Bisek, Thielke receive draws for first day of Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling on Sunday
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Andy Bisek, shown at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, competes in his first Olympic Games at 75 kg on Sunday. Photo by John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – The first two U.S. Greco-Roman wrestlers, two-time World bronze medalist Andy Bisek (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) at 75 kg/165 lbs. and Jesse Thielke (Germantown, Wis./New York AC) at 59 kg/130 lbs. weighed in and received their first-round draw for the Olympic Games, which begin on Sunday in Carioca 2 Arena.
Bisek is in the top half of the bracket, in the second quarter-bracket. He opens against Yurisandi Hernandez Rios of Cuba, who won the 2016 Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier in Frisco, Texas. Bisek says he has beaten Hernandez three times in the past
“Consistent is the word for Andy. The guy is just the consummate professional. He does not mess around. He goes in and gets the job done. He recovers well. He trains hard. He does everything that is asked of him and then some. He goes home after that and takes care of his wife and his kids. He is a family man. What a professional! He is ready. I love the way that Andy is firing right now. Everything is clicking for him. He still has a smile on his face. He got his weight down in a half hour. I expect him to have great success,” said National Greco-Roman Coach Matt Lindland.
If Bisek wins his first bout, he would face the winner of the match between three-time World champion Selcuk Cebi of Turkey and Bozo Starcevic of Croatia.
In the top of Bisek’s bracket, competing in the first round, are a pair of 2012 Olympic champions, Roman Vlasov of Russia and Kim Hyeon-Woo of Korea. Kim moved up in weight, and they met in the finals of the 2013 World Championships, a match won by Kim. The winner of this superstar showdown is expected to reach the semifinals, where they would meet Bisek if he wins his first two bouts.
“There are no chinks in Andy’s armor. He is healthy, he is prepared, he is ready. He is consistent on the feet, and he is consistent on the top. The one area he we have had to dial in on has been some par terre defense. We have had some really great training partners from all over the world. We went to Azerbaijan for three weeks. We brought in guys to train with him. He has made a lot of adjustments in that area. We are looking forward to going in and proving we are better,” said Lindland.
Bisek comes off back-to-back World bronze medals and has been the top U.S. performer in Greco-Roman during this four-year Olympic cycle.
Thielke is in the bottom half of his bracket, in the third quarter-bracket. He opens against El Mahadi Messaoudi of Morocco, who was second in the 2016 African/Oceania Olympic Qualifier.
“Jesse has had some challenges along the way for sure, a couple little times banged up. He is firing on all cylinders right now. He got down to weight. The guys were all there helping him. He is in great spirits, even on making weight day. We are happy to see that,” said Coach Matt Lindland.
A first-round victory would put Thielke against the winner of the bout between Rovshan Bayramov of Azerbaijan and Raiber Jose Rodriguez of Venezuela. Bayramov was a 2010 World champion, a two-time Olympic silver medalist and a four-time World medalist.
Thielke’s half bracket includes 2012 Olympic champion and six-time World champion Hamid Soryan of Iran, 2015 World bronze medalist Almat Kebispayev of Kazakhstan, 2014 World bronze medalist Stig-Andre Berge of Norway, Russian National champion and 2007 Junior World silver medalist Ibragim Labazanov of Russia, all who could be semifinal opponents for Thielke if he advances through his first two rounds.
“Last year, he had some troubles with Spenser Mango, and this year, he felt like he had something to prove and went out there to make this team. He still had to qualify the weight. We went to Mongolia and things didn’t go exactly as planned. We had one more shot in Istanbul. He beat World champions and Olympic medalists. His confidence grew from that experience. It was good to get those two opportunities,” said Lindland.
Thielke was a 2013 Senior World Team member and returns to the Senior stage after a powerful year where he won the Olympic Team Trials and qualified for Rio in the Last Chance World Olympic Qualifier in Turkey. Thielke is a past Junior World medalist.
The preliminaries are set for 10:00 a.m. Rio time, with the medal rounds set at 4:00 p.m. (This is one hour ahead of U.S. Eastern time).
Greco-Roman will be the first three days of the Olympics, and Lindland wants to get the U.S. off to a strong start.
“We are excited. We are proud to lead this USA contingency for USA Wrestling. They are going to get some work done tomorrow,” said Lindland.
Fans can see every match streamed live through NBC, with television coverage expected on other NBC platforms. United World Wrestling will have live results and brackets.
2016 OLYMPIC GAMES
At Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
U.S. Greco-Roman draws for Sunday
59 kg/130 lbs. – Jesse Thielke, Germantown, Wis. (New York AC)
Vs. El Mahadi Messaoudi (Morocco), 2nd in 2016 African/Oceania Olympic Qualifier; 3rd in 2016 African Championships
75 kg/165 lbs. – Andy Bisek, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Minnesota Storm)
Vs. Yurisandy Hernandez Rios (Cuba), 2016 Pan American Olympic Qualifier champion, 5th in the 206 Pan American Championships
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – The first two U.S. Greco-Roman wrestlers, two-time World bronze medalist Andy Bisek (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) at 75 kg/165 lbs. and Jesse Thielke (Germantown, Wis./New York AC) at 59 kg/130 lbs. weighed in and received their first-round draw for the Olympic Games, which begin on Sunday in Carioca 2 Arena.
