Two-time Olympian Dlagnev, along with Cox, get draws for Olympic men’s freestyle on Saturday
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Heavyweight Tervel Dlagnev, shown at the 2016 Olympic Trials, will be wrestling in his second Olympic Games.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – The United States brought two-time Olympian Tervel Dlagnev (Columbus, Ohio/Sunkist Kids/Ohio RTC) at 125 kg/275 lbs. and first-time Olympian J’den Cox (Columbia. Mo./Titan Mercury WC/Missouri WF) at 86 kg/189 lbs.
Dlagnev and Cox have weighed in and received their first round draws for the Olympic Games, where they will compete in Carioca 2 Arena.
Dlagnev is in the bottom half of the bracket, in the third quarter-bracket, where he will face 2015 World silver medalist and No. 2 seed Jamaladdin Magomedov of Azerbaijan. Magomedov was also a 2011 World bronze medalist.
If Dlagnev wins his first bout, he would face the winner of the match between Robert Baran of Poland and Aiaal Lazarev of Kyrgyzstan.
In the bottom portion of Dlagnev’s half-bracket are three-time World champion Bilyal Makhov of Russia, 2012 Olympic bronze medalist and 2014 World silver medalist Komeil Ghasemi of Iran, two-time World bronze medalist Geno Petriashvili of Georgia and 2013 World silver medalist Alen Zasieiev of Ukraine.
Dlagnev is competing in his second Olympic Games, after placing fifth in the 2012 Olympics. His World bronze medals were in 2009 and 2014, and he was fifth at the 2011 and 2013 Worlds. Dlagnev made the 2015 World Team but was unable to compete because of injury.
“Tervel has been nursing some injuries, but he has felt strong recently and feels like he is in a good spot. The thing about Tervel is he has a ton of experience. 150 international matches or more. He has been to the Olympics, and has won two World medals. He knows what he needs to do. I’d like to see him get out there and have a good day. This is the Olympic Games. You have to be ready to rock and roll and bring you’re A game. Tervel knows how to do that,” said Assistant National Coach Bill Zadick.
Cox is in the bottom half of the bracket, in the fourth quarter-bracket, where he will face the winner of the preliminary match between Aslan Kakhidze of Kazakhstan and Amarhajy Mahamedau of Belarus. Kakhidze was fifth in the 2014 World Championships.
If Cox wins his first bout, he would face one of the athletes in the bottom portion of the bracket, which includes 2014 World Military champion Uitumen Orgotol of Mongolia, 2010 World champion Mihail Ganev of Bulgaria, 2015 World bronze medalist Ali Reza Karimimachiani of Iran and Mohammad Saadaoui of Tunisia.
In the top portion of Cox’s half-bracket, who are potential semifinal opponents, include Selim Yasar of Turkey, 2012 Olympic silver medslist Jaime Espinal of Puerto Rico, three-time World medalist Reineris Salas of Cuba and Kim Gwanuk of Korea.
Cox, a two-time NCAA champion for Missouri, made the move down to 86 kg in the Olympic Trials, and ran the table as the No. 9 seed, beating Kyle Dake in the finals series. He qualified the USA for the Games with a win at the World Olympic Qualifier in Mongolia. He was impressive in action at the Beat the Streets Dual, the World Cup and the German Grand Prix.
“J’den burst onto the international scene. He had a great spring, coming off the NCAA Tournament and then making the Olympic Team, then wrestling in the Qualifier, then the World Cup then the German Grand Prix. His learning curve has been steep and fast. He has done a great job. We are excited to see what J’den is going to do. He is an atypical athlete. He is very spontaneous and creative with his style and has a lot of movement. That is going to be key for him, to make that the difference between he and the rest of the field,” said Zadick.
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).
“The preparation has been great. We have been down since before Opening Ceremonies and at the training facility at Lonier. The USOC did a great job putting that facility together. The guys have looked good. Everybody looked good in training. They hit their marks in what we are looking for in training,” said Zadick
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. men’s freestyle draw for Saturday
86 kg/189 lbs. - Olympian J’den Cox (Columbia. Mo./Titan Mercury WC/Missouri WF)
Vs. winner of Aslan Kakhidze (Kazakhstan) and Amarhajy Mahamedau (Belarus)
Kakhidze – 5th in 2014 World Championships, 3rd in 2016 Asian Championships
Mahamedau – 2nd in 2016 European Olympic Qualifier, 3rd in 2013 Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix (Russia)
125 kg/275 lbs. - Tervel Dlagnev (Columbus, Ohio/Sunkist Kids/Ohio RTC)
Vs. Jamaladdin Magomedov (Azerbaijan), 2nd in 2015 World Championships, 3rd in 2011 World Championships, 3rd in 2015 European Games, 3rd in 2014 European Championships
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – The United States brought two-time Olympian Tervel Dlagnev (Columbus, Ohio/Sunkist Kids/Ohio RTC) at 125 kg/275 lbs. and first-time Olympian J’den Cox (Columbia. Mo./Titan Mercury WC/Missouri WF) at 86 kg/189 lbs.
