World Championships preview in Greco-Roman at 66 kg/145.5 lbs.
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by Taylor Miller, USA Wrestling
Date of competition: Tuesday, Aug. 22
Competition at 66 kg/145 lbs. in Greco-Roman competition looks to be stacked for the 2017 World Championships in Paris, France, Aug. 21-26.
Davor Stefanek of Serbia is expected to return to the World Championships for the ninth time. Last summer in Rio, he won his first Olympic title. Ranked No. 2 in the world, he is a two-time World medalist, winning the 2014 World title and earning bronze in 2015.
Since his championship run in Rio, Stefanek won silver at the European Championships and competed at the Greco World Clubs Cup. He will be the tournament’s No. 1 seed.
Falling to Stefanek in the Olympic finals was Armenia’s Migran Arutyunyan with a 1-1 decision. Arutyunyan represented Armenia at the 2014 and 2015 World Championships. Should he wrestle in Paris, he will be the No. 3 seed.
It’s possible Armenia could send 22-year-old Karen Aslanyan, who has competed in several tournaments this year. A 2013 Junior World champion, he won the Grand Prix of Paris in January, shortly before earning silver at the International Ukrainian Tournament. He also wrestled at the European Championships in May and the G. Kartozia & V. Balavadze Price tournament in June.
2016 Olympic bronze medalist Shmagi Bolkvadze will likely be Georgia’s representative. He went to the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas, where he finished seventh. Bolkvadze also boasts the 2014 Junior World title at 66 kg.
Since Rio, the Georgian has won the G. Kartozia & V. Balavadze Price tournament, produced silver at the Golden Grand Prix and finished with bronze at the Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Cup.
The other Olympic bronze medalist, Rasul Chunayev of Azerbaijan, is expected to move up to 71 kg/156 lbs. at the World Championships. In his place, will likely be Kamran Mammadov, the 2016 World Military Championships silver medalist.
Despite not competing at the 2016 Olympics, Artem Surkov of Russia has risen to the No. 1 spot of the United World Wrestling Greco-Roman rankings and is slated to be the No. 4 seed in Paris.
In the last eight months, he has won every international tournament he has entered, including Golden Grand Prix, European Championships and Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Cup.
Surkov’s one World Championships experience was in 2015, where he collected a bronze medal.
2015 World champion Frank Staebler of Germany is definitely in the mix. He adds a 2013 World bronze to his name and was fifth at the 2012 Olympic Games and the 2011 and 2014 World Championships.
He has competed only once since the Olympics, winning the Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Cup in July.
Hailing from Algeria, Tarek-Aziz Benaissa finished eighth at the Olympic Games to follow his fifth-place finish at the 2015 World Championships. He has won the 2014 African Championships and the 2015 All-Africa Games. He will enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed.
Korea has two candidates for the World Championships.
Han-Soo Ryu went to the 2016 Olympics for Korea and has also wrestled the 2013 and 2015 World Championships. He won a World title in 2013 and collected silver in 2015.
Ryu has not competed internationally since Rio.
Another option for Korea is Sang-Hoon Oh, who won the Asian Championships in May. He also finished with bronze at the Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov Tournament a month before. Oh went to the 2014 World Championships at 66 kg.
A two-time Junior World bronze medalist, 2012 Olympian Ellis Coleman will be the U.S. representative. In his Senior career, he owns seven international medals, including three gold. His most recent international medal came from the 2015 Bill Farrell International, where he took silver.
On the domestic level, Coleman has been one to reckon with. After earning his third U.S. Senior Nationals championship in December, Coleman won the Armed Forces Championships in both Greco and freestyle.
This will be his first World Championships appearance since 2013 and second overall.
