48kg Preview: It’s Stadnik’s Time
The lightest weight class in these Games has one of the most dominant women in the world at the top.
The Contenders
#1 Mariya Stadnik (AZE) - 4x world medalist and 2x Olympic medalist
#2 Sun Yanan (CHN) - 2013 world champ and 2016 Asian champ
#3 Eri Tosaka (JPN) - 3x defending world champ
Stadnik will be looking to complete her collection of Olympic medals next week after taking home bronze in 2008 and getting silver in London. She only has one world title to her name, at the 2009 world championships in Herning, Denmark.
Since then, she has been foiled a few times by the likes of Hitomi Obara, Eri Tosaka and Iwona Matkowska. Obara is now retired and Stadnik has beaten Matkowska four times.
Stadnik guts her way to a third straight Euro crown
The 28-year-old Azeri was up 2-0 on Tosaka with just 15 seconds remaining in their world final. They will be separated in Rio, so keep your eyes on a revenge match with the Olympic gold medal on the line.
Tosaka is your typical high level Japanese woman wrestler: unflappable, technically sound and rarely seen. Their team tends to practice constantly and only come out for the big events, which Tosaka has in aces: all three senior level world championships this quad, a University Games title and an Asian Games gold.
But she took a slight tumble in the world rankings when she fell 5-4 to Yanan Sun in the semis of the Asian championships in February. Tosaka appears vulnerable, but it is also important to remember that Japan has made every 48kg Olympic final ever.
Sun over Tosaka in the Asian semis
Yanan Sun is a 23-year-old from China currently ranked second in the world. She won a junior world title in 2010, and a senior world gold in 2013 at the old non-Olympic weight if 51kg. She was not China’s representative in Vegas, but could very well bust the bracket come Wednesday morning.
The Dark Horses
#4 Jyldyz Eshimova (KAZ) - 2x world medalist and 2012 Olympian
#5 Valentia Islamova (RUS) - 2015: Golden Grand Prix champ, Euro Games bronze, Yarygin champ
#13 Kim Hyon-Gyong (PRK) - 2014: world bronze and Asian champ
Eshimova is making her second Olympic appearance and has not lost this year. Kazakhstan has medalled at each of the past two Games, albeit at higher weights.
Ranked No. 4 entering Rio, Eshimova has been active on the senior level since 2005, and won her first Asian championship when she was 19 years old. Although she did not compete in the Beijing Olympics, she was second at the non-Olympic world championships that year.
Islamova had an excellent 2015, but it was up in the air as to whether or not she would be the Russian representative in Rio. She was third at Russian nationals, but their coach Yury Shakhmuradov selected her for the team anyway. In addition to qualifying the weight by placing fifth in Vegas, she also won last year's Yarygin, was bronze at the Euro Games and won the Golden Grand Prix.
Kim Hyon-Gyong is kept under wraps most of the year due to the country she wrestles for. She was world bronze in 2014 and the Asian champ that year, so she certainly has the ability to place here in Rio. Hyon-Gyong defeated Haley Augello in the finals of the Mongolia qualifier.
Hyon-Gyong over Augello in Mongolia
How Augello Can Medal
It appears Augello's decision to take an Olympic redshirt from King has paid off. She is big for this weight, as she normally competes at 53kg. A proper cut and recovery will be a major key to her following in the footsteps of Clarissa Chun and getting a medal.
For Augello, it's all about conversion time on leg attacks. She has a very good single leg that she tends to finish quickly to the mat. The less time she gives her opponents to stuff her head and break her grip, the quicker she will be able to rack up points.
On the defensive side, Augello feels comfortable in scrambles and turning defense into offense. She can go crotch lock or stuff the head and knock her foe off their hips for two. If she finishes quickly on offense and creates longer scrambles on defense, Team USA has a decent shot to take home some hardware.
Predictions
GOLD: Mariya Stadnik, Azerbaijan
SILVER: Eri Tosaka, Japan
BRONZE: Sun Yanan, China
BRONZE: Kim Hyon-Gyong, North Korea
FIFTH: Jyldyz Eshimova (KAZ)
FIFTH: Valentina Islamova (RUS)
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