Red95

Awful news. RIP. Some additional context - evidently he suffered a cardiac arrest in August while playing soccer.

Yeah looks like 5am repechage then right into medal rounds. https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/schedule/wrestling?day=11-august

Acosta defected from Cuba during the 2015 Pan Ams in Chile. Don’t think he’s ever going back. https://www.cubaheadlines.com/articles/286511

The Olympics main site is very helpful- has real time mat sequence, schedule, and scores. https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/schedule/wrestling?day=9-august

Yianni and Vito need to be selfish and focus on their own training in the small window of time most have to be successful on the world stage. Being a coach requires you to prioritize your athletes over your own training (or at least compromise, especially in-season). So not surprised either is throwing their hat in the ring for coaching just yet.

I think Dake’s Olympic podium finish will be a big factor on his future plans. If he wins gold he really doesn’t have anything left to prove. It would have to be tempting to retire while he’s at the top. If he doesn’t win gold I could see him aiming for another world title but I can’t see him making it all the way through the quad to 2028.

Possibly but it would have to be at 92kg.

If you look at the schedule it says match 3 (if necessary) for unqualified weights would happen before they begin match 2 for the qualified weights. It’s the same intent- let’s get these out of the way before the main event.

It’s because tonight is all about the Olympics. Everyone who wins tonight is punching their ticket to Paris. The guys at 57 and 65 (and several Greco weights) punched their their ticket to a tournament where maybe they can qualify for Paris.

I think they wanted the evening to be all about the Olympics. The evening winners will all be Olympians. The winners at unqualified weights might eventually be but they still have work to do. Hence the separation.

Top three wrestlers at each weight are considered the "national team". Only the top wrestler in each weight is "Olympic team" or "world team". You can see national team members here (at least the national team leading up to the trials). https://www.themat.com/team-usa/national-team I'm not sure exactly how they handle the non-Olympic weights. My guess is they stay as-is until the next world team trials.

That makes those unbalanced brackets even worse. I have no problem with the bye to the semis but it would tough even with plenty of rest. Whoever wins the Yianni / Mendez match is going to have a tough time with a fully rested Retherford 8 hours off the scale.

Anyone know if the 65kg and 86kg "quarterfinal" matches prior to Retherford and Valencia are happening in this session?

Seriously. Anyone taking the time to post here should spring for the $6. Just don’t forget to cancel within 30 days.

Vito and Yianni are the same age. Not sure Vito waiting for Yianni to be past his peak is a good strategy.

Burroughs is on the Mt Rushmore of USA wrestling so it would be unwise to look past him. He absolutely could win OTT but he too has lost a step and has a few landmines on the path to the finals and many of them will be tougher than Marstellar was last year. But it’s going to be fun to watch!

Tough crowd. The guy has medaled at every world championship and Olympics since 2018 with four golds, a silver, and a bronze. Good chance that Paris is his last rodeo (assuming he wins OTT). He may have lost a step or two but even so he’s still better than most of the world. He’ll be ready to go.

With the Gomez loss Cornell locks in 2nd place team finish. Only ~100 points out of first!

Close... There are actually three different events with similar names but different purposes / formats. 1) The Pan American Games, which, as mentioned above, happen every four years, contain multiple sports, and are like a mini-Olympics (currently underway in Santiago, Chile) 2) UWW Pan-American Championships, which happen every year (including Olympic years) and as far as I know are open to all member countries. Next up in Acapulco, Mexico Feb 21-25, 2024. These do not impact Olympic qualification. 3) UWW Pan-American Olympic Games Qualifier, which happens in Olympic years only and is open to any country that didn't qualify the weight via the prior year's UWW World Championships. Next up in Acapulco, Mexico Mar 1-3, 2024 (some sites say Feb 29 start). Top two finishers in each weight qualify. Any country that doesn't qualify the weight can go to the last-chance UWW World OG Qualifier in May 2024 in Istanbul.

Vito!!! Breaks is string of world silvers and brings home the gold!

According to this UWW tweet, Sidakov qualified “AIN” for the Olympics. Is that correct? Are Russia and Belarus separate AINs or does AIN only get one slot per weight? The whole thing stinks.

As awful as everyone seems to think Dake looks, he is in the finals (again) and did so out of a bracket that was supposed to be brutal. He’ll be well rested and ready to go tomorrow. Should be a great one.

Noon EDT

Exactly. The tough thing with that format is only two wrestlers qualify. It's fine if the best wrestlers in the Americas placed where they should at worlds the prior year. But let's say a good Cuban misses the podium at worlds then ends up on your side of the bracket at the Pan Am qualifier. All of a sudden you're on your way to last chance under immense pressure. It's a bit like the backside at NCAAs. There are a ton of guys who were AA caliber wrestlers but hit the #2 seed in the blood round and end up on the outside looking in.

FYI for those looking for a refresher on qualifying for Paris 2024 Olympics. As in past years, you really, really want to place top 5 at Worlds this year - the two other options (regional qualifier + last chance qualifier) are full of landmines and are very draw-dependent. https://olympics.com/en/news/pathway-to-paris-2024-wrestling-qualification-system-explained What is the wrestling qualification pathway to Paris 2024? All of the 288 quotas will be allocated during three phases. Phase 1: 2023 Senior World Championships Five quotas for each of the 18 Olympic weight categories - a total of 90 quotas - will be allocated at the 2023 Senior World Championships. The four medallists (gold, silver, bronze and bronze) from the 18 categories at this event will each obtain one quota place for their NOC. Plus, a bout between the two losers of the bronze medal matches will take place and the winner will obtain the last quota. Phase 2: 2024 Continental Qualification Tournaments 144 quotas will be defined by the 2024 Continental Qualification Tournaments. Each Continent will organise a specific Olympic Qualification Tournament with the exception of Oceania and Africa that will have a joint Qualification Tournament. The two highest-placed athletes at each Continental Qualification tournament in each of the 18 Olympic weight categories will obtain one quota place each for their NOC. Phase 3: 2024 World Qualification Tournament The last 54 quotas will be decided at the 2024 World Qualification Tournament. The two highest-ranked athletes in each of the 18 Olympic weight categories will obtain one quota place each for their NOC. In addition, a bout will be organised between the two third-placed athletes and the winner of that bout will also obtain one quota place for his/her NOC.