57 kg FS - AUGUST 19 Four World champs set to clash
A plethora of elite contenders will be
vying for the 57 kg/125.5 lbs. men’s freestyle gold medal. Currently atop the contender list is 2015 World champion Vladimer Khinchegahsvili of Georgia. The top-ranked wrestler in the World has steadily improved since snatching a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics in London. Khinchegahsvili picked up his first
DANIEL DENNIS
Residence: Iowa City, Iowa Club: Titan Mercury WC High School: Ingleside, Ill. (Grant) College: Iowa Born: Sept. 24, 1986
Age: 29
Career Notes • 2016 U.S. Olympic Team member • 2016 U.S. Open champion • 2016 German Grand Prix champion • 2015 Grand Prix of Span champion • Second in 2015 World Team Trials • Fourth in 2015 U.S. Open • 2008 University Nationals champion • Fifth in 2011 World Team Trials • Two-time All-American for the Univ. of Iowa Past Olympics: None Past Sr. Worlds: None UWW World Rank: unranked
Expected field at 57 kg/125.5 lbs. Armenia - Garnik Mnatsakanyan Azerbaijan - Haji Aliev Bulgaria - Vladimir Dubov Cuba - Yowlys Bonne Rodriguez Georgia -Vladimer Khinchegahsvili India - Sandeep Tomar Iran - Hassan Rahimi Japan - Rei Higuchi Kazakhstan - Artas Sanaa Korea - Junsik Yun Mongolia - Bekhbayar Erdenebat Morocco - Chakir Ansari North Korea – Hak-Jin Jong Romania - Ivan Guidea Russia – Viktor Lebedev Senegal - Adama Diatta Turkey - Suleyman Atli United States – Daniel Dennis Uzbekistan - Abbos Rakhmonov
World title in Las Vegas last year with a thrilling last second victory over Hassan Rahimi of Iran. While trailing by one point, the Georgian executed a picture- perfect superduck in the waning moments of the bout to strike gold. This year Khinchegahsvili suffered a
loss to 2013 World champion Bekhan Goigereev of Russia wrestling up at 61 kg, but he has remained unscathed at 57 kg. This includes a gold medal finish at the always tough European Championships. He was a silver medalist at the 2014 World Championships. Rahimi has medaled at the last four
World Championships and was an Olympian in 2012. In 2013, Rahimi topped the World in Budapest, Hungary to capture his only World title. He fin- ished with World silver last year and World bronze in 2011 and 2014. Azerbaijan standout Haji Aliev plans to
make the drop from 61 kg for the Olympic Games. Aliev has won the past two World Championships at 61 kg and is ranked No.1 in that division, but is yet to compete at 57 kg internationally. Aliev and Khinchegahsvili met in the semifinals of the European Championships in March with the Georgian winning, 4-2. The stand- by for Azerbaijan is 2014 Junior World sil- ver medalist Mirjalal Hasan-Zada. 2014 World bronze medalist Yowlys
Bonne Rodriguez of Cuba is a top star. Big things are expected from the high-fly- ing Cuban in his second attempt at an Olympic medal. He lost a controversial decision to Russian veteran Viktor Lebedev at the 2015 Worlds. Lebedev is a four-time World medalist
and two-time World champion for the Russian Federation. After a controversial win at Russia Nationals at 57 kg, all indi- cations are that Lebedev will indeed be the Russian representative in Rio. At the 2015 World Championships, Lebedev fin- ished with a bronze medal after falling to Rahimi in the semifinals. The quartet of Kinchegashvili, Rahimi, Aliev and Lebedev present 57 kg with
16 USA Wrestler Daniel Dennis: by John Sachs.
four World champions who have com- bined to win 13 World and Olympic medals.
Bulgaria’s Vladimir Dubov won the
World bronze at 61 kg in Las Vegas. He also owns a World silver medal at 60 kg from 2013. The Bulgarian has won three international medals at 57 kg this year including gold at the European Olympic Qualifier.
Bekhbayar Erdenebat of Mongolia has wrestled for a medal at the previous two World Championships and won a bronze last year. Four years ago, Erdenebat won a Junior World Championship. Senegal’s Adama Diatta will make his
second trip to the Olympic Games this year. Diatta is a six-time Africa champion. Asian champion Sandeep Tomar of
India has earned a medal at every inter- national event he has competed in since 2012 including a gold at the 2014 World Military Championships. Donning the Stars and Stripes at 57 kg
in Rio will be Daniel Dennis. After finish- ing in second place at the U.S. World Team Trials at 61 kg in 2015, Dennis made the decision to drop to 57 kg. Dennis defeated two-time U.S. World Team member Tony Ramos in the finals of the Olympic Trials. The two were teammates at the Univ. of Iowa.
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