional five world titles, but he also took second three other times, including as recently as 2015, when he lost to Kayaalp in the finals. When it came to the Olympics, López always found another gear. When his final match ended Monday, López lateral-dropped one of his coaches onto the center mat (think Cory Clark and Terry Brands). Then he grabbed another and carried him around the mat while waving the Cuban flag. Then he stopped and took in the moment, and the small crowd inside Makuhari Messe Hall A gave him a standing ovation. Olympic history reserves a spot for those willing to give chase. Mijaín López gave chase, and now his place is secure forever. "If there were statues still made in the foothills of ancient Greece mountains," one announcer said, "this man would have one. He's earned demigod status in the world of wrestling. "Scrap that, he's up there with Zeus."

2020 Olympic champion Luis Orta Sanchez (Photo courtesy of Kadir Caliksen; UWW) Today marked the first medals that were handed out in wrestling at the 2020 Olympics. As each weight class concludes, we will have a wrap-up for each, which includes results and some notable facts related to the weight. Let's start with Men's Greco-Roman 60 kg! Qualification Results Kenichiro Fumita (Japan) over Abdelkarim Fergat (Algeria) 8-0 Walihan Sailike (China) over Etienne Kinsinger (Germany) 1-1 Lenur Temirov (Ukraine) over Elmurat Tasmuradov (Uzbekistan) 5-0 Armen Melikyan (Armenia) over Ali Reza Nejati (Iran) 5-5 Victor Ciobanu (Moldova) over Kerem Kamal (Turkey) 8-0 Zholaman Sharshenbekov (Kyrgyzstan) over Mirambek Ainagulov (Kazakhstan) 8-0 Luis Orta Sanchez (Cuba) over Ildar Hafizov (USA) 5-0 Sergey Emelin (ROC) over Haythem Mahmoud (Egypt) 7-6 Quarterfinal Results Kenichiro Fumita (Japan) over Walihan Sailike (China) 1-1 Lenur Temirov (Ukraine) over Armen Melikyan (Armenia) 8-4 Victor Ciobanu (Moldova) over Zholaman Sharshenbekov (Kyrgyzstan) 9-0 Luis Orta Sanchez (Cuba) over Sergey Emelin (ROC) 4-3 Semifinal Results Kenichiro Fumita (Japan) over Lenur Temirov (Ukraine) 5-1 Luis Orta Sanchez (Cuba) over Victor Ciobanu (Moldova) 11-0 Repechage Results Walihan Sailike (China) over Abdelkarim Fergat (Algeria) 6-1 Sergey Emelin (ROC) over Ildar Hafizov (USA) 7-1 Bronze Medal Matches Walihan Sailike (China) over Lenur Temirov (Ukraine) 1-1 Sergey Emelin (ROC) over Victor Ciobanu (Moldova) 12-1 Gold Medal Match Luis Orta Sanchez (Cuba) over Kenichiro Fumita (Japan) 5-1 Notes: For the second consecutive Olympic Games, a Cuban wrestler won a Greco-Roman title at the opening weight. In 2016, it was Ismael Borrero Molina at 59 kg. Coincidentally, Borrero Molina also beat a Japanese opponent in that match (Shinobu Ota). The gold medal for Luis Orta Sanchez marked his first world/Olympic-level medal. On his way to the Olympic title, Orta Sanchez defeated two past world champions (Kenichiro Fumita and Sergey Emelin), along with a past world silver medalist (Victor Ciobanu). Orta Sanchez outscored his competition in four bouts, 25-4. Fumita's silver medal now gives him three World/Olympic medals. Emelin's bronze medal now gives him three World/Olympic medals. Sailike's bronze medal now gives him two World/Olympic medals. The bronze medal match between Emelin/Ciobanu was a rematch of their 2018 world final. That bout was also won by Emelin. The only returning Olympic medalist at this weight, Elmurat Tasmuradov (Uzbekistan), fell in the opening round. He was a bronze medalist in 2016. Of Walihan Sailike's (China) four bouts, three of them ended with the scoreboard reading 1-1. Two were in his favor and the third was a loss to Fumita. Before competition started, this was the weight class with the most returning world/Olympic medalists on the Greco side (9). Since Orta Sanchez joined the club, there were 10.

