Lopez and Kayaalp Again? - 130kg Preview
The biggest, baddest dudes at the Rio Olympics reside in the 130kg Greco-Roman weight class.
The Contenders
No. 1 Riza Kayaalp (TUR) - two-time world champ and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist
No. 2 Mijain Lopez Nunez (CUB) - five-time world champ and two-time Olympic gold medalist
Kayaalp and Lopez have wrestled in three world finals, as well as the semifinals of the 2012 Olympics in London. As the 2015 world finalists, they will be separated in Rio, meaning they cannot meet until the finals on Monday, August 15. Of note, both were flag bearers for their countries in the Opening Ceremonies.
Lopez is the best Greco-Roman wrestler I have ever seen, although both of his finals losses to Kayaalp were suspicious. He is my pick to win his third Olympic gold medal, which puts him in an exclusive class of Greco wrestlers. The only other two athletes with three Greco golds are Carl Westergren (SWE) and Aleksandr Karelin (RUS).
Lopez over Kayaalp in 2014:
These two titans of the sport have only competed twice since their final in Las Vegas. In March, Kayaalp won his fifth European title, then took the top podium spot last month at the Grand Prix of Germany. Meanwhile, Lopez did not compete until June, when he won the Granma Cup in his home nation of Cuba, then traveled to Madrid to take the Grand Prix of Spain title.
Kayaalp returns the favor in 2015:
The Dark Horses
No. 5 Johan Magnus Eurén (SWE) - 2013 world bronze and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist
No. 12 Heiki Nabi (EST) - two-time world champ and 2012 Olympic silver medalist
Robby Smith (USA) - fifth at 2015 and 2013 Worlds, 2015 Pan-Am champ
Anything other than a Lopez vs. Kayaalp final would mean a tremendous upset occurred along the line. If that somehow happens, my money is on one of the three gentlemen above pulling it off.
Johan Eurén has had a bit of an up-and-down year, but still walks into Rio ranked fifth by United World Wrestling. Sweden did not even send a representative at super heavyweight to Vegas, so Eurén had to go through the two final last chance qualifiers just to get in this field.
The 31-year-old Swede hopes to replicate his form from Latvia at Euros and Turkey's last chance qualifier to take his second Olympic medal in as many tries.
Eurén shows off his gut wrench at Euros:
Estonia is not known for its Olympic prowess, but their dearth of medals did not stop Heiki Nabi from making the finals four years ago. He was one of just two medalists overall for his home country then, and will likely face similar circumstances this year.
Nabi did not wrestle for a medal in Vegas, which left his qualifying fate to be made in Europe in April. He won the World Military Games title in October, and then beat Smith at the Golden Grand Prix in November.
Nabi qualifies for Rio:
How Smith Can Medal
Robby Smith has wrestled just seven matches since qualifying for Rio with a fifth-place finish at last year's world championships, which is why he has been dropped from UWW's rankings.
That's even lower than where he was last year entering Vegas, when he sat 18th after winning the Pan-Am Championships and taking bronze at the Pan-Am Games.
All this means is Smith will fly under the radar and be overlooked as the brackets come out on Sunday. This will be the year he puts it together by working his front headlock and par terre standup to win Team USA's first Greco medal since Adam Wheeler in 2008 (provided Andy Bisek or Jesse Thielke doesn't also win one the day before).
Predictions
GOLD: Mijain Lopez, Cuba
SILVER: Riza Kayaalp, Turkey
BRONZE: Robby Smith, USA
BRONZE: Johan Eurén, Sweden
FIFTH: Heiki Nabi, Estonia
FIFTH: Aleksandr Chernetski, Ukraine
Olympic Wrestling Previews:
Men's Freestyle: 57KG | 65KG | 74KG | 86KG | 97KG | 125KGWomen's Freestyle: 48KG | 53KG | 63KG | 75KG
Greco Roman: 59KG | 75KG | 85KG (Coming 8/14) | 130KG
Top Matches Of Olympians:
Men's Frestyle: Daniel Dennis | Frank Molinaro | Jordan Burroughs J'den Cox | Kyle Snyder | Tervel Dlagnev
Greco Roman: Jesse Thielke | Andy Bisek | Robby Smith | Ben Provisor (Coming 8/14)
Women's Freestyle: Haley Augello | Helen Maroulis | Elena Pirozhkova | Adeline Gray
Know A Foreign Hammer:
Toghrul Asgarov | Roman Vlasov | Taha AkgulSaori Yoshida | Anzor Boltakaev | Abdulrashid Sadulaev
Anuiar Gedeuv | Erica Wiebe | Soronzonbold Battsetsegg
Hamid Soryan | Vladimir Khinchegashvili
2016 Olympic Wrestling Schedule