61 kg 2024 World Championships Preview & Predictions
61 kg 2024 World Championships Preview & Predictions
A full preview with predictions for the 61 kg weight class in men's freestyle wrestling at the 2024 World Championships.
The 2024 Senior World Championships are set to go down in Tirana, Albania with men’s freestyle wrestlers taking the mats on October 30-31. Check out the below article for a full preview with predictions for the 61 kg weight class at this year’s world championships.
The Favorites
- Vito Arujau, USA
- Zaur Uguev, AIN (RUS)
Vito Arujau and Zaur Uguev are the most accomplished wrestlers in the field at 61 kg and the clear favorites to win gold in Albania. Arujau is the returning world champion and put together an incredible 2023 Worlds where he teched three of his five opponents and defeated world champion Abasgadzhi Magomedov in the finals, 10-9. Arujau notably didn’t attempt to make the Olympic team earlier this year because of an injury but came back at the World Team Trials to defeat Marcus Blaze in two straight, low-scoring matches to make the world team. If Arujau is back at 100%, he has some of the best offense in the world and is the clear gold-medal favorite this year.
Arujau's win in the 2023 World Finals over Abasgadzhi Magomedov:
After Arujau, world and Olympic champion Zaur Uguev is the next most likely to win gold. Uguev has competed primarily at 57 kg winning worlds (2018 & 2019) and the Olympics (2021) at the lower weight class. However, this year Uguev won the 61 kg weight class at Russian Nationals and wasn’t allowed to wrestle at the Olympics because of Russia’s war with Ukraine. Uguev might be nearing the end of his competitive career but he’s still one of the best lightweights in the world and has stingy defense that could give Arujau problems. It’s also worth noting that Uguev defeated Zelimkhan Abakarov right around the same time Abakarov defeated Arujau back in March 2023.
Uguev's win in the finals of the 2024 Russian National Championships:
The Contenders
- Masanosuke Ono, JPN
- Taiyrbek Zhumashbek Uulu, KGZ
- Azamat Tuskaev, SRB
- Aryan Tsiutryn, AIN (BLR)
The above four wrestlers are the most likely to defeat Arujau and/or Uguev and display the depth at 61 kg. Of this group, Masanosuke Ono is the most legitimate threat. Ono caught everyone’s attention at U20 Worlds where he won gold by teching everyone but Marcus Blaze - who he defeated 7-2. Prior to that, Ono won the Yasar Dogu in March where he teched Zhumashbek Uulu and Reza Momeni (IRI). Ono has the unique combination of power and speed that manifests in a potent offense both on his feet and with his gut wrench. Ono is dangerous and he has all the skills to finish on the top of the podium in Albania.
Ono's win over Marcus Blaze in the semis at the 2024 U20 World Championships:
Kyrgyzstan’s Taiyrbek Zhumashbek Uulu is coming off a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships making him a contender this year. Though he’s been teched by both Arujau and Ono, Zhumashbek Uulu has big-time upper body attacks giving him the ability to pin anyone at any time or rack up points quickly for techs. In fact, Zhumashbek Uulu teched Nick Lee, 14-4 while competing up at 65 kg at the 2022 Bill Farrell.
Zhumashbek's win in the bronze medal match at 2023 Worlds:
Azamat Tuskaev is another interesting wrestler in this field and will be representing Serbia after being behind Uguev at 57 kg in Russia for the past 10 years. Tuskaev is a four-time Russian Nationals winning bronze three times (2013, 2015, 2021) and silver once (2020). Beyond his finishes in Russia, Tuskaev was a U20 world champ back in 2014 and won gold at Euros in 2020 with wins over world medalists Horst Lehr and Suleyman Atlil. I expect Tuskaev to drop back down to 57 kg after this year but he could certainly make some noise in this bracket and has the potential to defeat anyone in the field.
Tuskaev's win in the bronze medal match at 2021 Russian Nationals:
Aryan Tsiutryn is the final wrestler that should be considered a contender. The former Russian now representing Belarus won a bronze medal at the 2021 World Championships, finished with a bronze three times at Russian Nationals (2014, 2016, 2018), and was a Yarygin champ in 2021. Beyond those finishes, Tsiutryn qualified for the Olympics this year at 57 kg but wasn’t able to compete because of Belarus’ participation in the war with Ukraine. Tsiutryn is one of the most experienced wrestlers in this field and has several wins over world medalists including victories over Alireza Sarlak, Suleyman Atli, Bekhbayar Erdenebat, Horst Lehr, Gulomjon Abdullaev, Nurislam Sanayev, and Zanabazar Zandanbud.
Tsiutryn's win over Suleyman Atli in the bronze medal match of the 2021 World Championships:
Sleepers & Landmines
- Andrii Dzhelep, UKR
- Udit, IND
- Emrah Ormanoglu, TUR
The above four wrestlers have never medaled at a senior world championships but they all have past results that suggest this could be the year for them to break through and reach the podium. Ukraine’s Andrii Dzhelep climbed to #2 in our international rankings back in 2021 after defeating world champion Beka Lomtadze winning a silver medal at the European Championships. However, since then, Dzhelep has had up-and-down results and has failed to place at senior worlds and U23 Worlds. Still only 24 years old, Dzhelep might just be entering his prime, and his silver medal back at U20 Worlds in 2019 suggests he can succeed on the world stage.
Dzhelep's win over Beka Lomtadze at 2021 Euros:
Udit is one of India’s best young wrestlers and is coming off a silver medal at the 2024 Asian Championships where he defeated Ebrahim Khari (2024 U20 World Silver), Almaz Smanbekov, and Kum Hyok Kim. Udit won a bronze medal at the 2019 U17 World Championships and only lost to Thomas Gilman 9-8 in 2022. Udit attacks frequently and wrestles a high-powered pace for six minutes making it challenging for any wrestler to keep up with him for the full match.
Udit's win over world medalist Horst Lehr:
Türkiye’s Emrah Ormanoglu is a wrestler who doesn’t have many senior-level accomplishments yet but he won a U23 World bronze medal in 2022. Beyond that, Ormanoglu has two, close losses to Zhumashbek Uulu (4-2 and 5-5) over the past two years. Beyond that, his wins over Aaron Nagao, Joey Silva, Aissyl Aitakyn, and Andrii Dzhelep make him a wrestler to watch out for in this bracket.
Ormanoglu's win over Aaron Nagao in the bronze medal match at the 2022 U23 World Championships:
Who Will Be The 2024 61 kg World Champion?
I think there are three guys who can win gold in this bracket - Vito Arujau, Zaur Uguev, and Masanosuke Ono. I've gone back and forth on who I'm picking but my official gold medal pick is Vito Arujau. I've seen Arujau wrestle his best when it matters most in the last two years and if he's able to do that in Albania, I think he's the best guy in the bracket. Ono and Uguev will be incredible challenges for Arujau to get past but I think Arujau has the skill to repeat as the world champ this year.
Full 61 kg Medal Predictions:
Gold - Vito Arujau, USA
Silver - Zaur Uguev, AIN (RUS)
Bronze - Masanosuke Ono, JPN
Bronze - Azamat Tuskaev, SRB