World Track and Field: So close to an incident-free evening

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Beau Dure

I didn’t have a chance to post an update yesterday during my epic escape from Rochester (see my WPS recap), but you’ve already heard the big news from the Sunday evening (morning in USA) session: Usain Bolt false-started and was disqualified.

A brief history of the false-start rule (intriguing discussion here):

– Before 2003, each runner could have one false start. Mess up once, and you get a warning. Twice, you’re out.

– The problem was that you’d have major races in which 3-4 guys would have false starts. That made everyone rather grumpy, particularly the meet officials who are trying to keep things on time for the broadcasters. So the change came down in 2003: If someone false starts, the whole field gets a warning. If someone else false starts, he/she is out. No matter who it is.

– In 2009, they took it even farther. One false start, and you’re gone. It’s not usually a judgment call — sensors in the blocks flag sprinters who react faster than humans are theoretically able to react (though in Bolt’s case, it was obvious to the naked eye).

– After the premature exits of Bolt and Olympic 400-meter champion Christine Ohuruogu, this rule is going to be revised. The thoughtful Twitter feed of American hurdler David Oliver has a suggestion: Keep the current “one and done” for most competitions, but in major events like the World Championships and the Olympics, go back to the warning system.

So on Sunday night, that incident pretty much upstaged everything else, including the fact that the 100-meter title remained in Jamaica. Yohan Blake ran away from the field — a strong headwind kept his time down to 9.92 — with the USA’s Walter Dix edging the venerable Kim Collins for silver.

It’s a pity because we had two good thrilling moments among the four other medal events Sunday:

– Decathlon: Young American Ashton Eaton ran a terrific 1,500 meters to move up to second behind Trey Hardee for an American 1-2.

– 10,000 meters: Ethiopia’s Ibrahim Jeilan beat Britain’s Mo Farah by a slim margin of 0.26 seconds. The USA’s Galen Rupp ran a season best for seventh.

– Long jump: Remember Brittney Reese‘s struggles in qualification? Not this time. She nailed it with her first jump and held on for the win.

– Women’s discus: No late drama in this one, as no thrower improved her mark with either of her last two throws. China’s Li Yangeng threw about a foot and a half farther than Germany’s Nadine Muller.

– Men’s 20k walk: 1-2 for Russia.

So that was Sunday. Could we get through Monday by keeping the focus on the events?

Almost. All six finals had something of interest.

– Men’s hammer: Japan’s Koji Murofushi was the only thrower over 80 meters until the last throw, when Hungary’s Krisztian Pars came with six centimeters of his mark.

– Men’s pole vault: Favorite Renard Lavillenie flew over his first few attempts but suddenly went three-and-out for bronze. Cuba’s Lazaro Borges sailed past his personal best and cleared 5.90 meters on his third and final attempt. Poland’s Pawel Wojciechowski, who had fewer misses than Borges and was therefore in first place, wasn’t able clear 5.95 and had to wait anxiously as the stadium got up to see Borges take his last shot. It was anticlimactic — Borges went through the pit without a real attempt.

– Women’s shot put: The throwers struggled through the first three rounds until New Zealand favorite Valerie Adams cleared 20 meters at 20.04. Then the big throws came quickly — American Jillian Camarena-Williams at 20.02 with her fourth throw, Adams out farther to 20.72 with her fourth, China’s Gong Lijiao in medal contention at 19.97 with her fifth, Belarus’s Nadzeya Ostapchuk to 20.05 with her fifth. On the sixth throws, Camarena-Williams and Ostapchuk remained in third and second, but even with the gold clinched, Adams threw a championship record 21.24.

– Women’s 400: It’s the USA’s Allyson Felix, going for a rare 200-400 double! No, it’s Botswana’s Amantle Montsho, going for her country’s first World Championship medal! It’s Felix pulling close! Montsho pulling ahead! Felix coming up at the line …. and Montsho holds on by 0.03 seconds. A thriller.

– Men’s 110 hurdles: A poor start doomed American favorite David Oliver. The other two favorites, China’s Liu Xiang and Cuba’s Dayron Robles, pulled ahead and battled until the last hurdle, when Liu lost his rhythm and let Robles and American Jason Richardson fly past. Another thriller. But wait …

– Women’s 100: Four runners under 11 seconds into a strong headwind, with American Carmelita Jeter fulfilling her promise with the big win ahead of three big-time Caribbean rivals.