Adeline Gray (left) and Aline Rotter-Focken in the 2020 Olympic Gold Medal Match (Photo courtesy of Larry Slater; LBSphoto.smugmug.com) This isn't exactly how Adeline Gray pictured her Olympic moment. She didn't envision watching Aline Rotter-Focken, a longtime competitor and peer, carry the Germany flag around the center mat in celebration. She didn't visualize standing on the second-place podium inside Japan's Makuhari Messe Hall A. And she surely didn't imagine all of this would happen with basically no fans in the stands, either. “This is the first world or Olympic championship my dad has missed since I was 16 years old,” Gray said earlier this week, “so it's a real heart-breaker for my family.” No, Adeline Gray didn't picture her Olympic moment to be a silver one, but that's ultimately what it looked like on Monday after she lost to Rotter-Focken, 7-3, in the women's freestyle Olympic finals at 76 kilograms (167 pounds). The 30-year-old had always believed her Olympic moment would be gold, the perfect bow on one of the greatest women's freestyle careers in USA Wrestling history. She's won five world titles, seven total world medals, and is now an Olympic silver medalist. In the immediate aftermath, Gray wore a smile and kept high spirits, at least publicly. As Rotter-Focken celebrated the biggest accomplishment of her own stellar wrestling career, Gray kept her focus on the bigger picture and her greater purpose. “You don't come to lose,” Gray said in an interview with NBC Sports afterward. “But I gave it my all. I took some shots, and I went in there and battled, and unfortunately, I didn't come out on top. It's going to take a little while to soak in that loss. “But I'm coming back with a silver medal from the Olympics. I'm so thrilled for that.” Indeed, there is still history in Gray's accomplishment. She is now the sixth Olympic medalist in American women's freestyle wrestling history, joining Helen Maroulis, who won gold in 2016; Clarissa Chun, bronze in 2012; Randi Miller, bronze in 2008; Sara McMann, silver in 2004; and Patricia Miranda, bronze in 2004. Each have been trailblazers for women's wrestling in the United States. McMann and Miranda were the first medalists. Maroulis won the first gold. All of it helped spur the recent growth in girls' and women's wrestling across America - 32 state high school associations now offer girls' wrestling as an official high school sport, and the NCAA recently classified women's wrestling as an emerging sport - and around the world. Gray has long embraced that role publicly, and actually came face-to-face with it back in April. To make this year's Olympic squad, she beat 17-year-old Kylie Welker, one of the many young women's wrestlers who starred at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Gray swept the finals series handily, 10-0 and 11-0, but the moment made her look inward. “I vividly remember a match at nationals years ago,” Gray said after the trials. “I tech'd this young woman, who was in college. She popped up, so excited, and ran over to me and said, ‘You're my favorite, and I can't wait to really compete against you one day.' “That opened my eyes. These women are, a) really coming after me, so I have to stay on top, and b) they have role models. That's something women haven't always had. I'm excited that these young girls are seeing that they can do these things … being a role model and reaching new heights is really important for that whole dynamic.” By “new heights,” of course, she meant Olympic success, and Gray had a prime opportunity five years ago in Rio. She entered the 2016 Games on a tear, having won five straight Senior-level world medals, including back-to-back world titles in 2014 and 2015. She began her quest for Olympic gold with a first-match pin, but nagging injuries in her shoulder and knee caught up to her. She lost her second match, then was eliminated from the tournament. After taking 2017 off to recover from surgeries, Gray returned to form in 2018 with another world title, then again in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed her redemptive run for another year, but when her second Olympic opportunity arrived this week, she came to Japan more driven and focused than she had been back in 2016. “We talked a lot about that this summer,” said Terry Steiner, USA Wrestling's women's head coach. “She had a great summer of preparation, way different from what we did in 2016, and just what her mind was and what her purpose was. “You never know how that's going to translate, but I knew that the day-to-day training, the day-to-day focus, the day-to-day purpose was a lot different than it was in 2016.” Gray began her gold-medal quest the same way she did in 