Olympic Games preview in Greco-Roman at 98 kg/216 lbs.
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by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling
| Artur Aleksanyan (ARM) and Ghasem Rezaei (IRI) in the 2015 World Championship finals. Photo: Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com. |
Artur Aleksanyan of Armenia has been one of the most consistent stars at 98 kg/216 lbs., winning the last two World gold medals in 2014 and 2015 with a powerful style of wrestling.
Aleksanyan posted an undefeated mark for nearly three years since finishing as runner-up at the 2013 World Championships to Russian Nikita Melnikov. His only loss since also came at the hands of Melnikov at this year’s European Championships.
In addition to his three World medals, Aleksanyan claimed a bronze at the 2012 Olympic Games. He won the 2010 Junior World title and is a three-time European champion. The Armenia is the highest ranked wrestler in the Olympic field at No. 2.
The 2013 World champion Melnikov holds the No. 1 World ranking, but he won’t be going to Rio. World No. 4 Islam Magomedov won the 2016 Russian Nationals over Melnikov to grab the Olympic berth for Russia. Magomedov won a bronze at the World Championships last year, was a Junior World champion in 2010 and 2011, and won the 2015 European Games.
Aleksanyan and Melnikov have yet to wrestle on the International stage.
The top challenger to the two-time defending World champion could be 2012 Olympic champion and World No. 3 Ghasem Rezaei of Iran, who was second at the 2015 World Championships and third at the 2014 World Championships. The Iranian’s only losses in his last two World Championships have been to Aleksanyan. Rezaei also won a bronze in the 2007 World Championships and competed in the 2008 Olympics.
Bulgaria’s Elis Guri was a World champion in 2011 and was fifth at the 2015 Worlds. He started his career in Albania, who he represented at the 2008 Olympic Games, but moved to Bulgaria and represented them in the 2012 Olympic Games. Guri is slotted at No. 18 in the World rankings.
2009 World champion Balasz Kiss of Hungary will be competing in his first Olympic Games. He was a World bronze medalist in 2013 and won silver medals at the University World Championships and the Junior World Championships. Kiss holds the No. 15 World ranking.
2010 World silver medalist Timofej Dzeynichenko of Belarus was fifth at the 2012 Olympic Games and the 2011 World Championships. Ranked No. 14 in the World, Dzeynichenko also claimed a 2011 European Championships gold medal.
World No. 6 Cenk Ildem of Turkey was a 2011 and 2014 World bronze medalist, as well as a 2006 Junior World champion. Ildem added a University World title in 2008, and has four career European Championships medals, including a third place finish this year. His two losses at the 2015 World Championships came to Rezaei and Magomedov.
World No. 8 Dimitriy Timchenko of Ukraine was a 2015 World bronze medalist and won a silver medal at the 2015 European Games. He finished in fifth place at the Europeans this year.
Alin Alexuc-Ciurariu of Romania placed fifth at the 2014 and 2015 World Championships, and holds a No. 19 World ranking entering the Olympics. A 2010 Junior World silver medalist, he also competed in the 2012 Olympic Games. Alexuc-Ciurariu won a bronze medal at the 2014 World University Championships.
Winning the Asian Olympic Qualifier was World No. 10 Di Xiao of China, whose best finish at a World Championships was seventh in 2015. He won a Junior World bronze medal in 2011 and a silver medal at the 2014 Asian Games.
World No. 9 Yasmany Lugo Cabrera of Cuba won the Pan American Championships and Pan American Olympic Qualifier this year, on top of silver medal outings at the Grand Prix of Spain and Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Cup. He has won five Pan American Championships golds, plus the 2015 Pan American Games.
World No. 16 Ardo Arusaar of Estonia won the European Olympic Qualifier, his best performance ever at a major event. Arusaar was eighth at the 2012 Olympic Games.
Egypt’s Hamdy Abdelwahab, the Africa/Oceania Qualifier champion, won a 2010 Youth Olympic Games silver medal.
Daigoro Timoncini of Italy was the last athlete to qualify for this weight class by taking second at the 2nd World Olympic Qualifier in Turkey, making him a three-time Olympian after also competing in London in 2012 and in Beijing in 2008. Currently No. 11 in the World, Timoncini won a silver medal at the 2010 World University Championships and has finished as high as fifth place at the World Championships.
Others to watch for at 98 kg in Brazil are Carl Fredrik Schoen of Sweden, Revazi Nadareishvili of Georgia, Hardeep of India and Luillys Jose Perez of Venezuela.
