LAS VEGAS – The top wrestlers in the world will converge on Las Vegas next week in the hopes of winning a world championship, but many, including several former Olympic gold medalists, will be hoping to punch their ticket to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The world championships will be wrestling’s first qualifier for the 2016 Games with the top six place winners at each weight class grabbing a slot for their nation.
Leading the cast of Olympic champions are women wrestling stars Saori YOSHIDA (JPN) and Kaori ICHO (JPN) who’ve each won three gold medals at the Olympic Games. Yoshida has won 12 world championships, while Icho has won 9 world championships and is currently enjoying a 153-match winning streak dating back to the 2004 world championships.
Should the duo qualify for the Olympic Games they will officially begin their journey to become the first wrestlers in Olympic history to win four gold medals.
Natalia VOROBIEVA (RUS) will also be looking to recapture her golden touch in Las Vegas. The 2012 Olympic champion at 72kg has yet to win a world title and will be competing at 69kg.
In men’s freestyle 2012 Olympic champion and two-time world champion Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) looks to bounce back from his bronze medal finish at the 2014 world championships and establish weight class dominance heading into Rio 2016. The American superstar is currently ranked No.1 at 74kg.
Togrul ASGAROV (AZE) will also be hoping to make the long climb back after an up-and-down four years since winning Olympic gold in London. The 23-year-old wrestler recently won the European Games and is ranked No.3 at 65kg. Fellow countryman and 84kg 2012 Olympic gold medalist Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE) may also compete in the world championships, though up a weight at 98kg.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Mijian LOPEZ (CUB) is set to defend his 2014 Greco-Roman world championship this week in Las Vegas. The enigmatic figure has dominated the heavyweight ranks for the past several seasons and is hoping to secure his Olympic birth with yet another world title.
London gold medalists Hamid SORYAN (IRI) and Ghasem REZAEI (IRI) will also look to capture world titles and punch their Olympic tickets next week in Las Vegas. Soryan is a six-time defending world champion at 59kg though a recent injury may hold him out of competition. Rezai is ranked third and finished with bronze in 2014.
KIM Hyeon-Woo (KOR) will also look to defend his 2012 Games gold in Las Vegas. Currently ranked No.1 at 75kg, Kim sat out last year’s world championships to compete at the 2014 Asian Games where he took gold.
Wrestling will begin Monday, September 7 with action in Greco-Roman wrestling and end on Saturday, September 12 with freestyle.
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