2016, with a first-match pin, over Tunisia's Zaineb Sghaier. In the quarterfinals, she muscled out a 6-4 win over Turkey's Yasmin Adar, a 2017 world champ. In the semifinals, she beat Kyrgyzstan's Aiperi Medet Kyzy, 3-2, securing her spot in the final. The gold-medal match tilted in Rotter-Focken's favor near the end of the first period. Gray, trailing 1-0, attempted a shot that Rotter-Focken turned into a 2-point exposure, a 3-0 lead. In the second period, Gray committed to another shot, but Rotter-Focken countered again for a 4-point takedown and a 7-0 lead. Though frustrated with the loss, Gray found immediate positives in her performance - and not just in what she accomplished on the mat over her two days of competition, but how her growth off the mat allowed her to author a different Olympic ending from the one she experienced in Rio. “So much mental fortitude,” Gray said. “I can come out here and still win matches and still be dominant and powerful and still learn on this journey, and that's what I did over the last five years. I improved. I made a better me. “I know it didn't show up in the color of my medal, but I'm still coming home with hardware, and I'm just glad this journey has been what it's been. I really proved to myself that I'm a powerful force, and that's going to take me a long ways in this life.” No, this wasn't the Olympic moment Adeline Gray envisioned when she took the mat on Monday. She believed she'd be America's second-ever women's freestyle gold medalist. She wanted so badly to add another first-place finish to her lengthy list of wrestling accolades. But she didn't let her loss impact her bigger picture and greater purpose. Gray decided the lens through which she viewed this accomplishment. Ultimately, she chose inspiration - for her teammates who will compete in the days ahead, and for the next wave of women's wrestlers who will follow in her footsteps. “If you look at women's wrestling, it's blowing up,” Gray said. “Being a little girl in the United States, in this world - I didn't dream big enough. I didn't know I could be a professional athlete in my 30s. I didn't know that I could have a husband and a career and be able to balance those two things on this stage. “I really held myself back at a young age because I didn't know these things were possible, so I hope all the little girls watching really understand that they can go and get their Master's degrees, and they can go and win Olympic medals. They can have balance in their lives and still focus on really big things. “I hope they see this group of women who are doing amazing things,” she continued, “and they can take their goals, set those goals, and make them even bigger.”

Scott Green at 16U/Junior Nationals (Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) While the bulk of the wrestling world's attention has been focused on Olympic wrestling, Army West Point has filled a void on their coaching staff and made a statement in doing so. Head Coach Kevin Ward will hire current Wyoming Seminary head coach Scott Green to be the team's head assistant coach. Green has helped elevate Wyoming Seminary into one of the top high school programs in the nation during his 11-plus years at the school. The Blue Knights were able to finish as National Prep champions in the 2014 and 2020 seasons under Green's direction. The 2020 team produced six National Prep champions, which was the second-highest total in school history. Of course, any success individually or as a team at the National Prep level requires one to go through perennial power Blair Academy (NJ). Though Green has spent the last decade-plus at the high school level, he is no stranger to the collegiate scene, especially in New York. Green served as an assistant on Pat Popolizio's staff at his alma mater, Binghamton, for four years before coming to Wyoming Seminary. Army West Point had the vacancy at associate head coach after Ned Shuck left to pursue a head coaching position at Bellarmine University in early July. Ward, Shuck, and staff were able to ink the #24 class in 2021 after years of solid work on the recruiting trail. Having Green aboard should help continue those strong recruiting efforts. In addition to working with many top prospects at Wyoming Seminary, Green has assisted with Team Pennsylvania in Fargo for years. With connections like those and countless others, Army's recruiting classes should continue to impress. Earlier this year, Ward also added 2021 NCAA runner-up Jesse Dellavecchia to the Army West Point coaching staff as a volunteer assistant. It will be interesting to monitor who fills Green's spot at Wyoming Seminary. Both Sem and rival Blair Academy will be led by new head coaches in the 2021-22 campaign.