JULY UWW GRECO-ROMAN WORLD RANKINGS (66 KG)
1. Artem SURKOV (RUS)
2. Davor STEFANEK (SRB)
3. Soslan DAUROV (BLR)
4. Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO)
5. OH Sang-Hoon (KOR)
6. Almat KEBISPAYEV (KAZ)
7. Migran ARUTUNYAN (ARM)
8. Ali Reizollah ARSALAN (IRI)
9. Abdulsamet GUNAL (TUR)
10. Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB)
11. Miguel MARTINEZ PALACIOS (CUB)
12. Kamran MAMMADOV (AZE)
13. Aleksey KIYANKIN (RUS)
14. Atakan YUKSEL (TUR)
15. RYU Han-Soo (KOR)
16. Frank STAEBLER (GER)
17. Danijel JANECIC (CRO)
18. Parviz NASIBOV (UKR)
19. Mateusz BERNATEK (POL)
20. Roman PACURKOWSKI (POL)
2017 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TOP SEEDS
1. Davor Stefanek (Serbia)
2. Tarek Aziz Benaissa (Algeria)
3. Migran Arutyunyan (Armenia)
4. Artem Surkov (Russia)
RECENT WORLD AND OLYMPIC RESULTS
2016 Olympic Games
66 kg/145 lbs. – Gold – Davor Stefanek (Serbia); Silver - Migran Arutnyan (Armenia); Bronze – Rasul Chunayev (Azerbaijan); Bronze – Shmagi Bolkvadze (Georgia); Fifth – Ryu Hansu (South Korea); Fifth – Tomohiro Inoue (Japan); Seventh – Frank Staebler (Germany); Eighth – Tarek Aziz Benaissa (Algeria); Ninth – Islam-Beka Albiev (Russia); Tenth – Omid Haji Noroozi (Iran)
2015 World Championships
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Gold – Frank Staebler (Germany); Silver – Han-Soo Ryu (Korea); Bronze – Davor Stefanek (Serbia); Bronze – Artem Surkov (Russia); 5th – Tarek Aziz Benaissa (Algeria); 5th – Migran Arutyunyan (Armenia); 7th – Shmagi Bolkvadze (Georgia); 8th – Dominik Etlinger (Croatia); 9th – Tamas Lorincz (Hungary); 10th – Mateusz Lucjan Bernatek (Poland)
2014 World Championships
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Gold – Davor Stefanek (Serbia); Silver – Omid Noroozi (Iran); Bronze – Edgardas Venckaitis (Lithuania); Bronze – Tamas Lorincz (Hungary); 5th – Hasan Aliyev (Azerbaijan); 5th – Frank Staebler (Germany); 7th – Revaz Lashkhi (Georgia); 8th – Hideyuki Otoizumi (Japan); 9th – Mihran Hartyunyan (Armenia); 10th – Konstantin Stas (Bulgaria)
2013 World Championships
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Gold – Han-Soo Ryu (Korea); Silver – Islambek Albiev (Russia); Bronze – Sandeep Tulsi Yadav (India); Bronze –Frank Staebler (Germany); 5th – Aleksandar Maksimovic (Serbia); 5th – Hasan Aliyev (Azerbaijan); 7th - Vladimiros Matias (Greece); 8th – A. Byabangard (Iran); 9th – Yuksel Atakan (Turkey); 10th – Tamas Lorincz (Hungary)
2012 Olympic Games
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Gold – Hyeon-Woo Kim (Korea); Silver – Tamas Lorincz (Hungary); Bronze – Manuchar Tskhaidia (Georgia); Bronze – Steeve Guenot (France); 5th – Frank Staebler (Germany); 5th – Pedro Mulens (Cuba); 7th – Edgaras Venckaitis (Lithuania); 8th – Justin Lester (USA); 9th – Darkhan Bayakhmetov (Kazakhstan); 10th – Amm El Garably (Egypt)
2011 World Championships
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Gold – Saeid Morad Abdvali (Iran); Silver – Manuchar Tskhadaia (Georgia); Bronze – Hyeon-Woo Kim (Korea); Bronze – Pedro Isaac Mulens (Cuba); 5th – Frank Stabler (Germany); 5th – Justin Lester (USA); 7th – Tamás Lorincz (Hungary); 8th – Kanatbek Begaliev (Kyrgyzstan); 9th – Yuji Okamoto (Japan); 10th – Pan Zheng (China)
2010 World Championships
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Gold – Ambako Vachadze (Russia); Silver – Armen Vardanyan (Ukraine); Bronze – Vitaly Rahimov (Azerbaijan); Bronze – Vasif Arzimanov (Turkey); 5th – Steeve Guenot (France); 5th – Tamas Lorincz (Hungary); 7th – Pascal Strebel (Switzerland); 8th – Hyeon-Woo Kim (Korea); 9th – Danijel Janecic (Croatia); 10th – Emilian Todorov (Bulgaria).
2009 World Championships
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Gold – Farid Mansurov (Azerbaijan); Silver – Manuchar Tskhadaia (Georgia); Bronze – Ambako Vachadze (Russia); Bronze – Pedro Isaac Mulen (Cuba); 5th – Tamas Lorincz (Hungary); 5th – Sasun Ghambaryan (Armenia); 7th – Afshin Byabangard (Iran); 8th – Tsutomu Fujimura (Japan); 9th – Emil Milev (Bulgaria); 10th – Darkhan Bayakhmetov (Kazakhstan)
Competition at 66 kg/145 lbs. in Greco-Roman competition looks to be stacked for the 2017 World Championships in Paris, France, Aug. 21-26.
