The first of two final qualifying tournaments for wrestling at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games will be held this weekend in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Team USA sent nine athletes to the far side of the globe so each could earn a coveted spot at the Games.
The first of two final qualifying tournaments for wrestling at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games will be held this weekend in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Team USA sent nine athletes to the far side of the globe so each could earn a coveted spot at the Games.
Ulaanbaatar is thirteen hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, so action starts Thursday night at 8:00 pm, or earlier, for any American viewers. Fun Ulaanbaatar, Wikipedia-verified trivia: Mongolia has the coldest capital city in the world!
Only countries that still need to qualify a weight class for Rio can enter that division’s tournament; one entry allowed per country. The two finalists qualify (so the semis are much more important than the finals), as will the third place finisher. Consolation rounds are held via repechage, meaning anyone who loses to a finalist gets to wrestle for third. Normally there are two third place finishers (and two bronze medals), but for this tournament, a wrestle-off for “true third” will take place.
Here’s is the handy dandy Wikipedia entry with more details on the qualification process.
The below list of wrestlers won the USA Olympic Team Trials two weeks ago and will be fighting for the opportunity to represent their country in Rio. Should any of them fail, there is one last, final, ultimate qualification tournament they can enter in Istanbul, Turkey in two weeks.
Greco-Roman (wrestling starts at 8:00 pm EST 4/21/16)
59 kg/130.1 lbs – Jesse Thielke
66 kg/145.5 lbs – RaVaughn Perkins
98 kg/216.1 lbs – Joe Rau
Women’s freestyle (wrestling starts at 8:00 pm EST 4/22/16)
48 kg/105.8 lbs – Haley Augello
53 kg/116.8 lbs – Helen Maroulis
58 kg/127.9 lbs – Kelsey Campbell
69 kg/152.1 lbs – Tamyra Mensah
Men’s freestyle (wrestling starts at 8:00 pm EST 4/23/16)
65 kg/143.4 lbs – Frank Molinaro
86 kg/189.6 lbs – J’Den Cox
Former Edinboro Scotsman and 2X NCAA All-American, Dave Habat, will also try to qualify for Rio at 65 kilograms, wrestling the Slovenian team, a nation from which his ancestors hail. Slovenia, often confused with Slovakia, is a former Yugoslavian Republic nestled in the Northeastern corner of the Adriatic Sea. Capital city: Ljubljana. And now you are ready for the geography category at your local bar’s trivia night!
Another noteworthy participant attempting to make it to Rio is Asnage Castelly, representing Haiti and wrestling in the 74 kg weight class. Born in Haiti, Castelly arrived in the United States at the age of nine. He wrestled in high school in New Jersey for the Irvington Blue Knights. Perhaps Asnage’s greatest accomplish was making the finals of the NJ District X tournament in 1998. It is said anyone who can accomplish this extraordinary feat is destined for greatness and renown (or will become a part time wrestling writer for an MMA blog, one of those two).
Here’s an awesome interview with Asnage from the Titan of the Wrestling Podcast Industry, Jason “Dulcet Tones” Bryant.
But what else? Hey how about a writeup on the event from USA Wrestling? Right here!
Great. But do you have a preview of potential US opponents? Yup!
Sweet. And will the wrestling be streamed for free? Yuuuup!
With live updated results? Yuuuuuuuuup!!!
Wow, looks like everything. But what about an official twitter feed? Yes, that too!
All right, I am officially out of links now, but please share any additional information and continue the conversation in the comments. And with that, I have decided to retire, thank you for the cheese.
PS I AM NOT RETIRED.