Olympic Games preview in Greco-Roman at 59 kg/130 lbs.

Greco-Roman Olympian Jesse Thielke in the finals of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Photo: Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com.

Date of Competition: Sunday, August 14

Time and again 59 kg/130 lbs. proves to be among the deepest Greco-Roman weight classes worldwide, and with four past Olympic and World champions expected to grace the mats at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil come August, expect the trend to continue.

Reigning Olympic champion and six-time World champion Hamid Soryan of Iran enters the 2016 Olympic Games as one of the top credentialed wrestlers regardless of weight class or style. Although only ranked No. 14 in the World, he will undoubtedly be among the 59 kg gold medal favorites in Rio.

After winning the Olympics in 2012, Soryan took 2013 off from active competition. Looking as solid as ever, he returned in 2014 to win the World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and reasserted himself as the best lightweight in Greco-Roman wrestling.

At last year’s World Championships in Las Vegas, Nev., Soryan was disqualified from the competition in the quarterfinal round for excessive brutality and was deemed ineligible for a medal.

The wrestler capitalizing on Soryan’s World Championship meltdown last year was four-time World medalist, two-time Olympic silver medalist and longtime rival Rovshan Bayramov of Azerbaijan. Competing on the World Championships stage for the first time since the London Olympics, a rejuvenated Bayramov was able to secure the 59 kg silver medal.

World No. 2 Bayramov won gold at the World Championships in 2011, prior to falling to Soryan in the finals of the 2012 Olympic Games.

Top-ranked Cuban Ismael Borrero Molina revamped the 59 kg Greco-Roman landscape in Las Vegas last September when he won six-straight bouts to claim the World title. In the championship match Borrero locked up gold with an 8-0 technical fall victory over Bayramov.

Although he finished in fifth place at the 2014 World Championships, the Borrero win came as quite the surprise given his seventh place finish at the 2015 Pan American Games where he lost to longtime U.S. star Spenser Mango in the first round. Borrero has not competed internationally since winning the World Championships.

Hailing from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Won-Chol Yun is the fourth 59 kg wrestler expected to compete in Rio who has previously won a World championship.

Currently ranked fifth in the World, Yun claimed World gold in Budapest, Hungary back in 2013. He also owns a bronze medal from the 2015 World Championships where he lost to Bayramov, 8-7. Yun wrestled at the 2012 Olympic Games but did not medal. He won a World Military gold medal in 2013.

Joining Yun as a bronze medalist at the 59 kg World’s last year was Almat Kebispayev of Kazakhstan who added World medal number three to his collection in Las Vegas. World No. 3 Kebispayev finished in fifth place at the 2012 Olympics and won a World University title in 2008.

World No. 9 Stig Andre Berge of Norway, World No. 16 Kristijan Fris of Serbia and World No. 8 Elmurat Tasmuradov of Uzbekistan round out an impressive list of eight expected Olympic entrants who have won a World medal on the Senior level.

It is still uncertain who will represent Russia at 59 kg at the Olympic Games. Sanal Semenov, the twin brother of 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Mingiyan Semenov, qualified Russia for the Olympics by winning gold at the European Qualifier. However, it was World No. 15 Ibragim Labazanov who claimed top prize at the Russia Nationals. Expect either Semenov or Labazanov to be awarded the Russian spot for Rio.

Budding U.S. star Jesse Thielke will get his first crack at the Olympic Games after upending two-time Olympian Spenser Mango and 2008 Olympian Ildar Hafizov at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

Thielke solidified his berth at the Olympic Games by placing second at the 2nd World Olympic Games Qualifier in Istanbul, Turkey. He defeated two Olympic medalists, among others, to make the finals and qualify for Rio. Thielke fell to Soryan in the gold medal match in Istanbul.

The Wisconsin native won a Junior World bronze medal in 2012 and was a member of the 2013 Senior U.S. World Team. He finished in eighth place at the 2013 World Championships at 60 kg/132 lbs. and is now ranked No. 17 in the World.