Davor Stefanek of Serbia is expected to return to the World Championships for the ninth time. Last summer in Rio, he won his first Olympic title. Ranked No. 2 in the world, he is a two-time World medalist, winning the 2014 World title and earning bronze in 2015.
Since his championship run in Rio, Stefanek won silver at the European Championships and competed at the Greco World Clubs Cup. He will be the tournament’s No. 1 seed.
Falling to Stefanek in the Olympic finals was Armenia’s Migran Arutyunyan with a 1-1 decision. Arutyunyan represented Armenia at the 2014 and 2015 World Championships. Should he wrestle in Paris, he will be the No. 3 seed.
It’s possible Armenia could send 22-year-old Karen Aslanyan, who has competed in several tournaments this year. A 2013 Junior World champion, he won the Grand Prix of Paris in January, shortly before earning silver at the International Ukrainian Tournament. He also wrestled at the European Championships in May and the G. Kartozia & V. Balavadze Price tournament in June.
2016 Olympic bronze medalist Shmagi Bolkvadze will likely be Georgia’s representative. He went to the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas, where he finished seventh. Bolkvadze also boasts the 2014 Junior World title at 66 kg.
Since Rio, the Georgian has won the G. Kartozia & V. Balavadze Price tournament, produced silver at the Golden Grand Prix and finished with bronze at the Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Cup.
The other Olympic bronze medalist, Rasul Chunayev of Azerbaijan, is expected to move up to 71 kg/156 lbs. at the World Championships. In his place, will likely be Kamran Mammadov, the 2016 World Military Championships silver medalist.
Despite not competing at the 2016 Olympics, Artem Surkov of Russia has risen to the No. 1 spot of the United World Wrestling Greco-Roman rankings and is slated to be the No. 4 seed in Paris.
In the last eight months, he has won every international tournament he has entered, including Golden Grand Prix, European Championships and Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Cup.
Surkov’s one World Championships experience was in 2015, where he collected a bronze medal.
2015 World champion Frank Staebler of Germany is definitely in the mix. He adds a 2013 World bronze to his name and was fifth at the 2012 Olympic Games and the 2011 and 2014 World Championships.
He has competed only once since the Olympics, winning the Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Cup in July.
Hailing from Algeria, Tarek-Aziz Benaissa finished eighth at the Olympic Games to follow his fifth-place finish at the 2015 World Championships. He has won the 2014 African Championships and the 2015 All-Africa Games. He will enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed.
Korea has two candidates for the World Championships.
Han-Soo Ryu went to the 2016 Olympics for Korea and has also wrestled the 2013 and 2015 World Championships. He won a World title in 2013 and collected silver in 2015.
Ryu has not competed internationally since Rio.
Another option for Korea is Sang-Hoon Oh, who won the Asian Championships in May. He also finished with bronze at the Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov Tournament a month before. Oh went to the 2014 World Championships at 66 kg.
A two-time Junior World bronze medalist, 2012 Olympian Ellis Coleman will be the U.S. representative. In his Senior career, he owns seven international medals, including three gold. His most recent international medal came from the 2015 Bill Farrell International, where he took silver.
On the domestic level, Coleman has been one to reckon with. After earning his third U.S. Senior Nationals championship in December, Coleman won the Armed Forces Championships in both Greco and freestyle.
This will be his first World Championships appearance since 2013 and second overall.
