Which nations have qualified in Greco-Roman for Paris Olympics

Friday, May 3, 2024 - 12:24 By Eric Olanowski

PARIS, France (May 3) -- The ultra-competitive and uber-emotional final stage of the Paris Olympic Qualifiers is set to take place in Istanbul, Turkiye, May 9-12.

After next week’s Battle on the Bosporus -- which is the sixth and final event on the Olympic qualification calendar -- all 288 tickets to Paris 2024 will be booked and the nations wrestling in Paris will be set.

Breakdown of quotas allocations for Paris 2024:
- World Championships = 30 freestyle, 30 women’s wrestling and 30 Greco-Roman = 90 quotas
- Continental Olympic Qualifiers (x4 continents) = 12 freestyle, 12 women’s wrestling and 12 Greco-Roman = 36
- World Olympic Qualifier = 18 freestyle, 18 women’s wrestling and 18 Greco-Roman = 54
- Total = 96 freestyle, 96 women’s wrestling and 96 Greco-Roman = 288 wrestlers in Paris

It’s worth noting, and as you’ll see below, the induvial wrestler who earns the ticket to the Olympic Games does not own the right to compete in Pairs. Ultimately, it’s the National Olympic Committee / country who selects their entry for the Games.

For example: David TAYLOR (USA), through his world-title winning performance in Belgrade, punched the United States’ ticket at 86kg. But after going through their Olympic Trails, and with Taylor falling in the finals, the Stars and Stripes will send Aaron BROOKS (USA) to Paris at 86kg.

Over the last 290 days, wrestles have gone through two of three stages vying for their opportunity to earn their nation’s berth to Pairs.

The beginning stages of the qualification process took place last September at the 2023 World Championships, in Belgrade, Serbia, where there was a total of 90 quotas up for the taking. Wrestlers who won a medal--gold, silver or bronze (x2)-- earned a ticket for their country.

Additionally, the two losers of the bronze-medal matches faced off in an Olympic playoff match, determining the fifth allocation in Belgrade.

Then came the Continental Olympic Qualifiers, where 36 quotas per continent were handed out.

Those athletes who reached the finals of their respective weight classes at the Pan-American, African & Oceania, European and Asian Olympic Qualifiers booked their nation’s ticket to Paris.

Now, after traveling through Belgrade, Acapulco, Alexandria, Baku and Bishkek, we’ve reached Istanbul for the “Last Chance Qualifier.”

There will be a slight adjustment to the number of allocations given in Istanbul, where in addition to the finalists earning berths to Paris, there will be an Olympic playoff between the winners of the bronze-medal matches to determine the final entries for the Olympic Games.

The draws for the World Olympic Qualifier will take place on May 8, with wrestling beginning the following day. Greco-Roman will compete live on UWW+ on May 9-10, women’s wrestling on May 10-11 and freestyle on May 11-12.

Here are the Greco-Roman nations that have qualified for the Paris Olympics before the start of the World Olympic Qualifier (May 9-12).

60kg
From World Championships
Kyrgyzstan (Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV)
Japan (Kenichiro FUMITA)
China (Liguo CAO)
Uzbekistan (Islomjon BAKHRAMOV)
Iran (Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD)

From Pan-Am OG Qualifier
Venezuela (Raiber RODRIGUEZ)
Cuba (Kevin DE ARMAS)

From African & Oceania OG Qualifier
Algeria (Abdelkarim FERGAT)
Egypt (Moamen MOHAMED)

From European OG Qualifier
Moldova (Victor CIOBANU)
Turkiye (Enes BASAR)

From Asian OG Qualifier
Kazakhstan (Aidos SULTANGALI)
DPR Korea (Se Ung RI)

From World Olympic Qualifier
Sadyk LALAEV as Individual Neutral Athlete
Azerbaijan (Murad MAMMADOV)
Serbia (Georgij TIBILOV)

67kg
From World Championships
Cuba (Luis ORTA)
Azerbaijan (Hasrat JAFAROV)
Iran (Mohammadreza GERAEI)
Serbia (Mate NEMES)
Armenia (Slavik GALSTYAN)

From Pan-Am OG Qualifier
Chile (Nestor ALMANZA)
Ecuador (Andres MONTANO)

From African & Oceania OG Qualifier
Tunisia (Souleymen NASR)
Algeria (Ishak GHAIOU)

From European OG Qualifier
Ukraine (Parviz NASIBOV)
France (Mamadassa SYLLA)

From Asian OG Qualifier
Japan (Kyotaro SOGABE)
Kyrgyzstan (Amantur ISMAILOV)

From World Olympic Qualifier
Moldova (Valentin PETIC)
Georgia (Ramaz ZOIDZE)
Egypt (Mohamed ELSAYED)

