59 kg GR - AUGUST 14 Four gold medalists in field Once again, 59 kg/130 lbs. appears to
be among the deepest Greco-Roman weight classes worldwide with four past Olympic and World champions expected to wrestle in Rio. 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. After winning the Olympics in 2012, Soryan took 2013 off. He returned in 2014 to win the World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. 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. 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. A reju- venated Bayramov was able to secure the 59 kg silver medal. Bayramov won gold at the World Championships in 2011, prior to falling to Soryan in the finals of the 2012 Olympic Games. Cuban Ismael Borrero 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. He also placed 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. North Korea’s Won-Chol 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 Worlds last year was Almat Kebispayev of Kazakhstan who added World medal number three to his collec- tion in Las Vegas. Kebispayev finished in fifth place at the 2012 Olympics and won a World University title in 2008. Stig Andre Berge of Norway, Kristijan
Fris of Serbia and 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. 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 Ibragim Labazanov who claimed top prize at the Russian Nationals. Budding U.S. star Jesse Thielke will
get his first crack at the Olympic Games after upending two-time Olympian Spenser Mango 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. 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.
Other 59 kg wrestlers to watch for in Jesse Thielke: by Tony Rotundo
Rio who have past success are Soslan Daurov of Belarus who finished in fifth place at the World Championships last year and 2012 Olympian Arsen Eraliev of Kyrgyzstan.
JESSE THIELKE
Residence: Germantown, Wis. Club: New York AC College: Wisconsin High School: Germantown, Wis. Born: June 9, 1992
Age: 24
Career Notes • 2016 U.S. Olympic Team member • Eighth in 2013 World Championships • 2012 Junior World bronze medalist • Second in 2nd World Olympic Qualifier (Turkey) • Second in 2015 U.S. Open • Third in 2013 and 2016 U.S. Open • Four-time U.S. Junior World Team member (2009, 2010) • 2009 Cadet Pan American champion Past Olympics: None Past Sr. Worlds: 8th (2013) UWW World Rank: No. 17
Expected field at 59 kg/130 lbs. Azerbaijan - Rovshan Bayramov Belarus - Soslan Daurov China - Lumin Wang Cuba - Ismael Borrero Ecuador - Andres Roberto Montano Egypt - Haithem Mahmoud Iran - Hamid Soryan Japan - Shinobu Ota Kazakhstan - Almat Kebispayev Korea - Kim Seung-Hak Kyrgyzstan - Arsen Eraliev Morocco - Mehdi Messaoudi North Korea - Won Chol Yun Norway - Stig Andre Berge Russia – Sanal Semenov or Ibrahim Labazanov Serbia - Kristian Fris United States - Jesse Thielke Uzbekistan - Elmurat Tasmuradov Venezuela - Raiber Jose Rodriguez
Note: All of the on-the-mat portrait photos with the feature stories on each weight class are by top American photographers Tony Rotundo, Wrestlers Are Warriors or John Sachs,
Tech-Fall.com.
USA Wrestler 7
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