So a big night for big events with no incidents to report … uh oh …

Back to the hurdles. Robles and Liu made contact late in the race. The IAAF blamed Robles and disqualified him.

Your 110 hurdles champion, in a stunning upset: Jason Richardson. And Britain’s Andrew Turner, who finished in the same time as Oliver, gets an equally surprising bronze.

That’s disappointing for Cuba, which so nearly had two gold medals in a 30-minute span. But it’s a boost for Britain, whose usually rapt attention to these championships is dialed up a notch with the Olympics coming to London next year. And Britain’s Jessica Ennis has the lead after Day 1 of the heptathlon, a predictable place for her but not in predictable fashion.

Tuesday: Heptathlon wraps up, and we have five other finals. The men’s 800 and women’s pole vault should be the most competitive, unless Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva really is back in top shape in the vault.

olympic sports, track and field

World Track and Field, Day 2b

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Beau Dure

What you should know at this stage of the World Track and Field Championships (all times ET), particularly if you’re waking up in a couple of hours:

– Usain Bolt races in the men’s 100 semifinals at 5:30 a.m. ET and almost certainly the final at 7:45 a.m.

– Americans Trey Hardee and Ashton Eaton are currently 1-2 in the decathlon, which wraps with the 1,500 meters at 7:15 a.m.

– Kenyans won all six medals on Day 1 (women’s 10,000 and marathon).

– Russia then claimed second in the medal table with gold and silver in the men’s 20k walk.

– Britain, hoping for a lot of medals next year on home soil, got a rough start — a false start, actually, with Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu disqualified in the 400 heats.

– Some clutch qualifications for U.S. women in field events — Brittney Reese posted the best jump of Group A on her final attempt, and Jenn Suhr needed a third attempt at 4.50 meters before making the grade in the pole vault.

– Sogelau Tuvalu set a personal best in the 100 meters — 15.66 seconds.

olympic sports, track and field

The biggest non-Olympic Olympic sports event is upon us …

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Beau Dure

Live from Daegu (assuming you don’t sleep during normal hours in U.S. time zones), it’s the 2011 IAAF World Championships. (That’s track and field/athletics.)

Given the time difference, soccer duties and the uncertainty of having power by the time Hurricane Irene has finished with the East Coast, I won’t be live blogging or anything like that. But as long as I’m able, I’ll post daily recaps and previews.

Not that Day 1 has much to offer. It has the first five decathlon events and a lot of qualifying for later in the week. The only finals are in the women’s marathon and women’s 10,000 meters, both of which should give East African countries an early lead in the medal count.

A few things to watch:

– Top Americans in finals: Shalane Flanagan took bronze in the 10,000 in 2008, and her season and personal bests stack up well against the rest of the group.

– Other finals: The women’s marathon, as Track Super Fan points out, draws a better start list than the men’s marathon, but not by much. The big names aren’t here.

– First glimpses: Usain Bolt gets a bye past the preliminary round of the 100 meters, and the way his challengers are dropping out with injuries and other problems, he might as well save his strength for one good shot at the record. Surprise Beijing gold medalist Stephanie Brown Trafton is in the women’s discus qualifying rounds.

VITAL INFO: Results, live streaming, predictions, etc.

– Live streaming and a lot of news coverage at Universal Sports. Webcasts cost $14.99 for the whole nine days or $3.99 per day.

– Predictions and previews at TrackSuperFan.com

– My 2012 medal projections include a quick look at the top athletes in each event: Men’s running events, women’s running events, field events.

– More coverage at ESPN, espnW, USA TODAY, somewhere on SI’s site — and for a more worldly view, the BBC and Eurosport.

– A Twitter list that I may revise as the competition goes on.

Happy running, throwing, jumping and walking.

medal projections, olympic sports

2012 women’s swimming and synchro: All about the Franklins

Posted on August 2, 2011June 23, 2017 by Beau Dure

Once again: These projections will obviously draw quite heavily from the just-concluded World Championships, and the FINA site’s “rankings” page that generates the best times in any given time period — in this case, since the really fast high-tech suits were banned (1/1/2010).

This post includes projections for synchronized swimming. And with that, we will be done with every single Olympic event.

