InterMat Staff

In an unprecedented situation, 50 kg women’s freestyle finalist Vinesh Phogat of India failed to make weight on Wednesday prior to her gold medal match with American Sarah Hildebrandt. United World Wrestling announced that instead of a finals forfeit, which is the normal procedure were this to happen in an American tournament, the opponent that Phogat defeated in the semifinals will be pulled into the finals. That leaves Phogat without a medal and she will finish in 16th place at the weight class. With her 10-0 win over Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, Phogat appeared to be the first Indian woman to make an Olympic final and claim at least a silver medal. Now, she will not medal. Since 2019, Phogat had competed solely at 53 kg; however, she dropped down to 50 kg for the 2024 Olympic run. Phogat looked significantly larger than most of her competition and the weight cut was likely very difficult for her. For the second consecutive day, Phogat has stolen the early morning wrestling headlines. Just over 24 hours ago, she pulled the upset of the tournament by handing 2020 Olympic champion Yui Susaki (Japan) her first international loss.

After the first day of the Olympic Wrestling, four journalists saw all three of their picks reach the finals with nine others going 2-for-3. Well, that success was fun while it lasted as Day 2 started off in the least conceivable way: Japan’s Yui Susaki (50kg), the reigning World Champion suffered her first international defeat of her entire career as Vinesh (IND) stung her at the buzzer to win 2-2. Susaki was selected by eighteen of the twenty-one prognosticators in TheMat.com’s annual International Journalist Pick Contest. Two journalists selected Sarah Hildebrandt (USA) who reached tomorrow’s finals. But Susaki wasn’t the only overwhelming pick that went down. Akzhol Makhmudeov (KGZ), the reigning world champion in Greco at 77kg lost to Kazakhstan's Demeu Zhadrayev in Round 2 erasing the pick of eleven. Only five journalists have a finalist alive at 77, and all five took Japan’s Nao Kusaka who will face Zhadrayev. Selections in Greco at 97 saw much better results for the journalists. Artur Aleksanyan (ARM) and Mohammad Saravi (IRI) will meet in tomorrow’s finals with the two combining for seventeen of the twenty-one picks: Aleksanyan with thirteen and Saravi with four. In the semi’s, Aleksanyan beat Gabriel Rosillo (CUB) in a rematch of last year’s World finals won by Rosillo. Despite being the defending World Champ, Rosillo only garnered two pre-tournament picks here.

He was on the precipice of Olympic history. Not just wrestling history, but the entire Olympic Games. Cuban Greco-Roman heavyweight Mijain Lopez was seconds away from competing for his fifth gold medal match at the 2024 Olympics and he looked as unphased as ever. Should he win, Lopez would elevate himself to an elite class of Olympic athletes that just includes…well, himself. Lopez had the opportunity to become the first Olympic athlete to win gold medals in the same discipline at five different Games. With four gold medals, Lopez was in a deadlock with American Olympic legends like Carl Lewis, Michael Phelps, and Katie Ledecky. Circling back to the wrestling world, a gold medal would make him the oldest wrestler (41 years old) to accomplish the feat. By winning in the semifinals, Lopez had already become only the second Olympic wrestler with five medals. With that type of history on the line, Lopez still looked like he exerted more energy worrying about a choice for a post-match meal rather than stressing over his remarkable feat. In a twist that seemed like it was straight out of Hollywood, standing between Lopez and his fifth gold medal was close friend and former training partner Yasmani Acosta Fernandez. The Cuban-born Acosta Fernandez had previously competed for Cuba; however, he defected to Chile in order to get a shot at events like the World Championships or the Olympics. Could his former understudy spoil his crowning achievement? Again, you couldn’t tell if Lopez cared. The actual gold medal match started like so many of Lopez’s bouts. He moved methodically like a lion or tiger waiting to pounce - occasionally, using his paws to fend off a lesser threat. With Lopez controlling the center of the mat, the official deemed Acosta Fernandez was passive and gave Lopez a point and put the Chilean wrestler down for par terre. As 2012 Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs stated on the broadcast, everyone in the arena was aware that Lopez would lock up a gut wrench, bury his head on the left side, and then take his opponent in that direction. Almost simultaneously, Lopez did just that and extended his lead to 3-0. Even with a commanding lead and a position where he could potentially add to it, Lopez was unphased. He didn’t try to add to the lead. Lopez likely knew that his former training partner wouldn’t be able to put up three points to threaten him. The second period mirrored the first as Acosta Fernandez was called for passivity for a second time. Lopez never seemed concerned about trying for a second turn, content with his 4-0 lead. Later in the bout, a desperate Acosta Fernandez stumbled while trying for something, anything. That led to Lopez semi-reluctantly covering him for another takedown and a 6-0 lead. 6-0 was more than enough and it was the final score for Lopez’s monumental moment. The crowd rose to their feet and saluted Lopez who raised his entire hand symbolizing the number of gold medals soon to be in his possession. If a long ovation from the Olympic wrestling fans wasn’t enough, Lopez continued to capture the attention of the crowd. Without speaking, Lopez answered a question he was likely to get dozens of times this evening and in the coming days. He removed his wrestling shoes, gave them a quick kiss, and left them in the center of the mat signifying his retirement. There will be no gold medal number six. Lopez has always been different. Maybe that’s what separates him from the rest of the greats. After winning his 2020 Olympic gold medal, as a 38-year-old, Lopez didn’t step on the mat for an actual competition until Monday. Maybe he walks away and Tuesday marks the end of a remarkable, unique career. Maybe he does what he did about a year ago and decides he’s back for one more gold medal run. Whatever happens, Lopez’s legacy has been cemented and extends way beyond the wrestling mat. He is one of the greatest Olympians ever to compete at the Games. Maybe the greatest.

Winning the Olympic Games is incredibly difficult. Whether you’re young or old or right in the middle of your prime, all the stars need to align for that one special moment. For most, the Olympics are a pipe dream or an unattainable goal. For Amit Elor, it just seems right. Winning a gold medal felt inevitable. That’s odd to say for someone who just became the youngest American wrestler to ever have Olympic gold draped around their neck. What’s even more unusual is that she might have been able to accomplish the feat three years ago at the postponed Olympic Games. The hurdle in 2021 wasn’t an unstoppable opponent or nerves or an inability to make the team. Her roadblock was a calendar. Elor wasn’t able to wrestle on the Senior level because she was too young. Born on January 1st, 2004, Elor was a day too young to participate in the Trials process. For most the whole “being good enough to make the Olympic team” is the stopping point. Not being too young. If Elor sulked or complained about the rule, she didn’t do it publicly and she didn’t do it for long. Instead, she just went out and won world titles. And she hasn’t stopped since. In 2021, Elor captured gold at the U17 and U20 World Championships. A year later, as she aged out of the U17 division, Elor became the first American to win world titles in three age groups - adding titles at the U23 and Senior divisions. She replicated that trifecta in 2023. All of that set the stage for 2024 and the Olympic Games. Elor’s six world titles, over the last two years, have come at a non-Olympic weight (72 kg), so she dropped down to 68 kg for the qualification process earlier in 2024. On Tuesday afternoon (or evening in Paris, France), Elor captured the final piece of the puzzle, an Olympic gold medal. Incredibly enough, as a 20-year-old, an Olympic gold medal was the only significant wrestling prize that was not already in Elor’s possession prior to this week. While Elor has shown the ability to bulldoze opponents, as she did in the semifinals against North Korea’s Sol Gum Pak, racking up a 10-0 tech fall in less than two minutes - this time it was a methodical, systematic dismantling. Kyrgyzstan’s Meerim Zhumanazarova came into the Olympic finals red-hot. She had taken out a trio of opponents that included an Olympic silver medalist, a two-time world champion, and a world finalist. Surely, she’d present a problem for Elor, right? The final score read 3-0, which may lead you to believe that it was a nailbiter, but in reality, Zhumanazarova really never stood a chance. Elor was too fundamentally sound in every position and controlled the ties, the pacing, and the positioning of her opponent for the vast majority of the six minutes. In the opening period, Zhumanazarova was put on the shot clock which led to the only scoring sequence of the gold medal bout. That led to a desperate shot attempt which Elor easily blocked and eventually scored a takedown from. Add in a point for a shot-clock violation and she led, 3-0. But it felt like 30-0. Most of the second period was spent with Elor posted up in the middle of the mat digging an underhook and/or pushing Zhumanazarova’s head down. None of which were conducive to Zhumanazarova setting up an attack, much less scoring. Once the final whistle sounded and her arm was raised by the official, Elor stood in the middle of the mat looking around the arena. For a change, she looked unsure of what to do. Elor had just become the third American woman to win an Olympic gold medal. For a 20-year-old who has won everything there is to win, her greatest opponent may not wear a singlet, her greatest opponent may be the record book itself.

A few hours ago, brackets dropped for day three of the wrestling competition at the 2024 Olympic Games (For the full bracket, look here). Like the American wrestlers who started their tournaments this morning, tomorrow’s crop of wrestlers face some imposing opponents right off the bat. Here are the Americans wrestling on Wednesday, along with background information on their first opponent and a potential path to the finals. Since the gold medal matches are wrestled on the following day, we’ll deal with that half of the bracket when relevant. Remember, 67 kg in Greco-Roman will also be conducted tomorrow, but we do not have a representative at that weight. Greco-Roman 87 kg Payton Jacobson vs. Aleksander Komarov (Serbia) This will be a battle of two relatively young wrestlers with a good amount of experience in various age groups but are still trying to establish themselves at the Senior level. Aleksander Komarov previously competed for Russia and was a stud in multiple age groups. Komarov has won multiple world titles at both the U17 and U20 divisions. In 2021, he was a U23 world champion. To date, his only Senior World appearance came in 2019 when he finished 11th. At that time, Komarov was only 20 years old, so he should be hitting his prime now. In the lead-up to the Olympics, Komarov won a star-studded European Championship bracket and defeated 2020 Olympic gold medalist Zhan Beleniuk (Ukraine) and reigning world champion Ali Cengiz (Turkey) in the process. Later in 2024, Komarov went 3-0 at the European Olympic Qualifier to lock up his spot in Paris. Komarov comes in as the seventh seed. Should Jacobson pull the upset, he’d have one of a pair of studs in the quarterfinals. Both Rafig Huseynov (Azerbaijan) and David Losonczi (Hungary) are returning finalists. Huseynov won his second world title at 82 kg in 2023 and Losonczi fell to Cengiz in the 2023 world finals at this weight. The other quarterfinal on this half of the bracket is much more manageable. The truth is if Jacobson could get past the first two rounds, he should be able to do the same in the semifinals. Women’s freestyle 53 kg Dom Parrish vs. Akari Fujinami (Japan) Here it is! Yet, another American has drawn a world champion in round one. But, at the same time, you can say that Akari Fujinami worked to earn the third seed and has to deal with a world champion, herself in Dom Parrish. Fujinami has won the 53 kg weight class in 2021 and 2023. She entered in 2022, but did not compete and Parrish went on to win her title. In 2023, Fujinami posted four 10-0 techs and a second-period fall in her five matches at the World Championships. Fujinami followed that performance with a fall and two 10-0 techs at the Asian Games. Something to consider in this matchup is the state of the Japanese team. Both women who have wrestled thus far have been victims of upsets. That might just be coincidental; however, it’s a storyline to remember. Despite her dominance last few years, this is Fujinami’s first Olympic Games. Should Parrish advance to the semifinals, she would likely meet a familiar and historically significant opponent, Khulan Batkhuyag of Mongolia. Batkhuyag is the opponent that Parrish defeated by the score of 4-2 in the 2022 world finals. Certainly not a walk-in-the-park, but she’d be riding a high wrestling Batkhuyag shortly after defeating Fujinami. Other notables on that half of the bracket include Emma Malmgren (Sweden) and Qianyu Pang (China). Malmgren has finished fifth at the last two World Championships and Pang is a two-time world bronze medalist and a silver medalist from the 2020 Games.