John Stefanowicz at Final X 2019 (Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Brackets for the third day of the 2020 Olympic Games have been released. Men's Greco-Roman 67 kg and 87 kg, as well as, 62 kg in women's freestyle will be conducted on day three of the wrestling competition. Below are all three brackets and information about the first-round opponent for each American entrant. 67 kg Men's Greco-Roman American Entry - Alex Sancho 1st Round Opponent:Artem Surkov (ROC) - 2018 World Champion/4x World Medalist Top 1st Round Matches: Frank Staebler (Germany) - 3x World Champion/5x World Medalist vs. Mate Nemes (Serbia) 2019 World Bronze Medalist 87 kg Men's Greco-Roman American Entry - John Stefanowicz 1st Round Opponent: Ivan Huklek (Croatia) - 2017 U23 World Silver Medalist Top 1st Round Matches: Islam Abbasov (Azerbaijan) - 2x U23 World Bronze Medalist vs. Daniel Gregorich Hechavarria (Cuba) - 2x U23 World Medalist Rustam Assakalov (Uzbekistan) - 2x World Medalist vs. Lasha Gobadze (Georgia) - 2019 World Champion/2x World Medalist 62 kg Women's Freestyle American Entry - Kayla Miracle 1st Round Opponent: Jia Long (China) - 2020 Matteo Pellicone Bronze Medalist (Defeated Miracle 6-1 for third) Top 1st Round Matches: Aisuluu Tynybekova (Kyrgyzstan) - 2019 World Champion/2x World Medalist vs. Anastasija Grigorjeva (Latvia) - 2x World Medalist Yukako Kawai (Japan) - 2x World Medalist vs. Lyubov Ovcharova (ROC) - 2019 World Silver Medalist Marwa Amri (Tunisia) - 2016 Olympic Bronze Medalist/2017 World Silver Medalist vs. Henna Johansson (Sweden) - 2x World Medalist

Tamyra Mensah-Stock against 2016 Olympic gold medalist Sara Dosho (Photo courtesy of Larry Slater; LBSphoto.smugmug.com) The second day of competition at the 2020 Olympics started with US Greco-Roman 60 kg athlete Ildar Hafizov in action during the repechage portion of the tournament. Hafizov faced 2018 world champion Sergey Emelin (ROC), with a berth in the bronze medal bout hanging in the balance. Hafizov started as the aggressor and the official agreed as he was awarded a point for passivity and given the opportunity to add to his lead in par terre. Hafizov could not turn the Russian and went into the break up 1-0. In the second period, Emelin had the chance to work from par terre after passivity was called against Hafizov. Emelin was able to capitalize and turned Hafizov three times with a gut wrench. That made the score 7-1 in favor of Emelin and that's how the bout would end. Hafizov was eliminated from medal contention with the loss. Two more Americans started their tournaments as Tamyra Mensah-Stock (68 kg women's freestyle) and G'Angelo Hancock (97 kg men's Greco-Roman) began their quest for gold. The top-seeded Mensah-Stock was the first bout on Mat B against 2016 Olympic gold medalist and 2017 world champion Sara Dosho (Japan). From the opening whistle, Mensah-Stock was active on her feet and stunned her Japanese foe with a takedown less than a minute into the bout. She added a pair of points from a leg lace to lead 4-0. Mensah-Stock continued to push the pace and grabbed another takedown with a double leg. After two exposures from a leg lace, Mensah-Stock had teched the 2016 gold medalist in only 2:07. The quarterfinals saw Mensah-Stock meet Feng Zhou (China), the last opponent to defeat her internationally. Zhou topped Mensah-Stock 8-8 at the 2020 Matteo Pellicone. That match felt like a distant memory as the American scored quickly off of a single-leg attack. Mensah-Stock continually frustrated Zhou with a combination of stout defense, good movement, crisp reattacks, and definitive finishes. She was able to secure a tech in the second period, 10-0. Mensah-Stock will move into the semifinals against 2018 world champion Alla Cherkasova of Ukraine. Cherkasova's world title came in a weight class that Mensah-Stock