Continue reading →

medal projections, olympic sports

2012 men’s swimming: Lochte, Lochte, Phelps, Lochte, Phelps, Phelps …

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Beau Dure

The USA-Australia rivalry has given way to the Phelps-Lochte rivalry. That’s not to say the USA is poised to add to their already-substantial medal counts — the contenders are simply spread out among the rest of the world. China had a fantastic World Championship at home, and the USA still lacks dominant swimmers at breaststroke and long-distance freestyle.

These projections will obviously draw quite heavily from the just-concluded World Championships, but the FINA site has a neat feature worth checking out as well — a “rankings” page that generates the best times in any given time period. So if you want to know the fastest times since the really fast high-tech suits were banned (1/1/2010), knock yourself out. Yes, I did that.

Continue reading →

medal projections, mma, olympic sports

2012 wrestling: Not just an MMA prep course

Posted on August 1, 2011June 23, 2017 by Beau Dure

With all due respect to the revamped formats international wrestling organizers trot out every couple of years, mixed martial arts is the best and worst thing to happen to wrestling in the past decade. Hard-core MMA fans have expanded their combat-sport interests to the more traditional mat-and-singlet sport, and the possibility that today’s U.S. champion could be tomorrow’s UFC champion doesn’t hurt the interest level.

On the flip side, the sport’s top talents may decide that learning to punch someone and get paid beats toiling in international tournaments in the former Eastern Bloc for a shot at the Olympics. That trend is extending to women’s wrestling as well, with 2004 silver medalist Sara McMann now plowing through the women’s MMA ranks. Some people, like Joe Warren, will try to balance MMA with a run at London.

But that migration is happening mostly in the Western world. This sport is still huge in Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan and elsewhere in the Eastern Europe/Central Asia range. In women’s wrestling, which merges the seven World Championship weight classes down to four in the Olympics, add Japan and Canada.

This is another combat sport with two bronze medals per class. And World Championships every year — last September in Moscow, this September in Istanbul.

Unfortunately, FILA basically doesn’t compile rankings based on any other competitions. Think I’m deterred by any of that? Nah. Here’s what we’ll do: Take the 2010 World Championships previews at USA Wrestling’s lively site, TheMat.com, which compile plenty of information from the past several years. Then check the 2010 results.

MEN’S FREESTYLE

55kg: Russia’s Victor Lebedev moved up from bronze to gold in 2010. The two wild cards here are North Korea’s Yang Kyong-Il, the 2009 champion but a no-show in 2010, and gold medalist Henry Cejudo, who has taken time off but plans to return. Japan’s Yasuhiro Inaba won the 2010 Asian title and was third at Worlds behind Lebedev and Azerbaijan’s Togrul Asgarov. The other 2010 medalist was Cuba’s Frank Chamizo.

2008: Henry Cejudo (USA), Tomohiro Matsunaga (Japan), Besik Kudukhov (Russia), Radoslav Velikov (Bulgaria)

Projection: Russia, USA, Japan, Azerbaijan

Top Americans: In Cejudo’s absence, Obe Blanc ranked 10th at Worlds.

60kg: Three of four 2009 medalists repeated in 2010, including champion Besik Kudukhov of Russia. Ukraine’s Vasyl Fedoryshyn has vacillated (sorry) between silver and bronze over the past three World and Olympic events. Azerbaijan’s Zalimkhan Huseinov has moved up from fifth in 2008 to silver in 2009 and bronze in 2010. The other 2010 bronze medalist also is no stranger to the podium — Iran’s Seyed Morad Mohammadi won the 2006 world title and Olympic bronze in 2008. Falling off the podium from 2009 to 2010 was Uzbekistan’s Dilshod Mansurov.

2008: Mavlet Batirov (Russia), Vasyl Fedoryshyn (Ukraine), Seyed Morad Mohammadi (Iran), Kenichi Yumoto (Japan)

Projection: Russia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Iran

Top Americans: Mike Zadick took silver in 2006 but hasn’t been in the top 10 since.

66kg: Russia has taken second in this class at two straight World Championships with two different wrestlers. India’s Sushil Kumar bounced around the top five — bronze in 2008, fifth in 2009 — before taking the world title last year. Azerbaijan’s Jabrayli Hasanov took the European title and World bronze last year. Cuba’s Geandry Garzon has medaled in four of the last five Worlds and was fifth in Beijing.

2008: Ramazan Şahin (Turkey), Andriy Stadnik (Ukraine), Sushil Kumar (India), Otar Tushishvili (Georgia)

Projection: Russia, India, Azerbaijan, Cuba

Top Americans: Brent Metcalf was a disappointing 20th at Worlds.