77kg
From World Championships
Kyrgyzstan (Akzhol MAKHMUDOV)
Azerbaijan (Sanan SULEYMANOV)
Armenia (Malkhas AMOYAN)
Japan (Nao KUSAKA)
Uzbekistan (Aram VARDANYAN)

From Pan-Am OG Qualifier
Cuba (Yosvanys PENA)
Colombia (Jair CUERO)

From African & Oceania OG Qualifier
Algeria (Abd Elkrim OUAKALI)
Egypt (Mahmoud ABDELRAHMAN)

From European OG Qualifier
Turkiye (Burhan AKBUDAK)
Finland (Jonni SARKKINEN)

From Asian OG Qualifier
Kazakhstan (Demeu ZHADRAYEV)
Iran (Amin KAVIYANI)

From World Olympic Qualifier
Sergei KUTUZOV as Individual Neutral Athlete
Bulgaria (Aik MNATSAKANIAN)
Hungary (Zoltan LEVAI)

87kg
From World Championships
Turkiye (Ali CENGIZ)
Hungary (David LOSONCZI)
Ukraine (Zhan BELENIUK)
Bulgaria (Semen NOVIKOV)
Kazakhstan (Nursultan TURSYNOV)

From Pan-Am OG Qualifier
United States (Spencer WOODS)
Colombia (Carlos MUNOZ)

From African & Oceania OG Qualifier
Algeria (Bachir SID AZARA)
Egypt (Mohamed METWALLY)

From European OG Qualifier
Serbia (Aleksandr KOMAROV)
Milad ALIRZAEV as Individual Neutral Athlete

From Asian OG Qualifier
Iran (Alireza MOHAMDIPIANI)
China (Haitao QIAN)

From World Olympic Qualifier
Azerbaijan (Rafig HUSEYNOV)
Kiryl MASKEVICH as Individual Neutral Athlete
Poland (Arkadiusz KULYNYCZ)

97kg
From World Championships
Cuba (Gabriel ROSILLO)
Armenia (Artur ALEKSANYAN)
Iran (Mohammadhadi SARAVI)
Czech Republic (Artur OMAROV)
Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU as Individual Neutral Athlete

From Pan-Am OG Qualifier
Honduras (Kevin MEJIA)
United States (Alan VERA GARCIA)

From African & Oceania OG Qualifier
Algeria (Fadi ROUABAH)
Egypt (Mohamed GABR)

From European OG Qualifier
Georgia (Roberti KOBLIASHVILI)
Lithuania (Mindaugas VENCKAITIS)

From Asian OG Qualifier
Uzbekistan (Rustam ASSAKALOV)
Korea (Seungjun KIM)

From World Olympic Qualifier
Finaland (Arvi SAVOLAINEN)
Artur SARGSIAN as Individual Neutral Athlete
Kyrgyzstan (Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV)

130kg
From World Championships
Iran (Amin MIRZAZADEH)
Turkiye (Riza KAYAALP)
Cuba (Oscar PINO)
Egypt (Adellatif MOHAMED)
China (Lingzhe MENG)

From Pan-Am OG Qualifier
United States (Cohlton SCHULTZ)
Chile (Yasmani ACOSTA)

From African & Oceania OG Qualifier
Tunisia (Amine GUENNICHI)
Morocco (Oussama ASSAD)

From European OG Qualifier
Germany (Jello KRAHMER)
Sergei SEMENOV as Individual Neutral Athlete

From Asian OG Qualifier
Kazakhstan (Alimkhan SYZDYKOV)
Korea (Seungchan LEE)

From World Olympic Qualifier
Romania (Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU)
Azerbaijan (Sabah SHARIATI)
Pavel HLINCHUK as Individual Neutral Athlete

#WrestleBelgrade

Photo Feature: Wrestling with emotions, luck and history

Tuesday, August 29, 2023 - 19:10 By Vinay Siwach

BELGRADE, Serbia (August 29) -- Come the Olympic qualifying World Championships and the world of wrestling sees surprises like no other. The 2023 World Championships in Belgrade will throw more such results in September but what happened four years ago at the 2019 World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan?

In front of a packed Bayrs Arena, champions went down to youngsters, dreams were shattered, wrestlers high on emotions. While some dreams remained unfulfilled, many wrestlers managed to live theirs.

Here's a throwback to 10 memories captured in these photos from the 2019 edition, a championship that saw Kazakhstan finish fourth in Freestyle team rankings, Japan winning only three gold in Women's Wrestling and Riza KAYAALP (TUR) winning a gold medal at the pre-Olympic World Championships.

Letting it out: Haji ALIYEV (AZE). (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

It would have been a shame this was not the first photo from the 2019 World Championships. What happens when Haji ALIYEV (AZE), a three-time world champion and who has seen it all, suffers a loss after a thrilling bout in the opening round of a World Championships? Nothing good about that. Aliyev reacts towards the officials after his 4-2 loss to eventual champion Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV, before being escorted from the mat.