A year ago, Sarah Hildebrandt was in the world semifinals against Mongolia’s Otgonjargal Dolgorjav. The result didn’t fall her way and Dolgorjav advanced to the world finals after a 7-5 victory. That loss was Hildebrandt’s most recent setback; however, she had a chance to avenge that loss today and move one step closer to wrestling immortality and an Olympic gold medal. Hildebrandt grabbed an early lead after snapping and spinning against Dolgorjav and never looked back. She added to the lead, scoring on a reshot at the edge. Dolgorjav was also docked a caution point for fleeing as Hildebrandt was finishing the scoring sequence which gave her a 5-0 lead. Hildebrandt also got a par terre restart; however, there were only a few seconds remaining in the opening period and not enough time to lock up one of her traditional leg laces. Throughout the contest, Hildebrandt used her superior length to keep the shorter Dolgorjav at bay and herself away from danger. That was evident in the second period, as was Hildebrandt's defense. Dolgorjav got to Hildebrandt’s legs multiple times in the final stanza; however, her rubber knee defense prevented the Mongolian from converting the takedown. Dolgorjav threw the proverbial kitchen sink at Hildebrandt in the final period trying a duckunder and arm spin, all to no avail. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Hildebrandt looked at the camera and showed off her smile - a feature that’s almost as synonymous as her leg lace. Hildebrandt knew she was in no danger and into the Olympic finals. When it was all said and done, the bout ended with a 5-0 score as Dolgorjav was shut out in the second period. That period, and the entire match, was a masterclass in defense. Hildebrandt has already clinched her second Olympic medal - though she’s not content with settling for silver. To win gold, she’ll need to go through the red-hot Vinesh Phogat of India. Early this morning, Phogat sent shockwaves through the wrestling community when she upset the returning Olympic champion Yui Susaki (Japan). Phogat moved on to finals after posting a 5-0 win over Yusneylis Guzman Lopez of Cuba.

Later today, the first set of medals will be awarded in wrestling at the 2024 Olympic Games. Two of those will be in Greco-Roman weights, while one will be in women’s freestyle. 68 kg in women’s freestyle is the weight class and American Amit Elor is one of the finalists. Elor, a two-time Senior World Champion, will clash with another world champion, Meerim Zhumanazarova of Kyrgyzstan. Though this tournament is young, Zhumanazarova pulled one of the biggest stunners of day one when she knocked off Nonoka Ozaki (Japan) with a late takedown in the quarterfinals. Elor generally steamrolled her way to the gold medal match. So, who is Zhumanazarova and what should we expect from her in her gold medal contest with Elor? I’m glad you asked. There’s plenty of that below. Background: 2021 World Champion, 2x U20 world medalist (2,3), 2016 U17 world bronze medalist, 2021 Asian Champion Finals path: Round of 16: Delgermaa Enkhsaikhan (Mongolia) 8-3 Quarterfinals: Nonoka Ozaki (Japan) 8-6 Semifinals: Blessing Oborududu (Nigeria) 3-1 Common Opponent Since Elor has competed for her entire Senior career, before 2024, at 72 kg there isn’t much in the way of common opponents between these two. Sol Gum Pak (North Korea) - Elor (W) Olympic semifinals: 10-0 - Zhumanazarova (L) Asian Olympic Qualifier: 6-2 Strengths: Before getting into Zhumanazarova’s good positions and abilities, you have to take notice of her intangible qualities. Zhumanazarova is an extremely cool customer. She doesn’t get flustered often and can handle wrestling from behind or in tough situations. In her quarterfinal matchup versus Nonoka Ozaki, Zhumanazarova got out to a 6-0, but then gave up six-straight points. All of the momentum seemed to be tilted in favor of the Japanese woman; however, she was able to fight off that feeling and secure a winning takedown with under ten seconds remaining in the match. Against Ozaki, Zhumanazarova showed off her mat IQ during the first scoring flurry. Ozaki continued to move and refused to let Zhumanazarova spin behind her. Rather than continuing to pursue the takedown or waiting for the official to award two points, Zhuamanazarova went into a gut wrench and scored that way. Zhumanazarova shared a couple of traits with Elor. Both are very patient. They don’t just attack for the sake of it, they’ll both methodically work through their positions and wait for an opening. She is also physically stout, like Elor, and rarely gets muscled around the mat. In the semifinal win over 2020 Olympic silver medalist, Blessing Obodududu, the first period seemed more like a brawl than a wrestling match, at moments. Both were exchanging hard clubs and ties - possibly a head butt or two. Should Elor turn up the physicality it doesn’t look like it would intimidate her. During her opening round win over Mongolia’s Delgermaa Enkhsaikhan, Zhumanazarova changed the course of the entire match with a massive double leg and a series of turns, most of which were improvised rather than picture-esque turns. In multiple matches, Zhumanazrova showed an ability to change levels and get in deep on low-leg attacks. She was never able to convert any of those into takedowns, frankly, they appeared to be more of a vehicle to waste time. Even so, it’s something to keep in mind. Most of Zhumanazarova’s takedowns came after she displayed stout defense. She works well with a whizzer and that’s how she got on the scoreboard first against Ozaki. On multiple occasions, Ozaki tried to attack with a misdirection shot; however, Zhumanazarova was never caught off balance and thwarted those shots rather easily. The matchup with Elor: During her run to the finals, Zhumanazarova gave up some scoring holds and a few of those positions happen to be where Elor is strong. Against Enkhsaikhan, she gave up a takedown after a throw-by from an underhook. Elor likes to work from either that or a two-on-one. To her credit, Zhumanazarova refused to let Enkhsaikhan impose her will from a two-on-one tie. In Ozaki’s second-period rally, she was able to lock up a takedown that originated from a snapdown and a flurry. Elor tends to be stronger and more physical than the majority of her opponents and could do the same. After that takedown, she also gave up a pair of exposure points from a trapped-arm gut. Summary: Thus far, Elor has made this tournament look much easier than it should look. In three matches, she’s outscored her competition 28-2. The only two points she surrendered were in the closing seconds of her opening round match against the defending world champion, Buse Tosun (Turkiye). Based on Zhumanazarova’s tournament, she will not be intimidated and lose composure if she falls behind early. Zhumanazarova has proven herself to be a worthy, capable opponent, but if Elor wrestles like we’ve been accustomed to seeing for the last two (or three or four) years, she should become the youngest Olympic gold medalist in American history later today. Remember, as you may have heard multiple times in the broadcast on Monday, Kyrgyzstan has never had an Olympic gold medalist in any sport….ever. Not only will Zhumanazrova have the pressure of defeating a wrestler of Elor’s caliber, but she also has the hopes of an entire country riding on her every move.

Day two of wrestling at the 2024 Olympic Games started off with a bang - and it had nothing to do with any American wrestlers. In the very first match of the 50 kg weight class, 2020 Olympic champion Yui Susaki (Japan) who is also a three-time world champion, riding an 82-match winning streak was stunned by India’s Vinesh Phogat, 3-2. Phogat hung close to Susaki for the entire match and attacked late in the final period to shock Susaki and the entire wrestling world. It marked the first loss by Susaki to a non-Japanese opponent. Staying in the 50 kg weight class, American Sarah Hildebrandt got her tournament started with a dominant 10-0 tech fall over Algeria’s Ibtissem Doudou. Early in the opening period, Hildebrandt got to Doudou’s legs and earned a takedown. She quickly ended the contest with four of her trademark leg laces. That win set up a quarterfinal clash with fellow 2023 World bronze medalist Ziqi Feng (China). Feng got on the scoreboard first with a double-leg for a takedown. Hildebrandt never gave up and bellied out, rather choosing to wrestle through the position. After deftly avoiding exposure points, Hildebrandt was able to gain a reversal and trailed 2-1. Shortly after a restart, the two found themselves in a position that would come up time and again in this contest. Hildebrandt with a front headlock. In this instance, the American unleashed a beautiful shuck which resulted in a takedown and a 3-2 lead. Later in the period, that position came up again and Hildebrandt tried another shuck. This time, Feng was ready and held strong before getting to Hildebrandt’s legs for a takedown. Near the end of the opening period, Hildebrandt unleashed a picture-esque ankle pick. That shot did not directly lead to a takedown; however, Hildebrandt was able to spin behind her stunned opponent for a takedown and a 5-4 lead heading into the break. For most of the final period, Hildebrandt was able to prevent Feng from getting to an advantageous position. The biggest flurry of the period came with about :45 seconds left in the contest, as the pair ended up in that familiar front headlock position again. Instead of going back to the shuck, Hildebrandt showed her variety of short offense and blocked off an arm and spun for an insurance takedown. That 7-4 lead held up and Hildebrandt advanced to this afternoon’s semifinals. In the semis, Hildebrandt will meet a familiar foe - Mongolia’s Otgonjargal Dolgorjav. The two met in the world semifinals in each of the last two years. In 2022 Dolgorjav was victorious 6-2. Last year, she won 7-5. Sandwiched in between those two matches was a 10-0 win for Hildebrandt at the 2023 Hungarian Ranking Series event. Turning our attention to the men’s Greco-Roman portion of the tournament, the first American to take the mat on Tuesday was Kamal Bey at 77 kg. Bey also had an opponent he’s met multiple times over the years - Akzhol Makhmudov. The two-time world champion and 2020 Olympic silver medalist from Kyrgyzstan lost to Bey in the 2017 Junior World finals. In this meeting, there was little action in the first period which led to a passivity call on Bey. Makhmudov was given plenty of time to work from the par terre position, but couldn’t add to his lead and the match went into period two, 1-0. In the second, Makhmudov turned up the heat on Bey and would not allow him near the center of the mat, garnering back-to-back push-out points and a 3-0 lead. A second passivity call on Bey made the match 4-0. Once again, Makhmudov couldn’t turn Bey from the par terre restart. Late in the contest, Bey was able to get on the board with a push-out of his own; however, it was not enough and he fell 4-1. In his next bout, Makhmudov was shocked by Demeu Zhadrayev (Kazakhstan) late in the second period. Zhadrayev was able to expose Makhmudov from a front head-pinch maneuver which gave him a 3-1 win. The loss from Makhmudov eliminated Bey from medal contention. Also in action was Joe Rau at 97 kg. Like Bey, Rau drew a past world champion in Iran’s Mohammadhadi Saravi. In the opening period, Rau was able to hold his position and drew a passivity on Saravi, resulting in a 1-0 lead for the American. Rau couldn’t add to his lead from par terre and the pair were brought back to their feet. Later in the first, Saravi would push ahead on a step-out. In the second period, the Iranian was able to break open the match after a passivity call on Rau and his opportunity from par terre. Saravi proceeded to turn Rau twice with a gut wrench which led to an insurmountable 6-1 advantage. Soon after, Saravi got a takedown with a duck under and a gut wrench to seal the match at 10-1. Saravi teched his quarterfinal opponent Uzur Dzhuzupbekov (Kyrgyzstan) 8-0 and moved into the semifinals. Should Saravi defeat Egypt’s Mohamed Gabr, Rau will be pulled back into repechage tomorrow. Women’s Freestyle 50 kg Round of 16: Sarah Hildebrandt over Ibtissem Doudou (Algeria) 10-0 Quarterfinals: Sarah Hildebrandt over Ziqi Feng (China) 7-4 Men’s Greco-Roman 77 kg Round of 16: Akzhol Makhmudov (Kyrgyzstan) over Kamal Bey 4-1 97 kg Round of 16: Mohammadhadi Saravi (Iran) over Joe Rau 10-1

