From: Tim Foley [email protected] Subject: What You Need to Know: Greco-Roman at the 2016 Date: August 2, 2016 at 3:27 PM To: [email protected]

What You Need to Know: Greco-Roman Wrestling at the 2016 Olympic Games By William May,

Soryan, Lopez Eye the Record Books in Rio 2016 Greco-Roman

RIO DE JANEIRO (August 2) – Hamid SORYAN (IRI) and Mijain LOPEZ NUNEZ (CUB) arrived in Tashkent two years ago with chances to draw even with Valeri REZANTSEV (URS) in their bid to become the second greatest wrestlers in the history of modern Greco-Roman wrestling.

Both wrestlers succeeded in Tashkent with Soryan securing his seventh world-level title at 59kg and Lopez winning his fifth world championship crown at 130kg to go with two gold medals from the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games.

Soryan and Lopez, however, stumbled at the 2015 world championships in Las Vegas – Soryan eliminated in the quarterfinals and Lopez falling to five-time European champion Riza KAYAALP (TUR), 1-0, in the 130kg championship final.

Both are back in Rio seeking to surpass Rezantsev and claim for themselves the No.2 position on the list of all-time Greco-Roman greats behind Alexander KARELIN (RUS) and his 12 world-level titles overall.

Rezantsev won five world titles in the 1970s along with gold medals the Munich 1972 and Montreal 1976 Olympic Games. Mijain LOPEZ (CUB)

A victory in Rio for Lopez would make him the third Greco-Roman wrestler to win three Olympic Games gold medals – after Carl WESTERGREN (SWE, 1920-1932) and Karelin (1988-1996).

Standing in his way, however, is London 2012 bronze medalist Kayaalp, who has won two world titles himself with victories over Lopez in the 2011 and 2015 championship finals.

Soryan, meanwhile, will be seeking a second Olympic Games gold medal together with London 2012 teammates Omid NOROOZI (66kg) and Ghasem REZAEI (98kg) – the first Greco-Roman gold medalists for Iran at the Olympic Games. Wrestling 101: Origins and Facts about Greco-Roman Wrestling

But the question for Soryan will be who is going to show up on the mats at Carioca Arena 2 on August 14?

Will it be the wrestler who slogged through Las Vegas and two Rio 2016 qualifiers in March and April? Or will it be the whirlwind who blew away the field with four technical falls at the “last chance” qualifier in May? (WATCH: Soryan's Long Road to Rio)

Noroozi was the winner at 60kg in London, but is at 66kg for Rio, along with Beijing 2008 gold medalist Islam-Beka ALBIEV (RUS) -- as well as four world champions from the last three years.

Since London, Noroozi was runner-up to Davor STEFANEK (SRB) in the 2014 world finals while Albiev took the silver medal the year before behind RYU Han-Soo (KOR). Ryu, in turn, was silver medalist last year to Frank STAEBLER (GER).

At 98kg, Ghasemi has won bronze and silver medals at the last two world meets, but will need to reverse a 3-0 loss to Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) in the Las Vegas finals to claim a second Olympic Games gold medal. Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM)

At the same time, Aleksanyan, a bronze medalist in London at the age of 20, eyes a first Olympic Games gold medal after winning the last two world championship crowns.

In other weight categories, London 2012 gold medalists (RUS) and KIM Hyeon-Woo (KOR) could lock horns at 75kg again on the opening day of competition in a category that also features six world champions.

Vlasov and Kim, the gold medalist at 66kg in London, have already met for one classic duel between Olympic champions – in for the 2013 world championship title. Kim scored a go-behind takedown in the second period and held on for a 2-1 win.

The field at 75kg also includes London 2012 silver medalist and 2014 champion Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARM), three-time world champion Selcuk CEBI (TUR) and three-time world silver medalist Mark MADSEN (DEN).

Zhan BELENYUK (UKR)

The most difficult category to handicap may well be 85kg, where Zhan BELENYUK (UKR) comes in as the reigning world and European champion. Belenyuk is, in fact, the only world champion at middleweight from the past three years on the entry list for Rio 2016.

Saman TAHMASEBI (AZE), a two-time Olympian – for Iran and for Azerbaijan, however, is the most decorated of the entries with two silver medals and a bronze at the world championships this Olympic cycle.

Athens 2004 gold medalist Alexej MISHIN (RUS), at 37, qualified Russia for this category, but team officials have given the nod to 23-year-old champion David CHAKVETADZE (RUS) for Rio 2016. Schedule for Greco-Roman Wrestling at the 2016 Olympic Games in

Saturday, August 13

12:00-13:00 – Medical Examination, GR 59kg & 75kg

13:15-13:45 – Weigh-in, GR 59kg & 75kg

Sunday, August 14

10:00-13:00 – Qualification Rounds, GR 59kg & 75kg

12:00-13:00 – Medical Examination, GR 85kg & 130kg

13:15-13:45 – Weigh-in, GR 85kg & 130kg

16:00-19:00 – Repechage, Finals & Awards Ceremonies, GR 59kg & 75kg

Monday, August 15

10:00-13:00 – Qualification Rounds, GR 85kg & 130kg

12:00-13:00 – Medical Examination, GR 66kg & 98kg

13:15-13:45 – Weigh-in, GR 66kg & 98kg

16:00-19:00 – Repechage, Finals & Awards Ceremonies, GR 85kg & 130kg

Tuesday, August 16

10:00-13:00 – Qualification Rounds, GR 66kg & 98kg

16:00-19:00 – Repechage, Finals & Awards Ceremonies, GR 66kg & 98kg

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