Olympic Games preview in Greco-Roman at 66 kg/145.5 lbs.

Frank Staebler (GER) throws Han-Soo Ryu (KOR) in the finals of the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas, Nev. Photo: Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com.

Date of Competition: Tuesday, August 16


Three different men have been crowned World champions at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. over this Olympic cycle, with Frank Staebler of Germany winning gold 2015, Davor Stefanek of Serbia in 2014 and Han-Soo Ryu of Korea in 2013. All three will be seeking their first Olympic title.


Ranked No. 1 in the World, Staebler has picked up international gold medals at the Golden Grand Prix Finals, Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Cup and Grand Prix of Germany since winning his World title last September.


The German sensation topped both Stefanek and Ryu at the World Championships in 2015 on his road to gold, and adds a bronze medal from the 2013 World Championships. He was fifth at the 2012 Olympic Games and the 2011 and 2014 World Championships.


2013 World champion Ryu of Korea was the World silver medalist in 2015 behind Staebler, falling in the gold medal match, 5-1. Owning two World medals and an Asian Games title in this Olympic cycle, Ryu enters Rio ranked No. 3 in the World.


Coming in at World No. 6, Stefanek has also been a top contender on the World stage for many years. The Serbian won a bronze medal at the 2015 Worlds to go with his 2014 World gold. He competed in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, as well as nine World Championships dating back to 2003. He was a 2005 Junior World champion.


Russia’s entry will be World No. 4 Islambek Albiev, a 2008 Olympic champion, 2009 World champion and 2013 World silver medalist. Albiev won all three of his events so far in 2016, the Ivan Poddubny Tournament in Russia, the European Championships and the Russian Nationals. He defeated Stefanek in the finals of the European’s.


Omid Noroozi of Iran was the Olympic champion at 60 kg in 2012, and also the 2011 World Champion. He moved up to 66 kg after the London Games, where he was a 2014 World silver medalist. He is currently ranked No. 18 in the World.


Rasul Chunayev of Azerbaijan was the 2015 World champion at 71 kg, but has dropped to 66 kg where he will seek the Olympic gold. He won his only tournament at 66 kg this year, the 2nd World Olympic Qualifier in Turkey.


Chunayev is ranked No. 1 in the World at 71 kg and owns two World medals, a gold and a bronze, this Olympic quadrennial at that weight. In addition, he won the World University Games in 2013 at 66 kg with a win over Albiev in the finals.


Tamas Lorincz of Hungary won a 2012 Olympic silver medal and added a World bronze medal in 2014. He punched his ticket for Rio by winning the European Olympic Qualifier. Since finishing in ninth place at the World Championships last year Lorincz has gone undefeated in international competition to skyrocket his World ranking to No. 2 at 66 kg.


Edgardas Venckaitis of Lithuania was a 2014 World bronze medalist at this weight class. He was seventh in the 2012 Olympic Games and is ranked No. 17 in the World.


Placing fifth at the 2015 Worlds were World No. 11 Tarek Benaissa of Algeria and World No. 8 Migran Arutyunyan of Armenia. Benaissa has won the 2014 African Championships and the 2015 All-Africa Games. Arutyunyan won silver at the 2015 European Games, and was also a 2009 Junior World silver medalist.


Wuileixis Rivas of Venezuela won the 2016 Pan American Olympic Qualifier, but will be replaced on the Olympic roster by lesser known Alexander Torres.


Tomohiro Inoue of Japan won the Asian Olympic Qualifier. His best previous finish was a bronze medal at the 2013 Asian Championships. Adham Kahk of Egypt, the African/Oceania Olympic Qualifier champion, added a bronze at the Grand Prix of Spain this summer.


Cuba’s Miguel Martinez has won the last three Pan American Championships and enters the Olympic Games as No. 9 in the World.


Others in the field include World ranked competitors Tero Vaelimaki of Finland, Shmagi Bolkvadze of Georgia, Ruslan Tsarev of Kyrgyzstan and Ion Panait of Romania.


Craig Miller of New Zealand was added after Australia’s entry was removed for doping.

PROJECTED OLYMPIC GAMES FIELD

Algeria – Tarek Aziz Benaissa (World No. 11)

Armenia – Migran Artyunyan (World No. 8)

Azerbaijan – Rasul Chunayev (World No. 1 at 71 kg)

Cuba – Miguel Martinez Palacios (World No. 9)

Egypt – Adham Ahmed Saleh Kahk

Finland – Tero Seppo Vaelimaeki (World No. 8 at 71 kg)

Georgia – Shmagi Bolkvadze (World No. 10)

Germany – Frank Staebler (World No. 1)

Hungary – Tamas Lorincz (World No. 2)

Iran – Omid Noroozi (World No. 18)

Japan – Tomohiro Inoue

Kyrgyzstan – Ruslan Tsarev (World No. 10 at 71 kg)

Korea – Han-Soo Ryu (World No. 3)

Lithuania – Edgaras Venckaitis (World No. 16)

New Zealand – Craig Miller

Romania – Ionut Panait (World No. 14)

Russia – Islambek Albiev (World No. 4)

Serbia – Davor Stefanek (World No. 6)

Venezuela – Alexander Torres

RECENT WORLD AND OLYMPIC RESULTS
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)