74kg: All Russia, with Denis Tsargush taking over from the decorated Bouvaisa Saitiev and winning two straight world titles. Iran’s Sadegh Goudarzi has taken bronze and silver in the last two Worlds. The 2010 bronze medalists were the relatively unheralded Abdulhakim Shapiev (Kazakhstan) and Gabor Hatos (Hungary). Bulgaria’s Kiril Terziev, who took bronze in 2008, was seventh at Worlds.

2008: Bouvaisa Saitiev (Russia), Soslan Tigiev (Uzbekistan), Murad Gaidarov (Belarus), Kiril Terziev (Bulgaria)

Projection: Russia, Iran, Hungary, Bulgaria

Top Americans: Travis Paulson couldn’t make any headway at Worlds. This was Ben Askren’s weight class before his departure for MMA.

84kg: Bulgaria’s Michail Ganev had been bubbling under the podium for a while before dethroning Uzbekistan’s Zaurbek Sokhiev in last year’s final. Sokhiev didn’t medal at the Olympics but had taken bronze in 2006 and 2007 in addition to his 2009 title. The bronze medalists were Russia’s Soslan Ktsoev (the European champion) and Cuba’s Reineri Salas. Ukraine’s Ibragim Aldatov slipped from third to fifth in 2010.

2008: Revaz Mindorashvili (Georgia), Yusup Abdusalomov (Tajikistan), Taras Danko (Ukraine), Georgy Ketoyev (Russia)

Projection: Uzbekistan, Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine

Top Americans: Jake Herbert had a rough time at Worlds but has had some success in this class, where “King” Mo Lawal once roamed.

96kg: Azerbaijan’s Khetag Gazyumov completed the progression from bronze (2008) to silver (2009) to gold, ending a long run for Russia atop the weight class. In the final, he beat four-time world champion and 2004 Olympic champion Khadshimourad Gatsalov, who did not compete in 2008 while his countryman Shirvani Muradov won gold. Georgia’s Georgi Gogchelidze has bronze in three straight competitions. Alexei Krupniakov of Kyrgyzstan took the other bronze in 2010 after some quarterfinal appearances in the past.

2008: Shirvani Muradov (Russia), Taimuraz Tigiyev (Kazakhstan), Georgi Gogshelidze (Georgia), Khetag Gazyumov (Azerbaijan)

Projection: Azerbaijan, Russia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan

Top Americans: Jake Varner was ninth in 2009; J.D. Bergman 10th in 2010.

120kg: Another class in which Russia has a multiple-time world champion (Beylal Makhov) missed the 2008 Games. He beat 2008 gold medalist Artur Taymazov (Uzbekistan) in the 2010 final. Greece’s Ioannis Arzoumanidis has taken bronze twice in a row. Georgia has had a couple of different wrestlers in the mix, and Iran’s Fardin Masoumi has the 2009 silver along with some quarterfinal performances.

2008: Artur Taymazov (Uzbekistan), Bakhtiyar Akhmedov (Russia), David Musulbes (Slovakia), Marid Mutalimov (Kazahkstan)

Projection: Russia, Uzbekistan, Greece, Iran

Top Americans: Tervel Dlagnev took bronze in 2009. Les Sigman beat him to earn a spot on the 2010 team and placed ninth.

WOMEN’S FREESTYLE

48kg: We’ll make a potentially dangerous assumption here — this weight class is so stacked that few 51kg wrestlers will make the effort to cut weight and wrestle in this class. Azerbaijan’s Mariya Stadnik added a 2009 world title to her 2008 bronze, and Olympic champion Carol Huynh (Canada) returned from a year off to take bronze in 2010. And yet they were upstaged in 2010 by Japan’s Hitomi Sakamoto, who had retired after winning six world titles at 51kg but returned to make a run at the Olympics at 48kg. She beat European champion Lorisa Oorzhak (Russia) for the title. China’s Shasha Zhao took the other bronze, while Britain has a contender in quarterfinalist Yana Stadnik.

2008: Carol Huynh (Canada), Chiharu Icho (Japan), Mariya Stadnik (Azerbaijan), Irina Merleni (Ukraine)

Projection: Japan, Canada, Azerbaijan, Russia

Top Americans: Clarissa Chun won the 2008 world title (yes, a separate competition was held) and placed fifth in the Olympics, but Alyssa Lampe took her spot in 2010 without making an impact at Worlds.