Dlagnev and Cox have weighed in and received their first round draws for the Olympic Games, where they will compete in Carioca 2 Arena.
Dlagnev is in the bottom half of the bracket, in the third quarter-bracket, where he will face 2015 World silver medalist and No. 2 seed Jamaladdin Magomedov of Azerbaijan. Magomedov was also a 2011 World bronze medalist.
If Dlagnev wins his first bout, he would face the winner of the match between Robert Baran of Poland and Aiaal Lazarev of Kyrgyzstan.
In the bottom portion of Dlagnev’s half-bracket are three-time World champion Bilyal Makhov of Russia, 2012 Olympic bronze medalist and 2014 World silver medalist Komeil Ghasemi of Iran, two-time World bronze medalist Geno Petriashvili of Georgia and 2013 World silver medalist Alen Zasieiev of Ukraine.
Dlagnev is competing in his second Olympic Games, after placing fifth in the 2012 Olympics. His World bronze medals were in 2009 and 2014, and he was fifth at the 2011 and 2013 Worlds. Dlagnev made the 2015 World Team but was unable to compete because of injury.
“Tervel has been nursing some injuries, but he has felt strong recently and feels like he is in a good spot. The thing about Tervel is he has a ton of experience. 150 international matches or more. He has been to the Olympics, and has won two World medals. He knows what he needs to do. I’d like to see him get out there and have a good day. This is the Olympic Games. You have to be ready to rock and roll and bring you’re A game. Tervel knows how to do that,” said Assistant National Coach Bill Zadick.
Cox is in the bottom half of the bracket, in the fourth quarter-bracket, where he will face the winner of the preliminary match between Aslan Kakhidze of Kazakhstan and Amarhajy Mahamedau of Belarus. Kakhidze was fifth in the 2014 World Championships.
If Cox wins his first bout, he would face one of the athletes in the bottom portion of the bracket, which includes 2014 World Military champion Uitumen Orgotol of Mongolia, 2010 World champion Mihail Ganev of Bulgaria, 2015 World bronze medalist Ali Reza Karimimachiani of Iran and Mohammad Saadaoui of Tunisia.
In the top portion of Cox’s half-bracket, who are potential semifinal opponents, include Selim Yasar of Turkey, 2012 Olympic silver medslist Jaime Espinal of Puerto Rico, three-time World medalist Reineris Salas of Cuba and Kim Gwanuk of Korea.
Cox, a two-time NCAA champion for Missouri, made the move down to 86 kg in the Olympic Trials, and ran the table as the No. 9 seed, beating Kyle Dake in the finals series. He qualified the USA for the Games with a win at the World Olympic Qualifier in Mongolia. He was impressive in action at the Beat the Streets Dual, the World Cup and the German Grand Prix.
“J’den burst onto the international scene. He had a great spring, coming off the NCAA Tournament and then making the Olympic Team, then wrestling in the Qualifier, then the World Cup then the German Grand Prix. His learning curve has been steep and fast. He has done a great job. We are excited to see what J’den is going to do. He is an atypical athlete. He is very spontaneous and creative with his style and has a lot of movement. That is going to be key for him, to make that the difference between he and the rest of the field,” said Zadick.
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).
“The preparation has been great. We have been down since before Opening Ceremonies and at the training facility at Lonier. The USOC did a great job putting that facility together. The guys have looked good. Everybody looked good in training. They hit their marks in what we are looking for in training,” said Zadick
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. men’s freestyle draw for Saturday
86 kg/189 lbs. - Olympian J’den Cox (Columbia. Mo./Titan Mercury WC/Missouri WF)
Vs. winner of Aslan Kakhidze (Kazakhstan) and Amarhajy Mahamedau (Belarus)
Kakhidze – 5th in 2014 World Championships, 3rd in 2016 Asian Championships
Mahamedau – 2nd in 2016 European Olympic Qualifier, 3rd in 2013 Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix (Russia)
125 kg/275 lbs. - Tervel Dlagnev (Columbus, Ohio/Sunkist Kids/Ohio RTC)
Vs. Jamaladdin Magomedov (Azerbaijan), 2nd in 2015 World Championships, 3rd in 2011 World Championships, 3rd in 2015 European Games, 3rd in 2014 European Championships