At the Tokyo Olympics, Aliyev would win a silver medal while Rashidov finished with a bronze after both were drawn on opposite side of the bracket.

Breakfree: J'den COX (USA). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

J'den COX (USA) had beaten Alireza KARIMI (IRI) 5-2 in 2018. A year later, the two would meet in the final at 92kg. Cox would blank Karimi 4-0. Soon after the hand raise, Cox would let out a loud scream, holding the pose for the photographers. It was symbolic of Cox's dominance at the weight class as he became a two-time world champion.

Askhat DILMUKHADMEDOV (KAZ) Hometown hero: Askhat Dilmukhamedov (KAZ), red. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

It was clearly Askhat Dilmukhamedov's world. The Bayrs Arena's loudest cheer over the nine days when the Kazakh Greco-Roman wrestler upset two-time Olympic champion Roman VLASOV in the 1/8 finals 3-0. He followed that up with a 4-3 win over returning world champion Viktor NEMES (SRB) to reach the semifinals. He would fall to the eventual world champion Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) in the semifinals, thus eliminating both Vlasov and Nemes. Incidentally, both Vlasov and Nemes failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in later tournaments.

End of a drought: Mariya STADNIK (AZE). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Mariya STADNIK (AZE) celebrates after pinning Yanan SUN (CHN) to reach the final at 50kg. 10 years after she won her first world title, Stadnik was a win away from her second. The then three-time Olympic medalist left Sun to fight for bronze, which she did not win. Stadnik's win did not just bring joy for her but for Yui SUSAKI (JPN) as well. Susaki got a second life, thanks to Stadnik. Susaki would go on to win the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo after beating Stadnik in semifinals and Sun in the final.

High Flying: Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN). (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

A photograph which aptly describes Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN). He is wrestling Cristian NICOLESCU (PLW) in his opening bout at 65kg. It seems Nicolescu has Muszukajev on the ropes with his attacks, forcing him to be airborne to defend. Come on! Wrestling fans knew Muszukajev but they got to really know him in 2019. Muszukajev would win the bout 14-4 not before letting Nicolescu score takedowns like he was chilling in a park. It was just the start of Muszukajev given jaw-dropping wrestling content.

The gold standard: Yong Mi PAK (PRK). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Yong Mi PAK (PRK) looks at her coach while Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN) is in utter disbelief after Pak won the 53kg final via technical superiority. Pak became the first female world champion from DPR Korea. She won the best in Asia, winning two Asian Championships gold and the Asian Games gold in 2018. But to be a world champion made her the favorite for the gold in Tokyo. But soon a global pandemic would derail the world and DPR Korea would skip the Olympics in Tokyo. Mukaida went on to win the 53kg gold in Tokyo. Pak, perhaps, must have been similing if she watched the Olympics.

A win to remember: Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

A 30-year-old Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE) takes out Olympic champion Kyle SNYDER (USA) after a battle. In one of the biggest upsets of the World Championships, Sharifov beat Snyder 5-2 in the 97kg semifinals and celebrated like a relieved man. The 2012 Olympic champion used his experience to shutdown Snyder. He would go on to lose the final against Abdulrashid SADULAEV but the semifinal win denied fans in Astana the third part of the Snyder-Sadulaev rivalry which ultimately happened in Tokyo.

Breaking Barriers: Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) has broken many barriers related to Women's Wrestling in Kyrgyzstan. She was the first Olympian, first to reach a medal bout and in 2019, in front of a supportive crowd, Tynybekova became Kyrgyzstan's first-ever world champion in wrestling. Beating Taybe YUSEIN (BUL) in the dying seconds, Tynybekova completed a redemption of sorts as she suffered a heartbreaking loss in the bronze medal bout in Rio 2016. At the Tokyo Olympics, Tynybekova would lose the 62kg final to Yukako KAWAI (JPN), a wrestler the Kyrgyz star pinned in Astana.

Beginning of a Rivalry: Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM). (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) has rarely been challenged on a wrestling mat. The Rio Olympic champion and then three-time world champion Aleksanyan was tested in the quarterfinals. Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) was unbeaten in international competition and was a U20 world champion in 2018. Aleksanyan was closer to legendary status in Greco-Roman. Yet, Saravi would put Aleksanyan on the brink and the latter would win only 4-3 against the 21-year-old Iranian. While Saravi is still looking for his first win over Aleksanyan, the two met in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics with Aleksanyan winning before finishing with a silver medal.

Continuing the Trend: Riza KAYAALP (TUR). (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo).

2011. 2015. 2019. The Greco-Roman world champion at 130kg in those three editions has been Riza KAYAALP (TUR). Yes, the pre-Olympic year World Championships gold belongs to the Turkish giant.

Which nations have qualified in Greco-Roman for Paris Olympics

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Photo Feature: Wrestling with emotions, luck and history