Brackets have been released for day three at the 2024 Olympic Games. The 67 and 87 kg weight classes in Greco-Roman will be conducted, along with 53 kg in women's freestyle. Remember, there is no American in the 67 kg Greco bracket. 67 kg Greco-Roman 87 kg Greco-Roman 53 kg Women's Freestyle

The ‘buckle up’ moments occurred early in Paris on the opening day of wrestling at the 2024 Olympic Games. The first flight, which included Women’s Freestyle at 68kg along with 60 and 130kgs in Greco Roman, saw the bulk of their premier matchups take place in the first two rounds of the morning session. Two champions from 2023 Worlds collided in the first round with American prodigy Amit Elor leading Turkey’s Buse Tosun from whistle to whistle. It was among the most pivotal matches of the day for TheMat.com’s annual International Journalist Pick Contest as nineteen of the twenty-one entries chose one of those two as champion: fifteen selections for Elor, four for Tosun and one each for Nonoka Osaki (JPN) and Koumba Larrouque (FRA). One round later came the most intriguing matchup of Greco heavyweights as reigning World Champion Amin Mirzazadeh (IRI) fell to perhaps the greatest practitioner the sport has ever seen in Cuba’s Mijain Lopez. Again, nineteen journalists’ picks went to one of the two; Mijain received twelve nods to Mirzazadeh’s seven. The third big differentiator in the contest for Day I came at 60kg in Greco in the second session where Japan’s Kenchiro Fumita edged Zholman Sharshenbekov (KGZ), 4-3, in a reversal of last year’s World Championship final. Thirteen entries picked Sharshenbekov giving the seven who selected Fumita a leg up. Four entries are still alive to go perfect for the first flight, whose Gold Medal finals will take place in tomorrow’s second session. Two of those entries - Intermat’s Earl Smith and FloWrestling Andrew Spey - tied for 3rd in last year’s contest. Also notable is that all four still perfect selected Amit Elor, Kenchiro Fumita, and Mijain. No journalist selected any of their finalists opponents: Meerim Zhumanazarova (68/(KGZ), Liguo Cao (60/CHN), or Yasmani Acosta (130/CHI). Nine of the entries have two of three alive in the finals including Sina Etemadi, the only non-journalist in the field and the winner of the 2023 competition and 2022 Pick Champ Jon Kozak of FloWrestling. Still Perfect: Earl Smith (Intermat), Richard Mann (Intermat), Andrew Spey (FloWrestling), Willie Saylor (MatScouts) 2-for-3: Gary Abbott (USAWrestling), Jon Kozak (FloWrestling), Sina Etemadi (Fan), Dan Fickel (Wrestling USA), Mark Ostrander (Weighing In), Jack Hurley (The Fight Site), Andy Mason (Hagerstown Herald), Steve Rotstein (Pittsburgh Union), Byamabaa Tsagaanbaatar (Mongolian Federation).

After a pair of dominating wins, two-time world champion Amit Elor appeared to be in for the biggest test of her maiden Olympic journey. Elor was tasked with an 18-year-old opponent from North Korea in Sol Gum Pak in the 68 kg semifinals. Pak posted ten points in each of her first two bouts - a win over 2021 world champion Irina Ringaci (Moldova) and a comeback against another young sensation Nisha Dahiya (India). That challenge never materialized as Elor only needed 1:44 seconds to post a stunning 10-0 tech. The bout started as most of Elor’s do - with her controlling the center of the mat and dominating the ties. Those little battles tilted so strongly in Elor’s favor that Pak was warned for passivity within the first minute. After a restart, Elor continued tying Pak up, snapped the North Korean down, and spun for a takedown. Not content with a two-point advantage, Elor locked up a leg lace. Following one turn, Elor had to readjust and then three more followed. The Turkish official blew his whistle and stopped the action signifying the end of the bout. If you turned away from the screen, you might have missed Elor’s whirlwind of action. With her win, Elor became only the fifth American woman to make an Olympic final. Of course, she has her sights set on a gold medal and gold alone. Elor also has the opportunity to become the youngest American wrestler to win Olympic gold. Standing between Elor and an Olympic gold medal is Kyrgyzstan’s Meerim Zhumanazarova. Zhumanazarova held off a late takedown attempt from 2020 Olympic silver medalist Blessing Oborududu (Nigeria) to win 3-1 and advance in the other semifinal. Zhumanazarova was an Olympic bronze medalist at this weight in 2020 and was a world champion in 2021.

A few hours ago, brackets dropped for day two of the wrestling competition at the 2024 Olympic Games (For the full bracket, look here). Like the American wrestlers who started their tournaments this morning, tomorrow’s crop of wrestlers face some imposing opponents right off the bat. Here are the Americans wrestling on Tuesday, along with background information on their first opponent and a potential path to the finals. Since the gold medal matches are wrestled on the following day, we’ll deal with that half of the bracket when relevant. Greco-Roman 77 kg Kamal Bey vs Akzhol Makhmudov (Kyrgyzstan) It’s a familiar face for Kamal Bey in the opening round of his first Olympic tournament. Bey and Akzhol Makhmudov met in the finals of the 2017 Junior World Championships with Bey getting the win and the gold medal. Just a year later, Makhmudov won an Asian Championship at the Senior level and since then he’s amassed two more continental championships. Also that year, Makhmudov got some measure of revenge with a win over Bey in the bronze medal match at Junior Worlds. Makhmudov has grown into one of the best Greco wrestlers in the world, regardless of size. He’s coming off a world title in 2023, which was his second in a row. Makhmudov already has one Olympic medal - a silver from the 2020 Games. While Makhmudov seems like a rough draw and possibly could be, Bey has laid hands on him multiple times and does have the 2017 win to rely on mentally. Awaiting the winner of Bey/Makhmudov is either Jair Cuero (Colombia) or Demeu Zhadrayev (Kazakhstan). Cuero has defeated Bey twice in 2024, once at the Pan-American Championships and another time at the Pan-American Olympic Qualifier. Zhadrayev made the Olympics after making the semifinals of the Asian Qualifier. Of the nine returning world medalists at this weight, six are on Bey’s half of the bracket. Whoever emerges from his quarterfinal will meet a past world medalist in the semifinals. Three of the four possibilities from that quarterfinals have made at least one world final. Greco-Roman 97 kg Joe Rau vs. Mohammadhadi Saravi (Iran) There’s also some history between Joe Rau and his first opponent, Mohammadhadi Saravi. The two met earlier this year at the Hungarian Ranking Series event. Saravi prevailed with a 10-1 tech. The Iranian is a 2021 world champion and has two additional senior world bronze medals to his credit. Saravi is also appearing in his second Olympic event. In the 2020 Games, Saravai came away with a bronze medal in Tokyo. Since losing in the 2023 world semifinals, Saravi has been lights out. He rebounded with a bronze medal and then a gold medal at the 2023 Asian Games. In 2024, Saravi added to his collection with gold medals at the Asian Championships and the Hungarian event. If Rau could get by the third-seeded Saravi, he’d have to face the winner of Uzur Dzhuzupbekov (Kyrgyzstan) and Mindaugas Venckaitis (Lithuania). Neither has won an Olympic or world medal yet; however, Venckaitis wrestled for the bronze last year in Belgrade. This bottom half of the bracket is anchored by the second seed, Abubakr Khaslakhanau who is from Belarus but wrestling under the AIN (Individual Neutral Athlete) label. He was a U20 world champion in 2023 and got a strong seed after placing fifth at the 2023 World Championships and winning the Zagreb Open, before taking the bronze at European’s. Women’s Freestyle 50 kg Sarah Hildebrandt vs. Ibtissem Doudou (Algeria) Finally, an American wrestler who did not draw a world champion in the opening round. Sarah Hildebrandt will start her tournament with Ibtissem Doudou who has never wrestled in a world championship (or Olympic) event at any time in her career. Doudou qualified after a pair of wins at the African Olympic Qualifier. After qualifying, Doudou entered the Hungarian Ranking Series event and fell to Canada’s Madison Parks, 10-0. Should Hildebrandt advance to the quarterfinals, her most likely opponent would be China’s Ziqi Feng. Like Hildebrandt, Feng earned a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships. Earlier that year, the pair met in the gold medal match at the Hungarian Ranking Series event. The American took that match, 4-2. Feng's only other Senior World event was in 2022 when she went 0-1. Two familiar faces could be waiting for Hildebrandt in the semifinals - Mariya Stadnik (Azerbaijan) or Otgonjargal Dolgorjav (Mongolia). Stadnik is one of the legends of women’s wrestling with six world medals and four Olympic medals. The two-time world champion is seeking an elusive Olympic gold medal to make her resume complete. Currently, she has two silvers and two bronzes. Hildebrandt and Stadnik met in the quarterfinals of the 2023 World Championships and Hildebrandt dominated to the tune of 14-3. Dolgorjav and Hildebrandt also have a history, as well. Hildebrandt teched the Mongolian in the early rounds of the 2023 Hungarian Ranking Series event; however, Dolgorjav got the most memorable win as she narrowly defeated Hildebrandt in the semifinals of the 2023 World Championships. It seems difficult to fathom, but at least two of the quartet of Hildebrandt, Feng, Stadnik, and Dolgorjav will not medal in Paris.