entered and took bronze. It goes without saying, but Mensah-Stock is an entirely different wrestler than in 2018. Hancock's tournament started by taking on a formidable opponent, Mikheil Kajaia of Serbia. Kajaia earned bronze medals at the last two world championships. Right away, Hancock established dominance by controlling ties and planting himself with his back to the center. The whistle also noticed and gave Hancock a point for passivity and let him work from par terre. Hancock did not waste the opportunity and notched a pair of turns to take a commanding 5-0 lead. Kajaia was never able to mount any offensive and generally did not match the intensity and aggressiveness of Hancock. The American moved into the quarterfinals with a 5-1 victory. In the quarters, Hancock was paired off against Poland's Tadeusz Michalik. Early in the second period, both wrestlers had been called for passivity and Michalik held the advantage on criteria. In an important sequence, the pair went off the mat and a step was called in favor of Michalik. The US corner challenged the ruling and it was upheld. With a lost challenge, Hancock now trailed 3-1. Both exchanged step-outs for a 4-2 lead by the Polish wrestler. With only :18 remaining in the bout, Hancock pulled within one after another step out. He would get no closer as Michalik would hold off Hancock and take the 4-3 win. Michalik appeared to force throws numerous times in the match, only to end up on the mat underneath Hancock. In each instance, it was ruled a slip. Michalik will move on to the semis to face the top seed Musa Evloev (ROC), a world champion, in 2018 and 2019. If Michalik can pull the upset, Hancock will be brought into repechage. American Results 60 kg Greco-Roman Repechage Sergey Emelin (ROC) over Ildar Hafizov (USA) 7-1 97 kg Greco-Roman G'Angelo Hancock (USA) over Mikheil Kajaia (Serbia) 5-1 Tadeusz Michalik (Poland) over G'Angelo Hancock (USA) 4-3 68 kg Women's Freestyle Tamyra Mensah-Stock (USA) over Sara Dosho (Japan) 10-0 Tamyra Mensah-Stock (USA) over Feng Zhou (China) 10-0 Olympic Semifinal Matchups 77 kg Greco-Roman Tamas Lorincz (Hungary) vs. Mohammadali Geraei (Iran) Karapet Chalyan (Armenia) vs. Akzhol Makhmudov (Kyrgyzstan) 97 kg Greco-Roman Musa Evloev (ROC) vs. Tadeusz Michalik (Poland) Artur Aleksanyan (Armenia) vs. Mohammadhadi Saravi (Iran) 68 kg Women's Freestyle Tamyra Mensah-Stock (USA) vs. Alla Cherkasova (Ukraine) Battsetseg Soronzonbold (Mongolia) vs. Blessing Oborududu (Nigeria)

Adeline Gray after her Olympic semifinal win (Photo courtesy of Larry Slater; LBSphoto.smugmug.com) The first day of wrestling competition at the 2020 Olympic Game wrapped up in style as American Adeline Gray pushed through into the finals at 76 kg. Gray, a five-time world champion, still has her hopes of winning an Olympic gold medal alive after surviving a 3-2 scare against Kyrgyzstan's Aiperi Medet Kyzy. Gray got on the scoreboard first with a point after a shot clock violation from Medet Kyzy. She continued to put the action and sunk in a pair of underhooks, threw them by and was ready to live Medet Kyzy at the edge of the mat. Medet Kyzy wisely chose stepping out of bounds rather than risk surrendering two, or perhaps, even four points from Gray's action. The match would go into the break with the American holding a 2-0 lead. In the second period, Medet Kyzy turned up the heat and got in on a leg attack. Gray deftly countered and the pair engaged in a quick scramble. After they went out of bounds, the Kyrgyzstani corner challenged the sequence in hopes of a takedown getting awarded to Medet Kyzy. No takedown was seen or awarded and Gray received an extra point for the lost challenge. That point proved to be huge as Medet Kyzy continued to attack and racked up a takedown in the ensuing restart. She nearly had a leg lace locked up, but Gray