History in the Making at 130kg Greco-Roman
August 5th marks day one of Paris 2024 Olympic wrestling at the Champ-de-Mars arena. All eyes will be following Cuba and Iran for the dream match up at 130kg Greco-Roman. When the dust clears and the finalists are known, Olympic history awaits.
The featured athlete in this weight class (130kg) is four-time Olympic champion Mijain Lopez of Cuba. Lopez is seeking his fifth Olympic gold, adding to his hardware already earned at Beijing, London, Rio, and Tokyo. At age 41 and unseeded, Lopez will need a good draw and great form to realize his dream.
“The preparation is done,” Lopez says. “I feel in optimal condition, and all wrestlers are motivated both in Cuba and internationally. It has been a very important time for me to keep the motivation, to get to my sixth Olympic Games, and fight for my fifth medal.”
Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) is the #1 seed. The 26-year-old Iranian, current Senior World champion and three-time World finalist, is in his prime and prepared to take on the world.
Team USA enters big man Adam Coon at 130kg. Coon is the 2018 World Silver Medalist and three time NCAA Division 1 All American. His recent showing at the U.S. Olympic Trials, where he defeated Olympic hopeful Cohlton Schultz, shows he is more than ready for the biggest of stages.
SEEDED ATHLETES
No. 1 – Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI)
No. 2 – Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY)
No. 3 – Lingzhe MENG (CHN)
No. 4 – Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
No. 5 – Heiki NABI (EST)
No. 6 – Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
No. 7 – Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI)
No. 8 – Seungchan LEE (KOR)
UNSEEDED ATHLETES
Sabah SHARIATI (AZE)
Kiril MILOV (BUL)
Mijain LOPEZ (CUB)
Jello KRAHMER (GER)
Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ)
Oussama ASSAD (MAR)
Muhammet BAKIR (TUR)
Adam Coon (USA)