Other 59 kg wrestlers to watch for in Rio are World No. 6 Soslan Daurov of Belarus who finished in fifth place at the World Championships last year and 2012 Olympian Arsen Eraliev of Kyrgyzstan who slots in at World No. 7.

With eight of the nineteen wrestlers projected to compete in Rio having previously competed in an Olympic Games, 59 kg will blend a mix of longtime contenders and fresh faces in what appears to be one of the more fascinating races for gold at the Olympics.

PROJECTED OLYMPIC GAMES FIELD
Azerbaijan - Rovshan Bayramov (World No. 2)
Belarus - Soslan Daurov (World No. 6)
China - Lumin Wang (World No. 20)
Cuba - Ismael Borrero Molina (World No. 1)
Ecuador - Andres Roberto Montano
Egypt - Haithem Mahmoud Fahmy (World No. 10)
Iran - Hamid Soryan (World No. 14)
Japan - Shinobu Ota (World No. 12)
Kazakhstan - Almat Kebispayev (World No. 3)
Korea - Kim Seung-Hak (World No. 13)
Kyrgyzstan - Arsen Eraliev (World No. 7)
Morocco - Mehdi Messaoudi
North Korea - Won Chol Yun (World No. 5)
Norway - Stig Andre Berge (World No. 9)
Russia – Sanal Semenov or Ibrahim Labazanov (World No. 15)
Serbia - Kristian Fris (World No. 16)
United States - Jesse Thielke (World No. 17)
Uzbekistan - Elmurat Tasmuradov (World No. 8)
Venezuela - Raiber Jose Rodriguez

RECENT WORLD AND OLYMPIC RESULTS
2015 World Championships
59 kg/130 lbs. – Gold – Ismael Borrero Molina (Cuba); Silver – Rovshan Bayramov (Azerbaijan); Bronze – Won Chol Yun (North Korea); Bronze – Almat Kebispayev (Kazakhstan); 5th – Arsen Eraliev (Kyrgyzstan); 5th – Soslan Daurov (Belarus); 7th – Seung-Hak Kim (Korea); 8th – Ivo Angelov (Bulgaria); 9th – Mate Krasznai (Hungary); 10th – Stig-Andre Berge (Norway)

2014 World Championships
59 kg/130 lbs. – Gold – Hamid Soryan (Iran); Silver – Mingiyan Semenov (Russia); Bronze – Elmurat Tasmuradov (Uzbekistan); Bronze – Stig-Andre Berge (Norway); 5th – Ismael Borrero (Cuba); 5th – Spenser Mango (USA); 7th – Haithem Ahmed Fahmy (Egypt); 8th – Wang Lumin (China); 9th – Lee Jung-Baik (Korea); 10th – Taleh Mammadov (Azerbaijan)

2013 World Championships
55 kg/121 lbs. – Gold - Won Chol Yun (North Korea); Silver - Gyujin Choi (Korea); Bronze – Peter Modos (Hungary); Bronze – Roman Amoyan (Armenia); 5th - Ivan Tatarinov (Russia); 5th – Spenser Mango (USA); 7th – Kanbek Zholchubekov (Kyrgyzstan); 8th – Orkhan Ahmadov (Azerbaijan); 9th – Nursultan Kalmurzayev (Kazakhstan); 10th – Victor Ciobanu (Moldova)

60 kg/132 lbs. – Gold - Ivo Angelov (Bulgaria); Silver - Ivan Kuylakov (Russia); Bronze - Seung-Jae Woo (Korea); Bronze - Elmurat Tasmuradov (Uzbekistan); 5th - Edward Barsegjan (Poland); 5th - Almat Kebispayev (Kazakhstan); 7th - Kazuma Kuramoto (Japan); 8th - Jesse Thielke (USA); 9th - Kristijan Fris (Serbia); 10th - Tarik Belmandi (France)