was able to stop any further scoring. With less than 20 seconds remaining when the two were brought to their feet, Gray was able to hold off the late charge from Medet Kyzy and win 3-2. The win puts Gray into the Olympic finals for the first time. She is the only American wrestler with five world championships and her place in American wrestling history is already secure. A gold medal would be the cherry on top of a remarkable career. Standing in Gray's way will be German veteran Aline Rotter Focken. The 30-year-old Rotter Focken has already stated that the Olympic Games will be her last competition. She and Gray met in the 2019 World Championships in a bout won by Gray, 5-2. Though Gray was the only American in action this session, there was more good news for the American contingent. With a win by Cuba's Luis Orta Sanchez in the 60 kg Men's Greco-Roman semifinals, Ildar Hafizov was brought back into repechage. Orta Sanchez has been one of the stories of day one. He edged 2018 world champion Sergey Emelin (ROC) in the quarters before dominating world silver medalist Victor Ciobanu (Moldova) in the semis, 11-0. Hafizov will take on Emelin in repechage before the next session gets underway. If he wins, he locks up a spot in the bronze medal match, opposite Ciobanu. Orta Sanchez is one of two Cuba's in the Olympic finals, as legendary big man Mijain Lopez won his supermatch against Riza Kayaalp (Turkey), 2-0. Lopez is in a position to win his fourth gold medal, a feat that has never been accomplished at the Greco-Roman level. Both he and Kayaalp have accounted for nine World/Olympic titles and were seen as the top-tier at 130 kg. Orta Sanchez will try to win his gold medal, taking on the top-seed and 2019 world champion Kenichiro Fumita (Japan). Semifinal Results Men's Greco-Roman 60 kg - Kenichiro Fumita (Japan) over Lenur Temirov (Ukraine) 5-1 60 kg - Luis Orta Sanchez (Cuba) over Victor Ciobanu (Moldova) 11-0 130 kg - Mijain Lopez (Cuba) over Riza Kayaalp (Turkey) 2-0 130 kg - Iakobi Kajaia (Georgia) over Yasmani Acosta Fernandez (Chile) 1-1 Women's Freestyle 76 kg - Adeline Gray (USA) over Aiperi Medet Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan) 3-2 76 kg - Aline Rotter Focken (Germany) over Hiroe Minagawa (Japan) 3-1

G'Angelo Hancock at the 2020 Olympic Trials (Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Brackets for the second day of the 2020 Olympic Games have been released. Men's Greco-Roman 77 kg and 97 kg, as well as, 68 kg in women's freestyle will be conducted on day two of the wrestling competition. Below are all three brackets and information about the first-round opponent for each American entrant. 77 kg Men's Greco-Roman American Entry - None Top 1st Round Matches: Jalgasbay Berdimuratov (Uzbekistan) - 2019 World Bronze Medalist vs. Karapet Chalyan (Armenia) - 2019 World fifth-place, 2013 Junior World Champion Rafig Huseynov (Azerbaijan) - 2019 World Silver Medalist vs. Alex Bjurberg Kessidis (Sweden) - 2019 World Silver Medalist 97 kg Men's Greco-Roman American Entry - G'Angelo Hancock 1st Round Opponent:Mikheil Kajaia (Serbia) - 2x World Bronze Medalist, 2018 European Silver Medalist Top 1st Round Matches: Cenk Ildem (Turkey) - 2016 Olympic Bronze Medalist/4x World/Olympic Medalist vs. Kiril Milov (Bulgaria) - 2018 World Silver Medalist Gabriel Rosillo Kindelan (Cuba) - 2019 Junior World Champion, 2019 Pan-American Champion vs. Arvi Savolainen (Finland) - 2019 U23 World Champion, 2018 Junior World Champion 68 kg Women's Freestyle American Entry - Tamyra Mensah-Stock 1st Round Opponent: Sara Dosho (Japan) - 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist/2017 World Champion Top 1st Round Matches: Feng Zhou (China) - 2015 World Silver Medalist vs. Yudaris Sanchez Rodriguez (Cuba) - 2018 U23 World Champion Agnieszka Wieszczek-Kordus (Poland) - 2008 Olympic Bronze Medalist vs. Alla Cherkasova (Ukraine) - 2018 World Champion/2x World Medalist Soronzonboldyn Battsetseg (Mongolia) - 2012 Olympic Bronze Medalist/2x World Champion vs. Koumba Larroque (France) - 2x World Medalist Danielle Lappage (Canada) - 2018 World Silver Medalist vs. Khanum Velieva (Russia) - 2018 U23 World Bronze Medalist