Brackets have been released for day two of wrestling at the 2024 Olympic Games. Just like yesterday, we'll have a separate article breaking down the draws for the Americans in action Tuesday. 77 kg Greco-Roman 97 kg Greco-Roman 50 kg Women's Freestyle

Olympic wrestling officially got underway on Monday morning from Paris and as luck would have it, both of the Americans who were in action took the mat in the very first matches of the tournament. In Greco-Roman at 130 kgs, former Michigan star Adam Coon took on the returning heavyweight world champion Amin Mirzazadeh of Iran. For the first half of the opening stanza, the two battled for position and Coon held his own against the Iranian. However, Coon was called for passivity and put down in the ensuing par terre restart. From there, Mirzazadeh locked up a gut wrench and turned Coon for a commanding 3-0 lead. 3-0 is how the first period ended and in the second it was Mirzazadeh who was hit for passivity and put down. Unfortunately, Coon was not able to capitalize on the advantage and the pair was sent back to their feet. Coon continued to fight for position but could not break through the stingy defense of the Iranian. The bout ended 3-1 in favor of Mirzazadeh. Amit Elor also started her tournament at 68 kg in women’s freestyle simultaneously and against a returning world champion in Turkiye’s Buse Tosun. From the opening whistle, Elor controlled the action with her two-on-one tie. That resulted in an early step-out point in Elor’s favor. She continued to apply pressure and backed Tosun out of bounds for a second step-out point and a 2-0 lead - early in the opening period. Later in the first, Elor was able to secure her first takedown to take a 4-0 lead. Not content, she shot Tosun off the mat with a double-leg attempt to lead 5-0 heading into the second period. In the second period, the official put Tosun on the activity clock as Elor continued to control the ties and the positional battle. Tosun did get to Elor’s leg at one point, but couldn’t secure a takedown and gave up a point for a shot clock violation. Elor remained on the offensive late in the second with another takedown, this time from an arm drag to lead 8-0. Late in the bout, the pair exchanged takedowns, so the final score read 10-2 in favor of the American. About an hour and a half later, Elor took the mat in the Olympic quarterfinals. Her opponent was Wiktoria Choluj of Poland - the same wrestler she defeated in the 2023 U23 World semifinals, 5-0. This meeting played out similarly to that one as it was all Elor. Elor patiently worked to secure the opening takedown after using her arm drag and never looked back. She added a step-out and another takedown to lead 5-0 after the opening three minutes. During the final three minutes, Elor continued to methodically dismantle Choluj. She added to her lead with a step-out point and a third takedown, to win 8-0. In this afternoon’s semifinals, Elor will meet North Korean Sol Gum Pak. Pak is an 18-year-old who is relatively unknown. She has not competed at a major international tournament prior to the Asian Olympic Qualifier. Gum Pak did post a win over 2021 world champion and three-time world medalist Irina Ringaci (Moldova) in the Round of 16. The semifinals will begin this afternoon at approximately 3pm (Eastern). Coon was eliminated from medal contention after Mirzazadeh was defeated by the legendary Mijain Lopez (Cuba) in the quarterfinals. Lopez is two matches away from making Olympic history with his fifth gold medal in Greco-Roman. American Results Women’s Freestyle 68 kg Round of 16 - Amit Elor over Buse Tosun (Turkiye) 10-2 Quarterfinals - Amit Elor over Wiktoria Choluj (Poland) 8-0 Greco-Roman 130 kg Round of 16 - Amin Mirzazadeh (Iran) over Adam Coon 3-1

A few hours before the first day of wrestling competition at the 2024 Olympic Games, one of the favorites at 57 kg in men’s freestyle announced he would have to withdraw from the tournament due to an injury. 2023 world champion, Stevan Micic of Serbia, made a post on his Instagram account that stated that he “suffered a knee injury a few weeks ago in practice.” He later states that he will need knee surgery. Last year, Micic earned his second Senior World medal by running through a gauntlet of credentialed opponents to claim the gold. In three consecutive matches, Micic defeated an Olympic champion, an Olympic silver medalist and a world champion to reign over the 57 kg weight class. Micic is best known to American fans as a star for the Michigan Wolverines. A 2018 Big Ten champion, Micic earned All-American honors three times including an appearance in the 2018 NCAA finals. During his final year of competition, Micic moved up to 141 lbs and started on a Wolverine squad that captured its first Big Ten team championship since 1973. At this time, United World Wrestling has not publicly acknowledged Micic’s statement. It’s unclear whether he will be replaced in the bracket or not. Micic was in line to receive the top seed at 57 kg. Logistically, it may be difficult to get a replacement to Paris since his weight class is set to wrestle on Thursday morning.

Earlier today, brackets were released for day one of wrestling at the 2024 Olympic Games. Those are posted here. As promised in that posting, we’re breaking down the draws for the American wrestling on day one. Remember, there is no American at 60 kg in Greco-Roman, so we did not mention that bracket here. At first glance, you might think that the pair of Americans taking the mat on Monday got a raw deal in the draws - since both drew the top seed in their respective brackets. That may be the case in one situation and, not so much, in the other. Don’t worry, we’ll explain. Here are the Americans wrestling on Monday, along with background information on their first opponent and a potential path to the finals. Since the gold medal matches are wrestled on the following day, we’ll deal with that half of the bracket when relevant. Greco-Roman 130 kg Adam Coon vs. Amin Mirzazadeh (Iran) photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Right off the bat, Adam Coon draws the defending world champion Amin Mirzazadeh of Iran. Mirzazadeh won his world title with criteria wins in each of his final three matches in Belgrade. The last of which came over five-time world champion Riza Kayaalp of Turkiye. Since winning his first world title, Mirzazadeh has won the Asian Games and the Asian Championships. During the Asian Games, he grinded out a pair of close decisions - one of which was via criteria in the gold medal match. At the 2024 Asian Championships, he was much more dominant. In a weight class with a handful of contenders in their mid-to-late 30’s, Mirzazadeh is younger and closer to his athletic prime at 26. Should Coon pull an upset over the reigning world champion, an even larger hurdle likely awaits in the quarterfinals. Four-time Olympic champion Mijain Lopez of Cuba is his potential opponent. Lopez is looking to add to his already incredible resume with a seemingly unfathomable fifth Olympic gold medal. The Cuban has not entered any major international tournaments since winning the gold in 2021. Realistically, if Coon could find a way to get by both Mirzazadeh and Lopez, I’m not sure it matters who comes through the other quarterfinal. Oddly enough, one of the first-round matches in that quarterfinal features a pair of past Olympic medalists clashing. Heiki Nabi (Estonia) fell in the 2012 London Olympic finals to Lopez, while Sabah Shariati (Azerbaijan) was a bronze medalist four years later. In that tournament, Shariati defeated American Robby Smith in the opening round, 8-2. We mentioned in the 130 kg preview, that if Mirzazadeh and Lopez were on the same side of the bracket it would be massively lopsided. That proved to be the case, plus this half has the past Olympic medalists who could advance to meet one of them in the semis. Women’s freestyle 68 kg Amit Elor vs. Buse Tosun (Turkey) photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Both of the Americans that will compete on day one have drawn the top seed. In this instance, it’s not as brutal of a draw for Amit Elor. Back in 2022, Elor and Buse Tosun met in the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Championships at 72 kg. Elor prevailed with a fall after jumping out to a 4-0 lead. She ended up winning her first Senior world title and Tosun did not place. Last year, Tosun moved down to 68 kg in preparation for the Olympic Games. She claimed a world title after running through an impressive field. In her opening match, Tosun pinned world champion Irina Ringaci (Moldova). Since then, Tosun has been a bronze medalist at the Zagreb Open and a European champion - both at 68 kg. After disposing of Tosun, Elor would have the winner of Wiktoria Choluj (Poland) and Feng Zhou (China). Zhou is a two-time Olympian and two-time world medalist; however, her most recent world medal came in 2018. Choluj is a three-time age group world medalist, but has yet to get on the medal stand at a Senior-level world event. These two met in 2024 at the Zagreb Open with Zhou getting a narrow 4-3 win. In that same tournament, Zhou defeated American Forrest Molinari, 2-0. Speaking of Americans, Zhou was beaten by Emma Bruntil, 6-3 at the 2023 World Championships. Also in the same half of the bracket is three-time world medalist and 2021 Ringaci. Ringaci has the relatively unknown Sol Gum Pak (North Korea) in the opening round. During the Asian Olympic Qualifier, the 18-year-old Pak defeated Zhou. The final quarterfinal in this bracket pits Nisha Dahiya (India) against Tetiana Sova-Rizhko (Ukraine). Dahiya is making her Olympic debut and has yet to compete in a Senior World event. At the Last Chance World OG Qualifier, Dahiya won three matches to qualify for Paris. Sova-Rizhko has two years' worth of Senior World experience and has earned world bronze medals at the U17 and U20 levels.

Brackets have been released for the first day of competition at the 2024 Olympic Games. The first day of action will feature competition at 60 and 130 kg in Greco-Roman and 68 kg in women's freestyle. Later this afternoon, we'll have a breakdown of the brackets from an American standpoint. Remember that there is no American representative at 60 kg in Greco-Roman. (Graphics below courtesy of United World Wrestling)