JULY UWW GRECO-ROMAN WORLD RANKINGS (66 KG)
1. Artem SURKOV (RUS)
2. Davor STEFANEK (SRB)
3. Soslan DAUROV (BLR)
4. Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO)
5. OH Sang-Hoon (KOR)
6. Almat KEBISPAYEV (KAZ)
7. Migran ARUTUNYAN (ARM)
8. Ali Reizollah ARSALAN (IRI)
9. Abdulsamet GUNAL (TUR)
10. Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB)
11. Miguel MARTINEZ PALACIOS (CUB)
12. Kamran MAMMADOV (AZE)
13. Aleksey KIYANKIN (RUS)
14. Atakan YUKSEL (TUR)
15. RYU Han-Soo (KOR)
16. Frank STAEBLER (GER)
17. Danijel JANECIC (CRO)
18. Parviz NASIBOV (UKR)
19. Mateusz BERNATEK (POL)
20. Roman PACURKOWSKI (POL)
2017 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TOP SEEDS
1. Davor Stefanek (Serbia)
2. Tarek Aziz Benaissa (Algeria)
3. Migran Arutyunyan (Armenia)
4. Artem Surkov (Russia)
RECENT WORLD AND OLYMPIC RESULTS
2016 Olympic Games
66 kg/145 lbs. – Gold – Davor Stefanek (Serbia); Silver - Migran Arutnyan (Armenia); Bronze – Rasul Chunayev (Azerbaijan); Bronze – Shmagi Bolkvadze (Georgia); Fifth – Ryu Hansu (South Korea); Fifth – Tomohiro Inoue (Japan); Seventh – Frank Staebler (Germany); Eighth – Tarek Aziz Benaissa (Algeria); Ninth – Islam-Beka Albiev (Russia); Tenth – Omid Haji Noroozi (Iran)
2015 World Championships
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Gold – Frank Staebler (Germany); Silver – Han-Soo Ryu (Korea); Bronze – Davor Stefanek (Serbia); Bronze – Artem Surkov (Russia); 5th – Tarek Aziz Benaissa (Algeria); 5th – Migran Arutyunyan (Armenia); 7th – Shmagi Bolkvadze (Georgia); 8th – Dominik Etlinger (Croatia); 9th – Tamas Lorincz (Hungary); 10th – Mateusz Lucjan Bernatek (Poland)
2014 World Championships
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Gold – Davor Stefanek (Serbia); Silver – Omid Noroozi (Iran); Bronze – Edgardas Venckaitis (Lithuania); Bronze – Tamas Lorincz (Hungary); 5th – Hasan Aliyev (Azerbaijan); 5th – Frank Staebler (Germany); 7th – Revaz Lashkhi (Georgia); 8th – Hideyuki Otoizumi (Japan); 9th – Mihran Hartyunyan (Armenia); 10th – Konstantin Stas (Bulgaria)
2013 World Championships
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Gold – Han-Soo Ryu (Korea); Silver – Islambek Albiev (Russia); Bronze – Sandeep Tulsi Yadav (India); Bronze –Frank Staebler (Germany); 5th – Aleksandar Maksimovic (Serbia); 5th – Hasan Aliyev (Azerbaijan); 7th - Vladimiros Matias (Greece); 8th – A. Byabangard (Iran); 9th – Yuksel Atakan (Turkey); 10th – Tamas Lorincz (Hungary)
2012 Olympic Games
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Gold – Hyeon-Woo Kim (Korea); Silver – Tamas Lorincz (Hungary); Bronze – Manuchar Tskhaidia (Georgia); Bronze – Steeve Guenot (France); 5th – Frank Staebler (Germany); 5th – Pedro Mulens (Cuba); 7th – Edgaras Venckaitis (Lithuania); 8th – Justin Lester (USA); 9th – Darkhan Bayakhmetov (Kazakhstan); 10th – Amm El Garably (Egypt)
2011 World Championships
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Gold – Saeid Morad Abdvali (Iran); Silver – Manuchar Tskhadaia (Georgia); Bronze – Hyeon-Woo Kim (Korea); Bronze – Pedro Isaac Mulens (Cuba); 5th – Frank Stabler (Germany); 5th – Justin Lester (USA); 7th – Tamás Lorincz (Hungary); 8th – Kanatbek Begaliev (Kyrgyzstan); 9th – Yuji Okamoto (Japan); 10th – Pan Zheng (China)
2010 World Championships
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Gold – Ambako Vachadze (Russia); Silver – Armen Vardanyan (Ukraine); Bronze – Vitaly Rahimov (Azerbaijan); Bronze – Vasif Arzimanov (Turkey); 5th – Steeve Guenot (France); 5th – Tamas Lorincz (Hungary); 7th – Pascal Strebel (Switzerland); 8th – Hyeon-Woo Kim (Korea); 9th – Danijel Janecic (Croatia); 10th – Emilian Todorov (Bulgaria).
2009 World Championships
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Gold – Farid Mansurov (Azerbaijan); Silver – Manuchar Tskhadaia (Georgia); Bronze – Ambako Vachadze (Russia); Bronze – Pedro Isaac Mulen (Cuba); 5th – Tamas Lorincz (Hungary); 5th – Sasun Ghambaryan (Armenia); 7th – Afshin Byabangard (Iran); 8th – Tsutomu Fujimura (Japan); 9th – Emil Milev (Bulgaria); 10th – Darkhan Bayakhmetov (Kazakhstan)
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