Adeline Gray in the opening round of the 2020 Olympics (Photo courtesy of Larry Slater; LBSphoto.smugmug.com) The wrestling portion of the 2020 Olympic Games got underway today and two American's were in action, Ildar Hafizov (60 kg Greco-Roman) and Adeline Gray (76 kg Women's Freestyle). The top-seeded Gray was in the very first bout of the entire competition. She did not disappoint and made quick work of her opponent, Zaineb Sghaier of Tunisia. After starting the match with a deliberate pace, Gray gained a first-period takedown and quickly turned it into an 8-0 lead. From there, Gray kept the pressure on and pinned Sghaier, all in the initial stanza. The first-round win for Gray set the stage for a quarterfinal matchup with 2017 world champion Yasmine Adar of Turkey. Gray was the aggressor early and built up after a leg attack into a body lock. That position allowed her to gain an early lead, one she would never relinquish. Gray added another takedown and then extended her lead to 6-0. The Turk did not concede and picked up a score of her own after a scramble. During the flurry, Adar also grabbed a leg lace and added to her lead with a set of exposure points. The situation was blown dead with 11 seconds left in the bout. Gray was able to hold off a hard-charging Adar for a 6-4 win and a berth in the semifinals. In the semi's, Gray will meet Kyrgyzstan's Aiperi Medet Kyzy. Medet Kyzy has already had an impressive tournament with wins over 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Elmira Sydzykova (Kazakhstan) and two-time Olympic finalist Natalia Vorobieva (ROC). Sydzykova and Vorobieva were not the only 2016 Olympic medalists to fall in the first session. Gold medalist Erica Wiebe (Canada) was shut down by Epp Mae (Estonia), 5-4 in the opening round. Since Mae fell in the quarters to Hiroe Minagawa (Japan), Wiebe has been eliminated from medal contention. Hafizov was paired with fellow Pan-American star Luis Orta Sanchez (Cuba) in the first round. He could never solve the defense of Orta Sanchez and ended up on the wrong side of a 5-0 decision. Hafizov still can wrestle for a bronze medal, as Orta Sanchez pulled an upset and advanced to the semis after knocking off the second seed, 2018 world champion Sergey Emelin (ROC). Though there was no American at 130 kg in the Greco tournament, there are plenty of fireworks on the horizon for the semifinals. Two legendary competitors, Riza Kayaalp (Turkey) and Mijain Lopez (Cuba), are set to square off. The pair have combined to win 12 World/Olympic titles and Lopez is seeking his fourth Olympic gold medal. American Results 60 kg Greco-Roman Round One - Luis Orta Sanchez (Cuba) over Ildar Hafizov (USA) 5-0 76 kg Women's Freestyle Round One - Adeline Gray (USA) over Zaineb Sghaier (Tunisia) Fall Quarterfinals - Adeline Gray (USA) over Yasmin Adar (Turkey) 6-4 Olympic Semifinal Matchups 60 kg Greco-Roman Kenichiro Fumita (Japan) vs. Lenur Temirov (Ukraine) Luis Orta Sanchez (Cuba) vs. Victor Ciobanu (Moldova) 130 kg Greco-Roman Riza Kayaap (Turkey) vs. Mijain Lopez (Cuba) Yasmani Acosta Fernandez (Chile) vs. Iakobi Kajaia (Georgia) 76 kg Women's Freestyle Adeline Gray (USA) vs. Aiperi Medet Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan) Hiroe Minagawa (Japan) vs. Aline Rotter Focken (Germany)

Our MAC correspondent Courtney Woods talks about her recent article on Cleveland State's Marcus Robinson, Buffalo's 2021-22 schedule, NIU getting it done on the recruiting trail and the classroom, and fundraising.