It’s early August which means the 2024 Olympic Games are right around the corner. Over the next two weeks, InterMat will bring you individual weight class previews for each of the 18 weights contested at the Olympic Games. The 2024 version has already been slightly different from years past. Earlier in the summer, United World Wrestling announced a list of wrestlers from Belarus and Russia who would not be permitted to compete due to their support of the war with Ukraine. After this decision, Russia decided to withdraw all of its entries for wrestling. That led to replacements being named earlier this month. With all of the moving parts, and a field that wasn’t confirmed until later in the game, previewing the action had to take a back seat since we weren’t sure who would actually be in Paris. UWW has recently published entry lists for each of the three styles, so we are good to go. Our final preview is men's Greco-Roman at 130 kg. The American entry is Adam Coon, who will be making his Olympic debut. Coon is the lone American in the Greco discipline who comes into the tournament seeded (8th). The story of the weight is the return of the legendary Mijain Lopez of Cuba. The four-time Olympic gold medalist will be looking for number five in Paris. Expect his pursuit to garner plenty of coverage from NBC. 130 kg entries Sabah Shariati (Azerbaijan) Kiril Milov (Bulgaria) Yasmani Acosta Fernandez (Chile) Lingzhe Meng (China) Mijain Lopez (Cuba) Abdellatif Mohamed (Egypt) Heiki Nabi (Estonia) Jello Krahmer (Germany) Amin Mirzazade (Iran) Alimkhan Syzdykov (Kazakhstan) Seungchan Lee (South Korea) Oussama Assad (Morocco) Alin Alexuc Ciurariu (Romania) Amine Guennich (Tunisia) Muhammet Bakir (Turkiye) Adam Coon (USA) Seeds 1. Amin Mirzazade (Iran) 2. Abdellatif Mohamed (Egypt) 3. Lingzhe Meng (China) 4. Alin Alexuc Ciurariu (Romania) 5. Heiki Nabi (Estonia) 6. Yasmani Acosta Fernandez (Chile) 7. Seungchan Lee (South Korea) 8. Adam Coon (USA) Past Senior World/Olympic Medalists:(8) Acosta Fernandez, Coon, Lopez (x12), Milov (x2), Mirzazade (x2), Mohamed, Nabi (x6), Shariati 2020(1) Olympic Medalists (130 kg) Gold: Mijain Lopez (Cuba) Silver: Iakobi Kajaia (Georgia) Bronze: Riza Kayaalp (Turkiye) Bronze: Sergey Semenov (Russia) photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com 2023 World Medalists (130 kg) Gold: Amin Mirzazadeh (Iran) Silver: Riza Kayaalp (Turkiye) Bronze: Abdellatif Mohamed (Egypt) Bronze: Oscar Pino Hinds (Cuba) How They Qualified: 2023 World Championships: Kayaalp (Bakir), Meng, Mirzazadeh, Mohamed, Pino Hinds (Lopez) Asian Qualifier: Lee, Syzdykov African/Oceania Qualifier: Assad, Guennichi European Qualifier: Krahmer Pan-American Qualifier: Acosta Fernandez, Schultz (Coon) World OG Qualifier: Alexuc Ciurariu, Shariati Reallocated Quotas: Milov, Nabi Key Recent (ish) Matches between Qualifiers 2024 Hungarian Ranking Series quarterfinals: Lee over Mohamed (7-6) 2024 Hungarian Ranking Series quarterfinals: Alexuc Ciurariu over Guennichi (5-0) 2024 Hungarian Ranking Series Round of 16: Mohamed over Coon (3-1) 2024 Hungarian Ranking Series Round of 16: Guennichi over Syzdykov (3-2) 2024 Last Chance World OG Qualifier semifinals: Alexuc Ciurariu over Nabi (1-1) 2024 European Olympic Qualifier: Krahmer over Alexuc Ciurariu (6-1) 2024 African Olympic Qualifier: Guennichi over Assad (8-0) 2023 Asian Games finals: Mirzazadeh over Meng (1-1) 2023 Asian Games semifinals: Mirzazadeh over Syzdykov (3-1) 2023 World Championships bronze medal match: Mohamed over Meng (3-2) 2023 World Championships repechage: Mohamed over Nabi (2-0) 2023 World Championships Round of 16: Alexuc Ciurariu over Lee (1-1) 2023 World Championships Round of 32: Meng over Krahmer (3-1) 2023 Hungarian Ranking Series Round of 32: Alexuc Ciurariu over Coon (3-1) 2023 Asian Championship finals: Mirzazadeh over Lingzhe (2-0) 2023 European Championship quarterfinals: Shariati over Alexuc Ciurariu (9-3) The American Entry: Adam Coon For the second consecutive Olympic Trials, Adam Coon prevailed over Cohlton Schultz; however, it isn’t as cut-and-dry as it may have appeared on paper. And it’s a totally different result. In 2021, Coon won the Trials but wasn’t able to qualify the weight at the OG Last Chance Qualifier and therefore couldn’t compete at the Tokyo Games. After the Olympic process, Coon left the wrestling world to pursue an NFL career - initially with the Tennessee Titans. Once Coon’s NFL experience ended, he returned to the wrestling mat in 2023. Understandably rusty, Coon was beaten soundly by Schultz at the 2023 US Open and in two straight matches at Final X 2023. That trend looked like it would continue at the Olympic Trials where Schultz took the first match, 3-1. Coon ended up turning the tables and won the last two matches of the series 1-1 and 6-1. Schultz had already qualified the weight for the Olympics with his efforts at the Pan-American Olympic Qualifier, so no additional action was required from Coon, he was headed to the Olympics for the first time. While this is Coon’s first appearance at the Olympic Games, he does have experience on the big stage. In 2018, Coon made the world finals during his Senior World debut. A year later, he made the world team but did not come away with a medal. Coon is the only American Greco-Roman wrestler who has earned a seed in Paris. He’ll start the tournament as the eighth seed. While we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see Coon’s first-round opponent, should he win that bout he’d have the returning world champion and top-seeded Amin Mirzazadeh. photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com The X-Factor: Mijain Lopez (Cuba) Typically, we’ve identified wrestlers in this portion of the preview as being potential underdogs and bracket-busters, with the majority of them being unseeded. Mijain Lopez is unseeded but hardly an underdog. Quite the contrary, he’s actually aiming to become not only one of the greatest Olympic wrestlers ever, but one of the most impressive Olympians…ever! The 41-year-old Lopez is a four-time Olympic gold medalist. Oh yeah, with five world championships, as well. Lopez does not concern himself with continental titles or ranking series events or even world championships these days. He hasn’t wrestled in one since 2015. Without any ranking criteria points within the last year, Lopez will come into the tournament without a seed. Most wrestlers at this level don’t care about that sort of thing - Lopez probably worries about it even less than anyone else in the tournament. Without any recent competition, it’s difficult to gauge where Lopez is physically - compared to the last Olympic Games. Despite his age, you have to assume that Lopez is still capable of winning this bracket. The bracket This weight class is a bit odd since half of the medalists from 2023 are not in the field. That leaves Mirzazadeh as the top seed (rightfully so) and 2023 bronze medalist Abdellatif Mohamed (Egypt) as the second seed. For now, both sides of the bracket appear to be relatively balanced. The top half has Mirzazadeh along with #4 Alexuc Ciurariu and #5 Nabi and #8 Coon. Nabi is a nearly 40-year-old competitor who is in his third Olympic Games and was a silver medalist to Lopez back in 2012! Along with Mohamed, on the bottom half is, #3 Meng, #6 Acosta Fernandez, and #7 Lee. The former Cuban representative, Acosta Fernandez, is also a former world medalist and might be the best wrestler on the bottom half, for now. Like other contenders, he’s also up there in age at 36. Of course, the wrestling world will be patiently awaiting the draws to see where Lopez is inserted. Should he go on the top half it would be massively imbalanced. Analysis: This could be the weight class that gets the most mainstream media attention due to Lopez and his quest for Olympic immortality. Even if Lopez isn’t completely on top of his game, it’s hard to fathom how you defeat this mountain of a man. Anything other than a 1-1 win on passivities seems difficult to picture. Of course, if there’s anyone equipped to take out the legendary Lopez it’s Mirzazedah. Mirzazedah had his breakthrough at the Senior level in 2022 when he took second place at the World Championships. Last year, he grabbed his first Senior world title. Mirzazedah has world gold medals at both the U20 and U23 levels. This will be Mirzazadeh’s second Olympic Games. In 2020, he fell in the quarterfinals 8-0 to Lopez and then was beaten by Riza Kayaalp (Turkiye) in the bronze medal match. Since then Mirzazadeh has improved significantly and Kayaalp was the opponent he defeated in the 2023 World finals. A 130 kg gold medal hanging on the neck of someone other than Lopez or Mirzazadeh would be considered a gigantic upset. Previous Olympic Previews: Men's Freestyle 57 kg Men's Freestyle 65 kg Men's Freestyle 74 kg Men's Freestyle 86 kg Men's Freestyle 97 kg Men's Freestyle 125 kg Women's Freestyle 50 kg Women's Freestyle 53 kg Women's Freestyle 57 kg Women's Freestyle 62 kg Women's Freestyle 68 kg Women's Freestyle 76 kg Men's Greco-Roman 60 kg Men's Greco-Roman 67 kg Men's Greco-Roman 77 kg Men's Greco-Roman 87 kg Men's Greco-Roman 97 kg