55kg: Now we have two weight classes to deal with — 51 and 55. The 51kg contenders are Sofia Mattsson (Sweden) and Aleksandra Kohut (Ukraine), who traded gold and bronze in the past two Worlds. Two different Japanese wrestlers also medaled at 51, but they’ll never qualify at 55 ahead of the legendary Saori Yoshida, who has dominated the 55kg class for the better part of a decade. Azerbaijan threw two different wrestlers at her in the past two Worlds, each taking silver. North America counters with 2008/2009 bronze medalist Tonya Verbeek (Canada) and 2010 bronze medalist Tatiana Padilla (USA).

2008: Saori Yoshida (Japan), Xu Li (China), Tonya Verbeek (Canada), Jackeline Renteria (Colombia)

Projection: Japan, Azerbaijan, USA, Canada

Top Americans: See above for Padilla. Jessica Medina was ninth at 51.

63kg: No dominant wrestler at 59kg — Soronzonbold Battsetseg (Mongolia) won the 2010 world title ahead of China’s Zhang Lan, who won the 2010 Junior Worlds and could be poised to move up. Japan’s four-time world champ Ayako Shoda shared bronze with 2009 Euro champion Johanna Mattsson (Sweden). Canada’s Tonya Verbeek, moving up from 55kg, shared fifth with American Kelsey Campbell. But Shoda, Campbell and Mattsson might have a hard time qualifying at this weight class ahead of 2010 world medalists Kaori Icho, Elena Pirozhkova and Hanna Johansson. Icho has two Olympic golds and five world titles; countrywoman Mio Nishimaki took the titles when Icho took a post-Olympic break. Russia’s Lubov Volosova has medaled in the last three Worlds.

2008: Kaori Icho (Japan), Alena Kartoshova (Russia), Yelena Shalygina (Kazakhstan), Randi Miller (USA)

Projection: Japan, USA, Sweden, China

Top Americans: Russian-born Pirozkhova’s silver medal was a good follow-up to two top-10 finishes at Worlds. Sara McMann wrestled here before jumping into the cage.

72kg: Canada’s Martine Dugrenier owns the 67kg class, winning three straight world titles. Nigeria’s Ifeoma Inenacho has two straight bronze. At 72kg, Bulgaria’s Stanka Zlateva has won four of the last five Worlds along with the 2009 bronze and Olympic silver. Canada’s Ohenewa Akuffo has two medals from the last three Worlds. Russia has stiff competition just to make the team, and Ekaterina Bukina took bronze in 2010. China also has depth here. Japan’s Kyoko Hamaguchi won five world titles from 1997 to 2003 and keeps making the podium, taking bronze in 2010.

2008: Wang Jiao (China), Stanka Zlateva (Bulgaria), Kyoko Hamaguchi (Japan), Agnieszka Wieszczek (Poland)

Projection: Bulgaria, Canada, Russia, China

Top Americans: Kristie Davis (formerly Marano) has nine World Championship medals. The bad news is that they’re mostly at 67kg, and she struggled at 2010 Worlds. Stephanie Lee reached the 2010 quarterfinals, while Ali Bernard was fifth in the 2008 Games.

MEN’S GRECO-ROMAN

55kg: Hamid Sorian Reinhanpour (Iran) is one of those perennial world championships who disappointed in Beijing. He took the 2010 world title ahead of Asian champion Choi Gyu-Jim (South Korea), 2008 gold medalist Nazyr Mankiev (Russia) and 2008 bronze medalist Roman Amoya (Armenia). Fifth place was shared by two European bronze medalists — Peter Modos (Hungary) and Vugar Ragimov (Ukraine). European champion Elchin Aliev (Azerbaijan) was ninth. Basically, we have a lot of consistent performers here, making an outright shock unlikely but making it tough to pick from a few elite guys.

2008: Nazyr Mankiev (Russia), Rovshan Bayramov (Azerbaijan), Park Eun-Chul (South Korea), Roman Amoyan (Armenia)

Projection: Iran, Russia, South Korea, Azerbaijan

Top Americans: Spenser Mango had a disappointing run in the 2010 Worlds but has had some top 10s in big competitions and a strong junior record.