Bisek is in the top half of the bracket, in the second quarter-bracket. He opens against Yurisandi Hernandez Rios of Cuba, who won the 2016 Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier in Frisco, Texas. Bisek says he has beaten Hernandez three times in the past
“Consistent is the word for Andy. The guy is just the consummate professional. He does not mess around. He goes in and gets the job done. He recovers well. He trains hard. He does everything that is asked of him and then some. He goes home after that and takes care of his wife and his kids. He is a family man. What a professional! He is ready. I love the way that Andy is firing right now. Everything is clicking for him. He still has a smile on his face. He got his weight down in a half hour. I expect him to have great success,” said National Greco-Roman Coach Matt Lindland.
If Bisek wins his first bout, he would face the winner of the match between three-time World champion Selcuk Cebi of Turkey and Bozo Starcevic of Croatia.
In the top of Bisek’s bracket, competing in the first round, are a pair of 2012 Olympic champions, Roman Vlasov of Russia and Kim Hyeon-Woo of Korea. Kim moved up in weight, and they met in the finals of the 2013 World Championships, a match won by Kim. The winner of this superstar showdown is expected to reach the semifinals, where they would meet Bisek if he wins his first two bouts.
“There are no chinks in Andy’s armor. He is healthy, he is prepared, he is ready. He is consistent on the feet, and he is consistent on the top. The one area he we have had to dial in on has been some par terre defense. We have had some really great training partners from all over the world. We went to Azerbaijan for three weeks. We brought in guys to train with him. He has made a lot of adjustments in that area. We are looking forward to going in and proving we are better,” said Lindland.
Bisek comes off back-to-back World bronze medals and has been the top U.S. performer in Greco-Roman during this four-year Olympic cycle.
Thielke is in the bottom half of his bracket, in the third quarter-bracket. He opens against El Mahadi Messaoudi of Morocco, who was second in the 2016 African/Oceania Olympic Qualifier.
“Jesse has had some challenges along the way for sure, a couple little times banged up. He is firing on all cylinders right now. He got down to weight. The guys were all there helping him. He is in great spirits, even on making weight day. We are happy to see that,” said Coach Matt Lindland.
A first-round victory would put Thielke against the winner of the bout between Rovshan Bayramov of Azerbaijan and Raiber Jose Rodriguez of Venezuela. Bayramov was a 2010 World champion, a two-time Olympic silver medalist and a four-time World medalist.
Thielke’s half bracket includes 2012 Olympic champion and six-time World champion Hamid Soryan of Iran, 2015 World bronze medalist Almat Kebispayev of Kazakhstan, 2014 World bronze medalist Stig-Andre Berge of Norway, Russian National champion and 2007 Junior World silver medalist Ibragim Labazanov of Russia, all who could be semifinal opponents for Thielke if he advances through his first two rounds.
“Last year, he had some troubles with Spenser Mango, and this year, he felt like he had something to prove and went out there to make this team. He still had to qualify the weight. We went to Mongolia and things didn’t go exactly as planned. We had one more shot in Istanbul. He beat World champions and Olympic medalists. His confidence grew from that experience. It was good to get those two opportunities,” said Lindland.
Thielke was a 2013 Senior World Team member and returns to the Senior stage after a powerful year where he won the Olympic Team Trials and qualified for Rio in the Last Chance World Olympic Qualifier in Turkey. Thielke is a past Junior World medalist.
The preliminaries are set for 10:00 a.m. Rio time, with the medal rounds set at 4:00 p.m. (This is one hour ahead of U.S. Eastern time).
Greco-Roman will be the first three days of the Olympics, and Lindland wants to get the U.S. off to a strong start.
“We are excited. We are proud to lead this USA contingency for USA Wrestling. They are going to get some work done tomorrow,” said Lindland.
Fans can see every match streamed live through NBC, with television coverage expected on other NBC platforms. United World Wrestling will have live results and brackets.
2016 OLYMPIC GAMES
At Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
U.S. Greco-Roman draws for Sunday
59 kg/130 lbs. – Jesse Thielke, Germantown, Wis. (New York AC)
Vs. El Mahadi Messaoudi (Morocco), 2nd in 2016 African/Oceania Olympic Qualifier; 3rd in 2016 African Championships
75 kg/165 lbs. – Andy Bisek, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Minnesota Storm)
Vs. Yurisandy Hernandez Rios (Cuba), 2016 Pan American Olympic Qualifier champion, 5th in the 206 Pan American Championships
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