It’s early August which means the 2024 Olympic Games are right around the corner. Over the next two weeks, InterMat will bring you individual weight class previews for each of the 18 weights contested at the Olympic Games. The 2024 version has already been slightly different from years past. Earlier in the summer, United World Wrestling announced a list of wrestlers from Belarus and Russia who would not be permitted to compete due to their support of the war with Ukraine. After this decision, Russia decided to withdraw all of its entries for wrestling. That led to replacements being named earlier this month. With all of the moving parts, and a field that wasn’t confirmed until later in the game, previewing the action had to take a back seat since we weren’t sure who would actually be in Paris. UWW has recently published entry lists for each of the three styles, so we are good to go. Our final preview in women's freestyle is the 76 kg class. This is a new-look weight class for the United States as Kennedy Blades has made her first Senior level team after defeating the legendary Adeline Gray - a mainstay at this weight for the decade. Blades has experienced success at every age group thus far, so it's hard to imagine her not doing so as a Senior. Here's what to expect for a relatively wide open 76 kg weight class. 76 kg entries Yuliana Yaneva (Bulgaria) Justina DiStasio (Canada) Juan Wang (China) Tatiana Renteria (Colombia) Milaimys Marin Potrille (Cuba) Genesis Reasco Valdez (Ecuador) Bernadett Nagy (Hungary) Reetika Hooda (India) Yuka Kagami (Japan) Aiperi Medet Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan) Davaanasan Enkh Amar (Mongolia) Hannah Rueben (Nigeria) Catalina Axente (Romania) Zaineb Sghaier (Tunisia) Yasemin Adar (Turkiye) Kennedy Blades (USA) Seeds 1. Aiperi Medet Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan) 2. Yuka Kagami (Japan) 3. Tatiana Renteria (Colombia) 4. Catalina Axente (Romania) 5. Milaimys Marin Potrille (Cuba) 6. Hannah Rueben (Nigeria) 7. Justina DiStasio (Canada) 8. Bernadett Nagy (Hungary) Past Senior World/Olympic Medalists:(6) Adar (x4), DiStasio (x2), Enkh Amar, Kagami (x2), Medet Kyzy (x2), Renteria 2020(1) Olympic Medalists (76 kg) Gold: Aline Focken (Germany) Silver: Adeline Gray (USA) Bronze: Qian Zhou (China) Bronze: Yasemin Adar (Turkiye) photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com 2023 World Medalists (76 kg) Gold: Yuka Kagami (Japan) Silver: Aiperi Medet Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan) Bronze: Tatiana Renteria (Colombia) Bronze: Adeline Gray (USA) How They Qualified: 2023 World Championships: Gray (Blades), Kagami, Marin Potrille, Medet Kyzy, Renteria Asian Qualifier: Hooda, Wang African/Oceania Qualifier: Rueben, Sghaier European Qualifier: Adar, Nagy Pan-American Qualifier: DiStasio, Reasco Valdez World OG Qualifier: Axente, Enkh Amar, Yaneva Key Recent (ish) Matches between Qualifiers 2024 Hungarian Ranking Series event - DiStasio over Renteria (5-1) 2024 Hungarian Ranking Series event - DiStasio over Sghaier (6-0) 2024 Hungarian Ranking Series event - Renteria over Hooda (3-2) 2024 Hungarian Ranking Series event - Renteria over Sghaier (Fall 5:56) 2024 Hungarian Ranking Series event - Renteria over Reasco Valdez (4-2) 2024 Hungarian Ranking Series event - Hooda over Reasco Valdez (4-0) 2024 Hungarian Ranking Series event - Hooda over Sghaier (7-0) 2024 Hungarian Ranking Series event - Hooda over DiStasio (8-0) 2024 Asian Olympic Qualifier - Hooda over Wang (9-6) 2024 Asian Olympic Qualifier - Hooda over Enkh Amar (11-0) 2024 Asian Olympic Qualifier - Wang over Enkh Amar (7-2) 2024 European Championships semifinals - Adar over Nagy (Fall) 2024 Pan-American Championships final - Reasco Valdez over Renteria (9-0) 2024 Zagreb Open finals: Medet Kyzy over Wang (2-1) 2024 Zagreb Open semifinals: Wang over Blades (3-3) 2024 Zagreb Open Round of 16: Medet Kyzy over DiStasio (Fall) 2023 U23 World Championships final: Hooda over Blades (9-2) 2023 Pan-American Games final: Marin Potrille over Renteria (5-4) 2023 Pan-American Games semifinals: Renteria over Reasco Valdez (1-1) 2023 Asian Games Round of 16: Medet Kyzy over Wang (2-1) 2023 World Championships finals: Kagami over Medet Kyzy (InjDef) 2023 World Championships Olympic Wrestle-Off: Marin Potrille over Axente (Fall :50) 2023 World Championships bronze medal match: Renteria over Axente (Fall 5:59) 2023 World Championships repechage: Axente over DiStasio (2-0) 2023 World Championships semifinals: Kagami over Marin Potrille (5-2) 2023 World Championships semifinals: Medet Kyzy over Renteria (Fall 2:32) 2023 World Championships quarterfinals: Medet Kyzy over DiStasio (11-0) 2023 World Championships Round of 16: Renteria over Rueben (6-2) 2023 World Championships Round of 16: Marin Potrille over Reasco Valdez (Fall 4:52) 2023 World Championships Round of 32: Medet Kyzy over Axente (11-0) 2023 Hungarian Ranking Series semifinal: Wang over DiStasio (Fall 4:59) 2023 Hungarian Ranking Series quarterfinals: Wang over Reasco Valdez (4-3) 2023 Hungarian Ranking Series: Enkh Amar over Axente (3-0) 2023 European Championship quarterfinals: Adar over Axente (10-0) The American Entry: Kennedy Blades After two straight Olympic Games with Adeline Gray in this weight class, Kennedy Blades has overtaken the American legend for a spot on the 2024 team. Blades has shown plenty of potential at the age group level which led fans to think that this time could come for her. She has won medals at three different age groups including a U20 gold medal in 2021. Blades punched her ticket to Paris after a pair of decisive wins (11-6 and 8-3) over Gray in the finals of the Olympic Team Trials. That was after Blades teched her way through the challenge tournament - one of her wins in that bracket came over 2022 World Team member Dymond Guilford. The win over Gray at the Olympic Trials wasn’t the first for Blades. In 2023, Blades teched Gray 12-2 in the finals of the US Open. Within the last year, Blades has been the American representative at this weight for the U20 and U23 World Championships. She brought home the bronze from U20’s and was a silver medalist at U23’s. Earlier this year, Blades was a bronze medalist at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series. In her medal round match, Blades defeated future Iowa teammate and fellow U20 World Champion Kylie Welker. Blades will come into the tournament unseeded which can be like a roll of the dice. She doesn’t have much history against most of the field, so there isn’t much to compare her to the other entrants. The most important note might be her two decisive wins over Gray - a feat that few have been able to accomplish over the last decade. photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com The X-Factor: Yasemin Adar (Turkiye) The woman with the longest resume and a consistent track record for success, Yasemin Adar, is not seeded. Adar is also the only medalist from the 2020 Games in the field. Part of Adar not receiving a seed is because she did not compete at the 2023 World Championships. At her last World Championship event (2022), she came away with gold - winning her second world title. In addition to her three world finals appearances, Adar also fell twice in world bronze medal matches early in her career. Which brings us to age. Adar is 32 years old. Not too old to win at the highest level; however, she’s the oldest woman in the bracket and one of only three 30-year-olds in this field of 16. Adar has entered two tournaments in 2024 and has not lost in either. She crushed the field at the European Championships and then had three straight wins at the European Olympic Qualifier. At the qualifier, Adar teched four-time world medalist Epp Mae of Estonia. I wouldn’t expect seeding (or lack thereof) to be an issue for Adar. It’s probably more problematic for whoever she draws in the first round. Chances are she’s probably beaten them at one point or another in her career. The bracket The first three seeds in this bracket are about what you would expect based on the results from the 2023 World Championships. Both finalists are in the one and two slots, though silver medalist Medet Kyzy is the top seed and Kagami is the two. In addition, the bottom half of the bracket has 2023 bronze medalist Tatiana Renteria and former world champion Justina DiStasio as the seventh seed. Counting Adar, there are a pair of past world medalists (Enkh Amar) who will be drawn into the bracket. Just as important are where some of the young talent lands - such as Blades and Hooda. Analysis Similar to heavyweight in men’s freestyle, this weight class is going through a bit of transition. Some of the old guard have either moved on or were unseated in the qualification process. That is evident in the fact that Adar is the only returning medalist from the 2020 Games (held in 2021). Other notables from that era like Mae, 2016 Olympic gold medalist Erica Wiebe (Canada), 2012 gold medalist Natalya Vorobieva (Russia), and Qian Zhou (China) are not in the field. At the same time, there are a handful of young women who are 23 or younger and have had great success at the age group level and are looking to make their marks here. Blades and her U20 world finals opponent, Hooda, are two obvious examples. Another is U20 and U23 champion Marin Potrille, who is the fifth seed. The eighth seed Bernadett Nagy (Hungary) is a medalist at the U17 and U20 divisions. The 2023 world champion, Kagami is still only 22. By the time the 2028 Olympic Games rolled around, we could see a large portion of this weight class, still intact - just with more prestigious credentials by their names. That’s getting way ahead of ourselves though. A rematch of the 2023 world finals; between the top two seeds, is also a very plausible scenario. Previous Olympic Previews: Men's Freestyle 57 kg Men's Freestyle 65 kg Men's Freestyle 74 kg Men's Freestyle 86 kg Men's Freestyle 97 kg Men's Freestyle 125 kg Women's Freestyle 50 kg Women's Freestyle 53 kg Women's Freestyle 57 kg Women's Freestyle 62 kg Women's Freestyle 68 kg Men's Greco-Roman 60 kg Men's Greco-Roman 67 kg Men's Greco-Roman 77 kg Men's Greco-Roman 87 kg Men's Greco-Roman 97 kg

Just over a week after he was announced as an assistant coach with the Ohio RTC, Coleman Scott sat down with Ryan Holmes to discuss how this opportunity came together and what he hopes to accomplish in the new role. The two also hit on a variety of topics. With it being the middle of the Summer Olympics, Scott talks about the unique circumstances surrounding him making the 2012 team, along with his Olympic experience, and having to pick himself up and wrestle for the bronze medal after a difficult semifinal loss. Scott also talks about the situation at Oklahoma State this year - as he was an associate head coach and in the running for the head coaching job that ultimately went to David Taylor. He also addresses a situation regarding financial allegations that were made against him. Scott is very honest about his feelings to potentially leave the wrestling world entirely, before this position with the Ohio RTC emerged. For the full interview: photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com

Before we get going here, I just want to say a few words on the recent scuttlebutt with the media coverage of the Bo Bassett recruiting countdown. Allow me to preface this by admitting that the whole thing is ridiculous. I don’t need weekly updates to know he’s turning down schools that he was never going to commit to anyway and a part of me does find it somewhat disrespectful to the smaller schools, who have to be the butt of a joke when they make the cut list. But maybe that’s just me and others don’t see it that way. I know Gardner-Webb had some fun with it and that’s fine. If anything, it brings some good exposure to your school. So why does every media outlet big and small feel the need to cover it ad nauseam? Well, because it’s news whether we like it or not. He’s the top high school prospect in the country right now and possibly the next generational talent. There’s also not much else going on right now and if not for the Olympics next week there really wouldn't be anything going on. People need to produce daily content whether it be IM, Flo, or anyone else out there. Twenty years ago, you could get away with an article a day or simply updating your site every few days. Most folks barely went on the internet for more than an hour a day and we didn’t have everything at our literal fingertips. Those days are long gone. Sites need clicks. Clicks mean page views. Page views bring in advertising and advertising brings in money. It wasn't my idea. If I had it my way the League of Shadows would burn this world to the ground and we’d start over with a clean slate. I’m not here to kick you off my lawn or anything and I understand where both sides are coming from. The overexposure and reporting on every move will ruffle many a feather and already has if you read the comments on social media and message boards. Face it, people are going to complain. That’s why the internet was invented. If this was the same thing with a young star of a more popular sport then you might not look at it the same way, but wrestling is different with a much smaller circle, so we all feel just a little closer to the action. You’ll drive yourself nuts getting worked up over every little silly piece of content and you can’t stop it anyway so don’t bother. Or do bother and feed off your own rage. It feels good sometimes. The fact is that the athletes control everything now and don’t need classic media to promote them when they can just promote themselves. And if you don’t like it then be prepared to lose access because that’s just the way things are. It’s no surprise that the forthcoming Who’s Number One event is being held in Bishop McCort’s backyard where Flo has never held an event before. Are they catering to a school that should have multiple entries in the event? Probably. Is it a good idea to have it there so they sell a lot of tickets and have a good crowd to cheer on the hometown kids? Absolutely. It’s easy to make an argument on both sides of this and the best thing is to just deal with it, ignore it, or have some fun with it. There are bigger problems in the world right now. Like how Big Chocolate is slowly shrinking the size of our candy bars and thinking we won’t notice. But that’s a rant for another time. We have questions to get to and that’s why you’re here. Well, it’s just the one question actually and it comes from one half of the dynamic Rutgers broadcasting team, Nick Kosko, and since we’re Kosko guys, let’s see what he has on his mind. It's the dog days of summer, so let me throw an alternate universe at you ... Wrestling in the Winter Olympics instead. Yes, some college guys would cause overlap, but it is interesting that a winter sport is a Summer sport every 4 years. Thoughts? Anyway, gotta prepare for year ten on the mic. Bye. Year ten! You’re just a kid! It’s funny you bring this up since I was recently thinking about how it does seem to be out of season in regards to the other sports at their respective games. Most sports at The Games do reflect the season they are in. You’re not going to play water polo in winter and you're not going to speed skate on ice in Summer. You could but it just doesn’t make any sense. Wrestling could go either way, but I prefer it in Summer. We have enough going on in February where we don’t need this thrown into the mix. Why it’s in this season, I do not know, but it likely goes back to not wanting to interfere with the college season. Or perhaps they wrestled outdoors a hundred years ago. I'm not old enough to remember that far back. Maybe Jason Bryant knows the answer. Speaking of JB, my Mets are about to mollywhop his Angels this weekend so it’s a good thing he’s out of town and time zones. Now I’m veering off topic so that means it’s time to wrap this up and move on with my day. Enjoy the weekend all, next week we crown champions and they better all be from America. Sixteen gold medals or we riot.

