Kamal Bey attempts an arm drag against Individual Neutral Athlete Sergei Kutuzov at the World Olympic Games Qualifier.
Bey enters repechage at World Olympic Games Qualifier; Coleman, Roberts come up short of Paris Olympic quotas
by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling
Watch: World Olympic Games Qualifier Interviews
ISTANBUL, Turkey – The Team USA Greco-Roman trio of Dalton Roberts, Ellis Coleman and Kamal Bey finished with a 1-3 record on the first day of wrestling at the World Olympic Games Qualifier. Bey is the solo U.S. representative to qualify for tomorrow’s repechage rounds with hopes of qualifying for the Paris Olympics.
A three-time U.S. World Team member and 2017 U20 World champion, Bey was ousted 8-0 by 2021 World silver medalist Sergei Kutuzov, an Individual Neutral Athlete from Russia, in the opening round at 77 kg.
The match defining sequence came as time went out in the first period—Bey was charged with a pair of leg fouls on a Kutuzov attack that resulted in a takedown. The sequence was initially scored 6-0, but video review adjusted the points for Kutuzov up to eight, ending the match.
Kutuzov navigated his way through a gauntlet of international opponents to make the finals, earning one of the Paris Olympic quotas at 77 kg, and pulling Bey back into the tournament. Bey will have to win four matches tomorrow to solidify his place in Paris. His first opponent will be Individual Neutral Athlete Tsimur Berdyieu from Belarus, who holds two fifth-place finishes from the Senior World Championships.
The lone American win of the day came from Coleman in the opening round at 67 kg. The 2012 London Olympian and four-time U.S. World Team member edged 2019 U23 World silver medalist Aliaksandr Liavonchyk, an Individual Neutral Athlete from Belarus, in a hard-fought contest that was decided on criteria.
Neither Coleman nor Liavonchyk were able to find an offensive hold. Coleman was put underneath in the opening period, fighting off Liavonchyk’s top arsenal. The situation was flipped in the second frame with Coleman getting his chance on top, unable to score. The match finished deadlocked, 1-1, with Coleman being awarded the win based on the last point scored criteria.
In the second round, Coleman took a 1-0 lead to the break against Andreas Vetsch of Switzerland. The American gave up critical points in the second period on an offensive headlock attempt and when defending a Vetsch duck under attack. An eight-point second period from Vetsch was enough to put Coleman away.
Vetsch went on to lose to Moldova’s Valentin Petic, 4-1, in the quarterfinals, dashing Coleman’s bid at a second Olympic Games appearance.
60 kg representative Roberts, a two-time U.S. World Team member and Pan American champion, was unable to complete a spirited second-period comeback on Viktor Petryk of Ukraine in his first and only match of the event.
Roberts surrendered the first passivity point of the bout at the halfway mark of the first period. He battled a tight front headlock attempt for several seconds, but eventually succumbed to it, rolling through three times. Down 7-0 in the second period, Roberts threw a Russian tie to the mat for a score, and added a passivity point of his own to cut Petryk’s lead to four. With time running short, Petryk hit an arm spin, which Roberts countered to end up on top. After video review, the sequence was scored 4-2 in favor of Petryk. Roberts added a step out point to round out the scoring. Final score, 11-6 in favor of Petryk.
Petryk was pinned by Virgil Bica of Sweden in his next match, ending Roberts chances at a wrestle-back and an Olympic quota.
The action from Istanbul’s Başakşehir Gençlik ve Spor Tesisleri continues Friday morning with the Greco-Roman repechage. Additionally, the women’s freestyle tournament will wrestle through the semifinals. The U.S. previously qualified all six women’s freestyle weight classes and won’t have anyone competing this week in Turkey.
The U.S. audience can watch the World Olympic Games Qualifier live on Flowrestling.com starting at 10 a.m. local time/3 a.m. (ET). Brackets and real-time results will be available on UWW Arena.
For more information about the World Olympic Games Qualifier please visit the official event website at uww.org. USA Wrestling will provide complete coverage of the event on TheMat.com and its social media platforms. Join the conversation using #WrestleIstanbul.
Greco-Roman Day One Highlights From #WrestleIstanbul
24 photos
2024 World Olympic Games Qualifier | May 9-12, Istanbul, Turkey
Greco-Roman Semifinal/Olympic Qualification Match Results
60 kg
Sadyk Lalaev (Individual Neutral Athlete) tech. fall Dahyun Kim (Korea), 8-0
Murad Mammadov (Azerbaijan) dec. Razvan Arnaut (Romania), 8-2
67 kg
Valentin Petic (Moldova) dec. Etienne Kinsinger (Germany), 3-1
Ramaz Zoidze (Georgia) tech. fall Lei Li (China), 10-0
77 kg
Aik Mnatsakanian (Bulgaria) dec. Rui Liu (China), 1-1
Sergei Kutuzov (Individual Neutral Athlete) dec. Iuri Lomadze (Georgia), 5-2
87 kg
Kiryl Maskevich (Individual Neutral Athlete) dec. Turpal Bisultanov (Denmark), 5-2
Rafig Huseynov (Azerbaijan) dec. Lasha Gobadze (Georgia), 4-1
97 kg
Arvi Savolainen (Finland) dec. Yuri Makazato (Japan), 4-2
Artur Sargsian (Individual Neutral Athlete) dec. Lucas Lazogianis (Germany), 3-1
130 kg
Sabah Shariati (Azerbaijan) dec. Pavel Hlinchuk (Individual Neutral Athlete), 1-1
Alin Alexuc Ciurariu (Romania) dec. Heiki Nabi (Estonia), 1-1
U.S. Greco-Roman Results
60 kg – Dalton Roberts (Fountain, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP), Eliminated
LOSS Viktor Petryk (Ukraine), 11-6
67 kg – Ellis Coleman (Fountain, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP), Eliminated
WIN Aliaksandr Liavonchyk (Individual Neutral Athlete), 1-1
LOSS Andreas Vetsch (Switzerland), 8-1
77 kg – Kamal Bey (Colorado Springs, Colorado/U.S. Army WCAP), Repechage
LOSS Sergei Kutuzov (Individual Neutral Athlete), 8-0
VS Tsimur Berdyieu (Individual Neutral Athlete)