PROJECTED OLYMPIC GAMES FIELD
Algeria – Hemza Haloui
Armenia – Artur Aleksanyan (World No. 2)
Belarus – Timofej Dzeynichenko (World No. 14)
Bulgaria – Elis Guri (World No. 18)
China – Di Xiao (World No. 10)
Cuba – Yasmany Daniel Lugo Cabrera (World No. 9)
Egypt – Hamdy Moustafa Elsaid Abdelwahab
Estonia – Ardo Arusaar (World No. 16)
Georgia – Revazi Nadareishvili
Hungary – Balazs Kiss (World No. 15)
India – Hardeep Hardeep
Iran – Ghasem Rezaei (World No. 3)
Italy – Daigoro Timoncini (World No. 11)
Romania – Alin Alexuc-Ciurariu (World No. 19)
Russia – Islam Magomedov (World No. 4)
Sweden – Carl Fredrik Schoen
Turkey – Cenk Ildem (World No. 6)
Ukraine – Dimitriy Timchenko (World No. 8)
Venezuela – Luilys Jose Perez Mora
RECENT WORLD AND OLYMPIC RESULTS
2015 World Championships
98 kg/216 lbs. – Gold – Artur Aleksanyan (Armenia); Silver – Ghasem Rezaei (Iran); Bronze – Islam Magomedov (Russia); Bronze – Dimitriy Timchenko (Ukraine); 5th – Elis Guri (Bulgaria); 5th – Alin Alexuc-Ciurariu (Romania); 7th – Di Xiao (China); 8th – Marthin Hamlet Nielsen (Norway); 9th – Peter Oehler (Germany); 10th – Vilius Laurinaitis (Lithuania)
2014 World Championships
98 kg/216 lbs. – Gold – Artur Aleksanyan (Armenia); Silver –Oliver Hassler (Germany); Bronze – Ghasem Rezaei (Iran); Bronze – Cenk Ildem (Turkey); 5th – Aliaksandr Hrabovik (Belarus); 5th – Alin Alexuc-Ciurariu (Romania); 7th – Miroslav Metoviev (Bulgaria); 8th – Ardo Arusaar (Estonia); 9th – Marthin Nielsen (Finland); 10th – Adam Varga (Hungary)
2013 World Championships
96 kg/211.5 lbs. – Gold – Nikita Melnikov (Russia); Silver – Artur Aleksanyan (Armenia); Bronze – Balazs Kiss (Hungary); Bronze – Shalva Gadabadze (Azerbaijan); 5th – Mahdi Aliyarifeizagadi (Iran); 5th – Norikatsu Saikawa (Japan); 7th – Yerulan Iskakov (Kazakhstan); 8th – Timo Antero Kallio (Finland); 9th – Mélonin Noumonvi (France); 10th – Cenk Ildem (Turkey)
2012 Olympic Games
96 kg/211.5 lbs. – Gold – Ghasem Rezaei (Iran); Silver – Rustam Totrov (Russia); Bronze – Artur Aleksanyan (Armenia); Bronze – Jimmy Lidberg (Sweden); 5th – Yunior Estrada Falcon (Cuba); 5th – Timofej Dzeynichenko (Belarus); 7th – Elis Guri (Bulgaria); 8th – Ardo Arusaar (Estonia); 9th – Hassine Ayari (Tunisia); 10th – Shalva Gadabadze (Azerbaijan)
2011 World Championships
96 kg/211.5 lbs. – Gold – Elis Guri (Bulgaria); Silver – Jimmy Lidberg (Sweden); Bronze – Rustam Totrov (Russia); Bronze – Cenk Idem (Turkey); 5th – Mohammed Abdelfatah (Egypt); 5th – Timofej Dzeynichenko (Belarus); 7th – Artur Aleksanyan (Armenia); 8th – Mirko Englich (Germany); 9th – Alin Alexuc-Ciurariu (Romania); 10th – Shalva Gadabadze (Azerbaijan)
2010 World Championships
96 kg/211.5 lbs. – Gold – Amir Ali Akbari (Iran); Silver – Timofej Dzeynichenko (Belarus); Bronze – Aslanbek Khushtov (Russia); Bronze – Jimmy Lidberg (Sweden); 5th – Justin Ruiz (United States); 5th – David Saldadze (Uzbekistan); 7th – Yunior Falcon Estrada (Cuba); 8th – Daigoro Timoncini (Italy); 9th – Robert Papp (Romania); 10th – Kaloyan Dinchev (Bulgaria)
2009 World Championships
96 kg/211.5 lbs. – Gold - Balazs Kiss (Hungary); Silver – Jimmy Lidberg (Sweden); Bronze – Amir Ali Akbari (Iran); Bronze – Aslanbek Khushtov (Russia); 5th – David Saldadze (Uzbekistan); 5th – Sergiy Yeroshkin (Ukraine); 7th – Serkan Ozden (Turkey); 8th – Chang-Gun An (Korea) ; 9th – Alin Alexuc-Ciurariu (Romania); 10th – Oliver Hassler (Germany)
