Paris Preview: American Adam Coon among athlete standing in the way of Olympic history

Topping the list of skilled wrestlers at heavyweight as the No. 1 seed is Amin Mirzazadeh of Iran, the current Senior World champion. Mirzazadeh is a two-time World champion and three-time World finalist. He draws experience from the 2020 Tokyo Games, where he placed fifth.

Abdellatif Mohamed of Egypt, a 2023 Senior World bronze medalist, is seeded No. 2. Mohamed has competed at seven World Championships among the age-group and Senior levels, plus two Olympic Games.

Lingzhe Meng of China, who placed fifth in the 2023 World Championships, is the No. 3 seed. Meng is seeking his first World medal after competing at six age-group and four Senior World Championships.

The No. 4 seed is Alin Alexuc Ciurariu of Romania, who earned his spot through the World Olympic Games Qualifier. Alexuc Ciurariu has competed at 10 Senior World events, earning a bronze in 2022, and will be a four-time Olympian when he steps on the mat in Paris.

Two-time World champion and Olympic silver medalist Heiki Nabi of Estonia is seeded No. 5. 2022 World bronze medalist and Tokyo Olympian Mantas Knystautas of Lithuania comes in at No. 6 as a late add replacing Tunisia’s Amine Guennichi.

Yasmani Acosta Fernandez, representing Chile, was a finalist at the Pan American Olympic Qualifier, and is the No. 7 seed. Acosta Fernandez’s resume is backed by five Senior World Championships and Tokyo Olympic appearances. He previously competed for Cuba before transferring to Chile. Rounding out the top-eight seeds is Seungchan Lee of Korea, a finalist at the Asian Olympic Qualifier.

2018 World runner-up Adam Coon takes the mat for Team USA. Coon’s powerful build and aggressive wrestling style will make waves on the Olympic stage.

The top athlete to watch for in this weight class is four-time Olympic champion Mijain Lopez of Cuba. Lopez will be looking to make history in Paris, seeking his fifth Olympic gold. There has never been a Summer Olympian win gold medals in the same individual event five consecutive times. Lopez won gold in Beijing, London, Rio and Tokyo.

Completing the field are Sabah Shariati of Azerbaijan, Kiril Milov of Bulgaria, Jello Krahmer of Germany, Alimkhan Syzdykov of Kazakhstan, Oussama Assad of Morocco, Amine Guennichi of Tunisia, and Muhammet Bakir of Turkey.

130 kg GR Seeded Wrestlers

No. 1 - Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI)

No. 2 - Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY)

No. 3 - Lingzhe MENG (CHN)

No. 4 - Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)

No. 5 - Heiki NABI (EST)

No. 6 - Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)

No. 7 - Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI)

No. 8 - Seungchan LEE (KOR)

130 kg GR Olympians (to be drawn in)

Sabah SHARIATI (AZE)

Kiril MILOV (BUL)

Mijain LOPEZ (CUB)

Jello KRAHMER (GER)

Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ)

Oussama ASSAD (MAR)

Muhammet BAKIR (TUR)

Adam Coon (USA)

(Local Paris time, six hours ahead of U.S. time zone)

Monday, August 5, 2024

3:00 p.m. - Round of 16 and Quarterfinals - Men’s Greco-Roman 60-130 kg and Women’s Freestyle 68 kg

9:00 p.m. - Semifinals - Men’s Greco Roman 60-130 kg and Women’s Freestyle 68 kg

Tuesday, August 6, 2024

11:00 a.m. - Repechage Men’s Greco Roman 60-130 kg and Women’s Freestyle 68 kg

11:30 a.m. - Round of 16 and Quarterfinals - Men’s Greco-Roman 77-97 kg and Women’s Freestyle 50 kg

6:15 p.m. - Semifinals - Men’s Greco-Roman 77-97 kg and Women’s Freestyle 50 kg

7:15 p.m. - Medal Rounds in Men’s Greco Roman 60-130 kg and Women’s Freestyle 68 kg