Joe Betterman receives his draw for final Olympic Greco-Roman qualifier in Serbia
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by Craig Sesker
2007 World Team member Joe Betterman has received his draw for Greco-Roman Olympic Qualifying Tournament No. 2, set for Saturday in Novi Sad, Serbia.
Betterman (Chicago, Ill./New York AC/USOEC) has drawn Hungary's Balint Korpasi in the first round at 60 kg/132 lbs. Korpasi placed fifth in the 2008 World Cup and is a past silver medalist in the Junior European Championships.
The top three wrestlers in each weight class from the second of two qualifiers will qualify their countries for the 2008 Olympics, set for Aug. 12-21 in Beijing, China.
If Betterman wins his first match, he would face either Karen Mnatsakanyan of Armenia or Ravinder Singh of India in the second round.
Mnatsakanyan was a 2001 World silver medalist who also won the European Championships in 2006. Singh placed fifth in the 2008 Asian Championships.
Among the other wrestlers on Betterman's side of the bracket are 2002 World silver medalist Nepes Gugulov of Turkmenistan, 2005 World bronze medalist Petr Svehla of the Czech Republic and 2008 World Cup silver medalist Mohammadreza Ghazaei of Iran.
There are 25 wrestlers in the field with 16 on Betterman's side of the bracket.
The U.S. team, which won the team title at the 2007 World Championships, already has qualified the other six Greco-Roman weight classes for the Olympics.
Betterman came up short in two other opportunities to qualify the weight class for the Olympics. He did not place at the 2007 World Championships and won a bronze medal at the 2008 Pan American Championships.
American Jim Gruenwald (Marquette, Mich./Sunkist Kids) failed to place at 60 kilos at Greco-Roman Olympic Qualifying Tournament No. 1 on May 10 in Rome, Italy. Gruenwald suffered a shoulder injury in that event.
Betterman placed second to Gruenwald at last month's U.S. Nationals in Las Vegas.
The U.S. has qualified 16-of-18 weight classes overall for the Olympics. The U.S. has qualified 6-of-7 classes in Greco-Roman, 6-of-7 classes in freestyle and all four classes in women's freestyle.
Betterman (Chicago, Ill./New York AC/USOEC) has drawn Hungary's Balint Korpasi in the first round at 60 kg/132 lbs. Korpasi placed fifth in the 2008 World Cup and is a past silver medalist in the Junior European Championships.
The top three wrestlers in each weight class from the second of two qualifiers will qualify their countries for the 2008 Olympics, set for Aug. 12-21 in Beijing, China.
If Betterman wins his first match, he would face either Karen Mnatsakanyan of Armenia or Ravinder Singh of India in the second round.
Mnatsakanyan was a 2001 World silver medalist who also won the European Championships in 2006. Singh placed fifth in the 2008 Asian Championships.
Among the other wrestlers on Betterman's side of the bracket are 2002 World silver medalist Nepes Gugulov of Turkmenistan, 2005 World bronze medalist Petr Svehla of the Czech Republic and 2008 World Cup silver medalist Mohammadreza Ghazaei of Iran.
There are 25 wrestlers in the field with 16 on Betterman's side of the bracket.
The U.S. team, which won the team title at the 2007 World Championships, already has qualified the other six Greco-Roman weight classes for the Olympics.
Betterman came up short in two other opportunities to qualify the weight class for the Olympics. He did not place at the 2007 World Championships and won a bronze medal at the 2008 Pan American Championships.
American Jim Gruenwald (Marquette, Mich./Sunkist Kids) failed to place at 60 kilos at Greco-Roman Olympic Qualifying Tournament No. 1 on May 10 in Rome, Italy. Gruenwald suffered a shoulder injury in that event.
Betterman placed second to Gruenwald at last month's U.S. Nationals in Las Vegas.
The U.S. has qualified 16-of-18 weight classes overall for the Olympics. The U.S. has qualified 6-of-7 classes in Greco-Roman, 6-of-7 classes in freestyle and all four classes in women's freestyle.
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