Kamal Bey Will Wrestle for Team USA in Paris

USA Wrestling, June 27th, 2024

Kamal Bey receives Olympic quota berth at 77 kg in Greco-Roman and will compete at Paris Games

United World Wrestling has notified USA Wrestling that Kamal Bey (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP) has received an Olympic quota berth at 77 kg in Greco-Roman and will represent the United States at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

“It is a great opportunity. He is motivated and has continued to train very hard. Kamal is very happy. This motivates our team. He brings an energy to the entire team. We can’t wait to get to Paris for him to show the world what he can do,” said National Greco-Roman Coach Herb House.

Bey received the bid for Paris 2024 after United World Wrestling reallocated Olympic quota spots from the vacated berths of Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) from Russia and Belarus. Among the 16 AIN wrestlers who were approved by the International Olympic Committee to compete in Paris, no one with a Russian passport was qualified at 77 kg in Greco-Roman, opening the slot for Bey.

An Independent Neutral Athlete from Russia, Sergey Kutuzov, had earned an Olympic quota at 77 kg in Greco-Roman by qualifying for the finals at the World Olympic Games Qualifier in Istanbul, Turkey on May 10.  Kamal Bey wrestled Kutuzov in the first match of the World Olympic Qualifier in Istanbul, losing 8-0. When Kutuzov reached the finals, Bey was pulled back into repechage, and won three straight matches. In the Olympic Qualification Playoff match, which determined the final quota at this weight, Bey was beaten by Zoltan Levai of Hungary, 3-0. In effect, this made Bey the alternate at 77 kg from the Istanbul event for a quota berth.

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has notified United World Wrestling that it has accepted this quota spot for Bey.

With Bey added to the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team, the United States will now have 16 wrestlers competing in the Olympic Games Paris 2024, the most of any nation. Included are full six-athlete teams in both men’s freestyle and women’s freestyle, and, with the addition of Bey, the USA will have four athletes competing in Greco-Roman.