60kg: In case you haven’t noticed yet, Azerbaijan is pretty good at wrestling. Vitaly Rahimov has moved up, and 2009 European champion Hasan Aliev stepped up to win the 2009 European and 2010 World titles. Ryutaro Matsumoto (Japan) was a slightly surprising 2010 silver medalist. Kazakhstan and South Korea shook up their rosters and took 2010 bronze medals anyway. Not sure what happened to teen phenom Islam-Beka Albiev after his gold medal in 2008.

2008: Islam-Beka Albiev (Russia), Vitaly Rahimov (Azerbaijan), Nurbakyt Tengizbayev (Kazakhstan), Ruslan Tumenbaev (Kyrgyzstan)

Projection: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Japan, South Korea

Top Americans: Jeremiah Davis qualified for Worlds and won the first period of his bout with former world champion Dilshod Aripov but lost the next two.

66kg: European champion Ambako Vachade (Russia) won the 2010 world title ahead of 2008 bronze medalist Armen Vardanyan (Ukraine), Turkey’s Vasif Arzimanov and the aforementioned Vitaly Rahimov (Azerbaijan). France’s Steeve Guenot, the 2008 gold medalist and copy desk nightmare, shared fifth with Hungary’s Tamas Loerincz.

2008: Steeve Guenot (France), Kanatbek Begaliev (Kyrgyzstan), Armen Vardanyan (Ukraine), Mikhail Siamionau (Belarus)

Projection: Russia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, France

Top Americans: Faruk Sahin was 11th at Worlds.

74kg: Turkey’s Selcuk Cebi has won two straight world titles. Armenia’s Arsen Julfalakyan took silver as one of several good performances in 2010. The class has had some turnover beyond those two — Russia’s Imil Sharafetdinov and Kyrgyzstan’s Daniar Kobonov shared bronze ahead of yet another wrestler from Azerbaijan, Rafig Huseynov.

2008: Manuchar Kvirkelia (Georgia), Chang Yongxiang (China), Yavor Yanakiev (Bulgaria), Christophe Guenot (France)

Projection: Turkey, Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan

Top Americans: Jake Fisher was introduced to World Championship competition in 2010.

84kg: Bulgaria’s Hristo Marinov came from nowhere to win the world title. Cuba’s Pablo Shorey was a little less surprising runner-up, having taken bronze the year before. Russian veteran Alexei Mishin shared bronze with Croatia’s Nenad Zugaj. 2009 champion Nazmi Avluca (Turkey) shared fifth with Poland’s Damian Janikowski.

2008: Andrea Minguzzi (Italy), Zoltán Fodor (Hungary), Nazmi Avluca (Turkey), vacant (Sweden’s Ara Abrahamian tossed the medal aside soon after its presentation and was officially stripped of it for disrupting the medal ceremony)

Projection: Cuba, Turkey, Russia, Bulgaria

Top Americans: Jacob Clark ranked 11th at Worlds.

96kg: Amir Ali Akbari (Iran) moved up from bronze to gold in 2010. Timofej Dzeynichenko (Belarus) was second at Euros and Worlds. Sweden’s Jimmy Lidberg has a silver and bronze from the last two Worlds, while 2008 gold medalist Aslanbek Khushtov (Russia) has bronze in the last two.

2008: Aslanbek Khushtov (Russia), Mirko Englich (Germany), Adam Wheeler (USA), Asset Mambetov (Kazakhstan)

Projection: Iran, Belarus, Sweden, Russia

Top Americans: Justin Ruiz is a legit contender, holding a bronze from 2005 and a fifth-place finish in 2010.

120kg: Cuba’s Mijian Lopez is simply the best — 2008 Olympic gold, world titles in 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010, plus a silver in 2006. Armenia’s Yuri Patrikeyev added world silver last year to his 2008 Olympic bronze. Riza Kayaalp (Turkey) has two straight bronze medals, sharing the 2010 prize with Nurmakhan Tinaliev (Kazakhstan). Veterans abound in this class — former world and Olympic champion Khassan Baroev (Russia) was seventh at Worlds, and former world champion and Rulon Gardner training partner Dremiel Byers (USA) was fifth.

2008: Mijain Lopez (Cuba), Khasan Baroyev (Russia), Mindaugas Mizgaitis (Lithuania), Yuri Patrikeyev (Armenia)

Projection: Cuba, Armenia, Turkey, USA

Top Americans: Byers is gearing up for that elusive Olympic medal.

Duresport.com