It’s early August which means the 2024 Olympic Games are right around the corner. Over the next two weeks, InterMat will bring you individual weight class previews for each of the 18 weights contested at the Olympic Games. The 2024 version has already been slightly different from years past. Earlier in the summer, United World Wrestling announced a list of wrestlers from Belarus and Russia who would not be permitted to compete due to their support of the war with Ukraine. After this decision, Russia decided to withdraw all of its entries for wrestling. That led to replacements being named earlier this month. With all of the moving parts, and a field that wasn’t confirmed until later in the game, previewing the action had to take a back seat since we weren’t sure who would actually be in Paris. UWW has recently published entry lists for each of the three styles, so we are good to go. Our final preview in men's freestyle is the 125 kg class. This is a bracket that has generally been dominated by two wrestlers over the past decade. Over the past couple years, we've seen hints that a changing of the guard could be in the making. Now there is some younger contenders who have already made an impact, but have their sights set on Olympic gold. American Mason Parris is one of the new generation of contenders. Can he get it done? Parris in Paris was meant to be! 125kg entries Giorgi Meshvildishvili (Azerbaijan) Amarveer Dhesi (Canada) Zhiwei Deng (China) Diaaeldin Abdelmottaleb (Egypt) Geno Petriashvili (Georgia) Daniel Ligeti (Hungary) Amir Zare (Iran) Yusup Batirmurzaev (Kazakhstan) Aiaal Lazarev (Kyrgyzstan) Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur (Mongolia) Ashton Mutuwa (Nigeria) Robert Baran (Poland) Jonovan Smith (Puerto Rico) Taha Akgul (Turkiye) Oleksandr Khotsianivskyi (Ukraine) Mason Parris (USA) Seeds 1. Amir Zare (Iran) 2. Geno Petriasvili (Georgia) 3. Mason Parris (USA) 4. Taha Akgul (Turkiye) 5. Daniel Ligeti (Hungary) 6. Giorgi Meshvildishvili (Azerbaijan) 7. Robert Baran (Poland) 8. Zhiwei Deng (China) Past Senior World/Olympic Medalists:(7) Akgul (x10), Deng, Khotsianivskyi, Munkhtur (x2), Parris, Petriashvili (x10), Zare (x4) 2020(1) Olympic Medalists (125 kg) Gold: Gable Steveson (USA) Silver: Geno Petriashvili (Georgia) Bronze: Taha Akgul (Turkiye) Bronze: Amir Zare (Iran) photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com 2023 World Medalists (125 kg) Gold: Amir Zare (Iran) Silver: Geno Petriashvili (Georgia) Bronze: Mason Parris (USA) Bronze: Taha Akgul (Turkiye) How They Qualified: 2023 World Championships: Akgul, Parris, Petriashvili, Zare Asian Qualifier: Batirmurzaev, Munkhtur African/Oceania Qualifier: Abdelmottaleb, Mutuwa European Qualifier: Meshvildishvili Pan-American Qualifier: Dhesi, Smith World OG Qualifier: Deng, Lazarev, Ligeti Reallocated Quota: Khotsianivskyi, Kosciolek Key Recent (ish) Matches between Qualifiers 2024 Hungarian Ranking Series finals: Parris over Batirmurzaev (Fall :34) 2024 Hungarian Ranking Series bronze medal match: Petriashvili over Abdelmottaleb (10-0) 2024 Hungarian Ranking Series semifinals: Batirmurzaev over Petriashvili (Fall :31) 2024 Hungarian Ranking Series quarterfinals: Batimurzaev over Abdelmottaleb (6-1) 2024 Last Chance World OG Qualifier semifinals: Lazarev over Ligeti (12-2) 2024 Asian Olympic Qualifier semifinals: Munkhtur over Deng (2-0) 2024 Asian Olympic Qualifier quarterfinals: Batirmurzaev over Lazarev (Fall 2:48) 2024 Asian Championships finals: Zare over Lazarev (11-0) 2024 European Olympic Qualifier quarterfinals: Kosciolek over Ligeti (7-4) 2024 European Championships finals: Akgul over Petriashvili (5-4) 2024 European Championships semifinals: Akgul over Meshvildishvili (10-0) 2024 Zagreb Open bronze medal match: Parris over Meshvildishvili (5-2) 2024 Zagreb Open quarterfinals: Petriashvili over Baran (11-0) 2024 Zagreb Open quarterfinals: Parris over Dhesi (11-0) 2024 Zagreb Open Round of 16: Zare over Deng (10-0) 2024 Zagreb Open Round of 32: Petriashvili over Ligeti (14-3) 2023 Asian Games finals: Zare over Munkhtur (7-0) 2023 Asian Games semifinals: Zare over Batirmurzaev (11-0) 2023 Asian Games quarterfinals: Munkhtur over Lazarev (6-0) 2023 World Championships finals: Zare over Petriashvili (11-0) 2023 World Championships bronze medal match: Akgul over Ligeti (5-0) 2023 World Championships semifinals: Zare over Akgul (4-0) 2023 World Championships semifinals: Petriashvili over Parris (8-6) 2023 World Championships quarterfinals: Parris over Deng (8-4) 2023 World Championships quarterfinals: Zare over Ligeti (11-4) 2023 World Championships quarterfinals: Petriashvili over Baran (3-1) 2023 World Championships quarterfinals: Akgul over Khotsianivskyi (3-0) 2023 World Championships Round of 16: Deng over Abdelmottaleb (2-1) 2023 World Championships Round of 16: Khotsianivskyi over Lazarev (8-3) 2023 World Championships Round of 32: Parris over Batirmurzaev (11-0) 2023 World Championships Round of 32: Deng over Munkhtur (2-1) 2023 World Championships Round of 32: Akgul over Meshvildishvili (2-0) 2023 Hungarian Ranking Series semifinals: Parris over Deng (5-0) 2023 Asian Championships finals: Munkhtur over Batirmurzaev (1-1) 2023 European Championships finals: Akgul over Petriashvili (9-4) 2023 European Championships semifinals: Petriashvili over Ligeti (7-4) 2023 European Championships quarterfinals: Akgul over Meshvildishvili (3-1) 2023 European Championships Round of 16: Khotsianivskyi over Baran (6-0) The American Entry: Mason Parris 2023 was a changing of the guard at 125 kg as Mason Parris made his first Senior World team. Parris fell in Final X to Gable Steveson, but got the call late in the summer to replace Steveson and made the most of his opportunity. Parris advanced to the world semifinals, before losing a close match to the legendary Geno Petriashvili. Parris would rebound to get a bronze medal, which qualified the United States for the 2024 Olympics. Parris has been quite active in 2024 with gold medals at the Pan-American Championships and the Hungarian Ranking Series event, along with a bronze at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series tournament. Though Parris did not defeat Petriashvili in Hungary, he did win a weight class that he entered. The 2023 world bronze medal allowed Parris to sit in the best-of-three finals at the Olympic Team Trials. Parris waited for former world team member, Hayden Zillmer, to emerge as his opponent after a challenge tournament win. Parris locked up his trip to Paris after back-to-back 7-0 wins. Parris looked great in his first trip to the World Championships and the tournaments that have come up since then. He will certainly be more equipped to take on and defeat some of the gold medal contenders at this weight in Paris. photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com The X-Factor: Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur (Mongolia) The upper echelon of contenders at this weight has been in place for a few years now. Most assume that someone from the 2023 medal stand will come away with the gold in Paris. That’s most likely; however, the forgotten contender of this group is Mongolia’s Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur. Munkhtur was a medalist at the World Championships in both 2021 and 2022. In 2022, Munkhtur was a world finalist with many of the same key players involved in the 2024 Olympic Games. To make the 2022 world finals, Munkhtur picked up a win over Petriashvili. At the 2023 World Championships, Munkhtur suffered an early loss to China’s Zhiwei Deng, 2-1. After the World Championships Munkhtur avenged that loss at the Asian Games. Munkhtur will start this tournament without a seed. He’s certainly someone who could be a difficult first-round matchup for just about anyone in the bracket. The bracket: The big four from the 2023 medal stand are back and are holding down the top four seeds at this weight. The top half of the bracket features top-seeded Amir Zare and number-four Taha Akgul. Geno Petriashvili and Mason Parris are on the bottom. It’s difficult to say if one side is more loaded than the other. The top half does have Deng as the eighth seed, which would provide some difficulty for Zare. There will only be two past world medalists drawn into the bracket (Munkhtur and Khotsianivskyi), so this bracket doesn’t look like it will change significantly once the draws have been made. Analysis: This weight class is unique as it features a pair of wrestlers that have dominated 125 kgs for over a decade in Akgul and Petriashvili. Additionally, there are some younger contenders like Zare and Parris who may be ready to take the baton from the old guard and run with it. Both Akgul and Petriashvili have ten world/Olympic medals. Akgul was a 2016 Olympic gold medalist and then got the bronze in 2021. He also has three world titles. Only once since 2013 has Akgul come away from a world or Olympic event without any hardware. Petriashvili needs an Olympic gold medal to complete his impressive resume. The big Georgian was a silver medalist in 2021 and a bronze medalist in 2016. In between those Olympic Games, Petriashvili won three world titles. Zare has a long history with Parris as the two met in the 2019 U20 World finals and Parris prevailed for the gold medal. In 2021, Zare broke through and seized Iran’s Senior level position at the Olympic Games and claimed a bronze medal. He’s been their representative at the three world championship events that followed and came away with medals in each - two of them being gold. The semifinals at this weight will be “must-see.” Should seeds hold, can Mason Parris win a potential semifinal rematch with Petriashvili? photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Previous Olympic Previews: Men's Freestyle 57 kg Men's Freestyle 65 kg Men's Freestyle 74 kg Men's Freestyle 86 kg Men's Freestyle 97 kg Women's Freestyle 50 kg Women's Freestyle 53 kg Women's Freestyle 57 kg Women's Freestyle 62 kg Women's Freestyle 68 kg Men's Greco-Roman 60 kg Men's Greco-Roman 67 kg Men's Greco-Roman 77 kg Men's Greco-Roman 87 kg Men's Greco-Roman 97 kg