2012 Olympic Games
55kg/121 lbs. – Gold - Hamid Soryan (Iran); Silver - Rovshan Bayramov (Azerbaijan); Bronze - Peter Modos (Hungary); Bronze - Mingyan Semenov (Russia); 5th - Hakan Nyblom (Denmark); 5th - Gyu-Jin Choi (Korea); 7th - Shujin Li (China); 8th - Gustavo Balart (Cuba); 9th - Spenser Mango (USA); 10th - Kohei Hasegawa (Japan)

60kg/132 lbs. – Gold - Omid Noroozi (Iran); Silver - Revaz Lashki (Georgia); Bronze - Zaur Kuramagomedov (Russia); Bronze - Ryutaro Matsumoto (Japan); 5th - Hasan Aliyev (Azerbaijan); 5th - Almat Kebispayev (Kazakhstan); 7th - Ivo Angelov (Bulgaria); 8th - Ji-Hyun Jung (Korea); 9th - Tarik Belmadani (France); 10th - Jiang Sheng (China)

2011 World Championships
55kg/121 lbs. – Gold - Rovshan Bayramov (Azerbaijan); Silver - Elbek Tazhyiev (Belarus); Bronze - Shujin Li (China); Bronze - Bekkhan Mankiev (Russia); 5th - Péter Modos (Hungary); 5th - Won Chol Yun (North Korea); 7th - Gyu-Jin Choi (Korea); 8th - Kohei Hasegawa (Japan); 9th - Roman Amoyan (Armenia); 10th - Vyugar Ragymov (Ukraine) 

60kg/132 lbs. – Gold - Omid Haji Noroozi (Iran); Silver - Almat Kebispayev (Kazakhstan); Bronze - Zaur Kuramagomedov (Russia); Bronze - Ivo Angelov (Bulgaria); 5th - Ji-Hyun Jung (Korea); 5th - Luis Liendo (Venezuela); 7th - Hasan Aliyev (Azerbaijan); 8th - Vahan Juharyan (Armenia); 9th - Tonimir Sokol (Croatia); 10th - Manuel Lopez Salcero (Mexico)

2010 World Championships
55kg/121 lbs. – Gold – Hamid Soryan (Iran); Silver – Gyu-Jin Choi (Korea); Bronze – Roman Amoyan (Armenia); Bronze – Nazir Mankiev (Russia); 5th – Venelin Venkov (Bulgaria), 5th – Peter Modos (Hungary), 7th – Jani Haapamaeki (Finland); 8th – David Erestic (Poland), 9th – Elchin Aliev (Azerbaijan), 10th – Gustavo Balart Marin (Cuba)

60kg/132 lbs. – Gold – Hasan Aliyev (Azerbaijan); Silver – Ryutaro Matsumoto (Japan); Bronze – Almat Kebispayev (Kazakhstan); Bronze – Ji-Huyn Jung (Korea); 5th – Revaz Lashkhi (Georgia); 5th – Ivo Angelov (Bulgaria); 7th – Ruslan Tyumenbaev (Kyrgyzstan); 8th – Lenur Temirov (Ukraine); 9th – Omid Noroozi (Iran); 10th – Dilshod Aripov (Uzbekistan)

2009 World Championships
55 kg/121 lbs. - Gold - Hamid Soryan (Iran); Silver - Roman Amoyan (Armenia); Bronze - Hakan Nyblom (Denmark); Bronze - Rovshan Bayramov (Azerbaijan); 5th - Erhan Karakus (Turkey); 5th - Virgil Munteanu (Romania); 7th - Gyu-Jim Choi (Korea); 8th - Jani Haapamaki (Finland); 9th - Spenser Mango (USA); 10th - Vyugar Ragymov (Ukraine)

60 kg/132 lbs. - Gold - Islam-Beka Albiev (Russia); Silver - Dilshod Aripov (Uzbekistan); Bronze - Nurbakyt Tengysbaev (Kazakhstan); Bronze - Vitaliy Rahimov (Azerbaijan); 5th - Davor Stefanek (Serbia); 5th - Soner Sucu (Turkey); 7th - Revaz Lashkhi (Georgia); 8th - Ryutaro Matsumoto (Japan); 9th - Stig Andre Berge (Norway) ; 10th - Omid Noroozi (Iran)