There are plenty of changes going on at American University. During my recent campus visit and tour, the coaching staff took me around their campus to see all of the recent updates. Some are purely academically driven - another directly impacts the wrestling team in a positive manner. As you can see in our first video below, there is great progress in the construction of the Meltzer Center for Athletic Performance. This facility will house the wrestling and volleyball teams with a practice area that features three full mats and plenty of the latest amenities. There will be space for a competition venue, as well. In addition to the changes outside of the wrestling room, there are plenty of new talented faces coming in from the Class of 2024 and committed for 2025. The AU staff has inked Jay Pearce, a top-150 recruit in the Class of 2024, someone who might be able to contribute in year one. The Eagles also have four wrestlers who have been ranked, at one time or another, committed in 2025. The AU wrestling room has started to develop depth in year four under Jason Borrelli. The Eagles have sent wrestlers to the national tournament in each of the last two years at 133 lbs. Both (Jack Maida and Max Leete) will return for 2024-25. In addition, heavyweight Will Jarrell was an NCAA alternate in 2024 and the probable starter at 174, Caleb Campos, is coming off an excellent redshirt season. We had the opportunity to speak with American's coaches along with some of their notable veterans - which are below. Construction Update with Coach Borrelli Head Coach Jason Borrelli Associate Head Coach Alex Tirapelle Assistant Coach Joey Dance NCAA Qualifier Max Leete NCAA Qualifier Jack Maida Team Captain Will Jarrell

It’s early August which means the 2024 Olympic Games are right around the corner. Over the next two weeks, InterMat will bring you individual weight class previews for each of the 18 weights contested at the Olympic Games. The 2024 version has already been slightly different from years past. Earlier in the summer, United World Wrestling announced a list of wrestlers from Belarus and Russia who would not be permitted to compete due to their support of the war with Ukraine. After this decision, Russia decided to withdraw all of its entries for wrestling. That led to replacements being named earlier this month. With all of the moving parts, and a field that wasn’t confirmed until later in the game, previewing the action had to take a back seat since we weren’t sure who would actually be in Paris. UWW has recently published entry lists for each of the three styles, so we are good to go. Our next weight class preview looks at the 97 kg in Men's Greco-Roman. This weight class featured veteran Joe Rau in his long-awaited Olympic debut. This is a weight class with a few veterans with world-level credentials and plenty of other solid competitors who are looking to break through and medal for the first time. 97kg entries Abubakar Khaslakhanau (AIN - Belarus) Fadi Rouabah (Algeria) Artur Aleksanyan (Armenia) Gabriel Rosillo (Cuba) Artur Omarov (Czechia) Mohamed Gabr (Egypt) Arvi Savolainen (Finland) Roberti Kobliashvili (Georgia) Lucas Lazogianis (Germany) Kevin Mejia Castillo (Honduras) Mohammadhadi Saravi (Iran) Uzur Dzhuzupbekov (Kyrgyzstan) Seungjun Kim (South Korea) Mindaugas Venckaitis (Lithuania) Joe Rau (USA) Rustam Assakalov (Uzbekistan) photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Seeds 1. Artur Aleksanyan (Armenia) 2. Abubakar Khaslakhanau (AIN - Belarus) 3. Mohammadhadi Saravi (Iran) 4. Gabriel Rosillo (Cuba) 5. Artur Omarov (Czechia) 6. Arvi Savolainen (Finland) 7. Mindaugas Venckaitis (Lithuania) 8. Kevin Mejia Castillo (Honduras) Past Senior World/Olympic Medalists:(6) Aleksanyan (x10), Assakalov (x2), Kobliashvili (x2), Omarov, Rosillo, Saravi (x4) 2020(1) Olympic Medalists (97 kg) Gold: Musa Evloev (Russia) Silver: Artur Aleksanyan (Armenia) Bronze: Mohammadhadi Saravi (Iran) Bronze: Tadeuz Michalik (Ukraine) photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com 2023 World Medalists (97 kg) Gold: Gabriel Rosillo (Cuba) Silver: Artur Aleksanyan (Armenia) Bronze: Artur Omarov (Czechia) Bronze: Mohammadhadi Saravi (Iran) How They Qualified: 2023 World Championships: Aleksanyan, Khaslakhanau, Omarov, Rosillo, Saravi Asian Qualifier: Assakalov, Kim African/Oceania Qualifier: Gabr, Rouabah European Qualifier: Kobliashvili, Venckaitis Pan-American Qualifier: Mejia Castillo, Vera (Rau) World OG Qualifier: Dzhuzupbekov, Savolainen Reallocated Quota: Lazogianis Key Recent (ish) Matches between Qualifiers 2024 Hungarian Ranking Series event quarterfinals: Saravi over Rau (10-1) 2024 Hungarian Ranking Series event Round of 16: Mejia Castillo over Rouabah (6-3) 2024 Last Chance World OG Qualifier Olympic Wrestle-Off: Dzhzupbekov over Lazogianis (8-4) 2024 Last Chance World OG Qualifier Round of 16: Savolainen over Dzhzupbekov (2-0) 2024 Asian Olympic Qualifier semifinals: Assakalov over Dzhuzupbekov (3-1) 2024 European Olympic Qualifier semifinals: Kobliashvili over Lazogianis (2-1) 2024 European Championships semifinals: Aleksanyan over Khaslakhanau (5-1) 2024 European Championships Round of 16: Savolainen over Kobliashvili (3-2) 2024 Zagreb Open finals: Khaslakhanau over Savolainen (11-2) 2024 Zagreb Open Round of 32: Savolainen over Venckaitis (5-1) 2023 Pan-American Games bronze medal match: Mejia Castillo over Rau (7-2) 2023 Pan-American Games semifinals: Rosillo Kindelan over Rau (8-0) 2023 Pan-American Games Round of 16: Rosillo Kindelan over Mejia Castillo (9-7) 2023 Asian Games repechage: Assakalov over Dzhuzupbekov (Fall) 2023 Asian Games quarterfinals: Saravi over Dzhuzupbekov (3-1) 2023 Asian Games Round of 16: Saravi over Assakalov (6-3) 2023 World Championships finals: Rosillo Kindelan over Aleksanyan (3-3) 2023 World Championships Olympic Wrestle-Off: Khaslakhanau over Venckaitis (Fall 5:08) 2023 World Championships bronze medal match: Omarov over Venckaitis (3-1) 2023 World Championships bronze medal match: Saravi over Khaslakhanau (4-1) 2023 World Championships semifinals: Rosillo Kindelan over Saravi (3-0) 2023 World Championships semifinals: Aleksanyan over Venckaitis (9-0) 2023 World Championships quarterfinals: Aleksanyan over Omarov (9-0) 2023 World Championships quarterfinals: Rosillo Kindelan over Khaslakhanau (8-5) 2023 World Championships Round of 16: Rosillo Kindelan over Assakalov (6-4) 2023 World Championships Round of 16: Aleksanyan over Rau (9-0) 2023 World Championships Round of 16: Venckaitis over Savolainen (Fall 1:29) 2023 Hungarian Ranking series event repechage: Savolainen over Venckaitis (1-1) 2023 European Championships bronze medal match: Omarov over Kobliashvili (1-1) 2023 European Championships semifinals: Aleksanyan over Omarov (9-0) 2023 European Championships Round of 16: Aleksanyan over Kobliashvili (3-1) The American Entry: Joe Rau Finally, long-time veteran Joe Rau is on the Olympic Team! Rau made the finals of the 2020 Olympic Trials and lost in a very controversial bout to John Stefanowicz that ended up in arbitration. Following that loss, Rau retired from the sport. In the lead-up to the 2022 World Championships, 97 kg mainstay G’Angelo Hancock left the sport to pursue a career in the WWE, which led to a large void at the weight. Rau returned in 2023 and moved up to this weight and made the World Team for a third time. Each world team appearance has come at a different weight (80/87/97 kg). Since Rau did not medal or qualify the weight for the 2024 Olympic Games, the United States needed to send a representative to attempt to do so at the Pan-American Olympic Qualifier. Alan Vera got the call and qualified the weight down in Mexico, which allowed him to sit in the Olympic Trials finals. Rau ended up winning the Challenge Tournament at the Olympic Trials placing him against Vera with the elusive Olympic berth looming in the balance. Vera took the first bout 7-1. Rau stormed back with 6-0 and 8-0 victories to claim his spot on the team. Rau is the oldest and most experienced member of the American Greco team in Paris. His first world team appearance came in 2014. He’s still seeking his first World/Olympic medal. Doing so would be the perfect send-off for a long, underrated career. The X-Factor: Rustam Assakalov (Uzbekistan) We’ll talk about it more later, but there seems to be a clear delineation between the medal favorites at this weight class and everyone else. And the favorites all have decent seeds. So attempting to find an unseeded wrestler that might contend for a medal brings us to Uzbekistan’s Rustam Assakalov. Assakalov is a two-time world medalist with his first coming in 2015 and his most recent was in 2019. Both were at lower weights. Assakalov will be competing in his third Olympic Games. He was eighth in each of his first two appearances. Additionally, Assakalov also wrestled for another bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships….in Paris. Assakalov was targeted here because he’s been able to keep it close with the elite members of this weight. Usually, that’s not a recipe for success; however, those top wrestlers here tend to separate themselves from everyone else. The bracket: This is a weight where the five best wrestlers have all received top-five seeds. Unfortunately, the two best wrestlers are located in the top half. Longtime superstar, Artur Aleksanyan, is the top seed. He’s a two-time Olympic medalist (gold - 2016; bronze - 2020) and a four-time world champion. Aleksanyan has been a favorite and a gold medal threat at this weight for the last decade. At 32 years old, he still has some gas in the tank and can be a threat at an upperweight. Last year, Aleksanyan was upset in the world finals by Gabriel Rosillo Kindelan of Cuba. It marked Rosillo Kindelan’s first Senior world medal. He comes in as the fourth seed. The defending world champion will have to defeat a bronze medalist in the quarters, before meeting Aleksanyan in the semis, just to make the finals. The bottom half of the bracket will feature Khaslakhanau and Saravi as the second and third seeds, respectively. At this point, it’s difficult to project the sixth or seventh seeds pushing through and upsetting either of the two. 97 kg “only” features six wrestlers with World/Olympic medals on their resumes. Four start the tournament with seeds, so Assakalov and Kobliashvili will get drawn in. This shouldn’t impact brackets like other weights with two or three times that many unseeded medalists in the mix. Analysis: Aleksanyan, Rosillo Kindelan, and Saravi account for each of the last three world championships. Aleksanyan and Saravi were on the 2020 Olympic medal stand. The trio has seemingly separated themselves from the rest of this bracket. It’s difficult to picture anyone aside from this big three coming away with the gold, which may be different than most other Greco weights. In fact, these three tend to rack up a handful of points against everyone except each other. Should chalk prevail, as expected, there would be one new bronze medalist, as Aleksanyan, Rosillo Kindelan, and Omarov are all on the same half of the bracket and only two could medal. Previous Olympic Previews: Men's Freestyle 57 kg Men's Freestyle 65 kg Men's Freestyle 74 kg Men's Freestyle 86 kg Men's Freestyle 97 kg Women's Freestyle 50 kg Women's Freestyle 53 kg Women's Freestyle 57 kg Women's Freestyle 62 kg Women's Freestyle 68 kg Men's Greco-Roman 60 kg Men's Greco-Roman 67 kg Men's Greco-Roman 77 kg Men's Greco-Roman 87 kg

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