World champion Zain Retherford, is one of five Americans who will be in Turkey trying to secure a spot in the upcoming Olympic tournament.
Courtesy USA Wrestling
Five wrestlers who captured the U.S. Olympic team trials in April are set to compete this weekend at the crucial world Olympic Games qualifier beginning Thursday in Istanbul, Turkey.
It’s the final opportunity for wrestlers to earn a spot for their country at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris. Wrestlers must finish in the top three of their weight class to earn a spot for their country and their own berth to the Olympics.
Team USA is trying to qualify for the Olympics in two men’s freestyle weight classes (57 kg, 65 kg) and three Greco-Roman weight classes (60 kg, 67 kg, 77 kg). The United States has already secured spots in the Olympic tournament in four other men’s freestyle and three Greco Roman weight classes along with all six women’s freestyle weight classes.
American Zain Retherford, the reigning 70 kg world champion, secured the right to travel to Istanbul by claiming the top spot at 65 kg at the U.S. Olympic Team trials, dethroning 2023 world team member Nick Lee in the best-of-three championship series.
Retherford is a two-time world medalist at 70 kg, earning silver in 2022 before topping the podium last summer in Belgrade, Serbia. Additionally, he made two U.S. World Team’s at 65 kg earlier in his Senior-level career and was a U17 World champion in 2012. Retherford is a three-time NCAA champion for Penn State.
Taking the mat at 57 kg in men’s freestyle is three-time age-group world champion Spencer Lee, who topped the 57 kg bracket at the U.S. Olympic Team trials with a championship series sweep of 2020 Olympic bronze medalist and past world champion Thomas Gilman.
Lee won World gold medals for the U.S. in three-straight years (2014-16), once at the U17 level and twice in the U20 age bracket. He took seven years away from the international circuit to focus on his collegiate career with Iowa, where he was a three-time NCAA champion.
Last November Lee returned to the international scene with a gold medal outing at the Bill Farrell Memorial International. He followed it up with gold medals at the U.S. Senior Nationals and Pan American Championships.
Three U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program teammates spearhead the Greco-Roman effort in Turkey—Dalton Roberts, Ellis Coleman and Kamal Bey.
After a gritty three-match championship series win over two-time Olympian Ildar Hafizov at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Roberts solidified himself as the top man at 60 kg for Team USA. Roberts qualified for the U.S. Senior world team in 2018 and 2021 and was a four-time age-group world team member.
Coleman, a 2012 Olympian in London, England, completed his resurgence to the top of the Greco-Roman ladder by upending Tokyo Olympian and reigning world team member Alejandro Sancho in three incredibly close bouts at 67 kg at the Olympic Trials.
As a two-time U20 World bronze medalist in 2010-11, followed by an Olympic appearance at age 20, Coleman was once considered the future face of U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling. He made four U.S. World Team’s after London through 2019 but hasn’t posted an international result since. His first tournament back from a five-year layoff came at the Armed Forces Championships in March, which he won, followed thereafter by the Olympic Trials.
Three-time World Team member Bey has controlled the 77 kg weight class domestically the past three years. He gets the nod for Istanbul after ousting top challenger Aliaksandr Kikinou in the Olympic Trials championship series in two straight matches.
The third time could be the charm for Bey, who has competed at the previous two Paris Olympic qualifying events for Team USA. He finished in 10th place at the Senior World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, landing five spots shy of Olympic qualification status. In addition, Bey finished one win shy of qualifying the weight at the Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier in Acapulco, Mexico, falling in the semifinal round.
Bey is a four-time age-group World Team member for the U.S., earning a gold medal at the 2017 U20 World Championships in Tampere, Finland. He was a Pan American Games and Pan American Championships gold medalist in 2023.
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Greco-Roman will kick off the festivities on Thursday, followed by women’s freestyle on Friday and men’s freestyle on Saturday. Each style will wrestle over the course of two days. A complete schedule of events can be found below.
The U.S. audience can watch the event live on Flowrestling.com starting at 10 a.m. local time/3 a.m. (ET) each day. Brackets and real-time results will be available on UWW Arena.
Event Schedule
Thursday, May 9
10 a.m. (3 a.m., EST) – Preliminary rounds (GR 60-67-77-87-97-130 kg)
6 p.m. (11 a.m., EST) – Semifinals (GR 60-67-77-87-97-130 kg)
GR: Greco Roman; WFS: Women’s freestyle; MFS: Men’s freestyle
Friday, May 10
10 a.m. (3 a.m., EST) – Repechage (GR 60-67-77-87-97-130 kg), Preliminary rounds (WFS 50-53-57-62-68-76 kg)
4:45 p.m. (9:45 a.m., EST) – Bronze medal matches (GR 60-67-77-87-97-130 kg)
6 p.m. (11 a.m., EST) – Semifinals (WFS 50-53-57-62-68-76 kg)
8:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m., EST) – True-bronze medal matches (GR 60-67-77-87-97-130 kg)
Saturday, May 11
10 a.m. (3 a.m., EST) – Repechage (WFS 50-53-57-62-68-76 kg), Preliminary rounds (MFS 57-65-74-86-97-125 kg)
4:45 p.m. (9:45 a.m., EST) – Bronze medal matches (WFS 50-53-57-62-68-76 kg)
6 p.m. (11 a.m., EST) – Semifinals (MFS 57-65-74-86-97-125 kg)
8:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m., EST) – True-bronze medal matches (WFS 50-53-57-62-68-76 kg)
Sunday, May 12
3 p.m. (8 a.m., EST) – Repechage (MFS 57-65-74-86-97-125 kg)
4:45 p.m. (9:45 a.m., EST) – Bronze medal matches (MFS 57-65-74-86-97-125 kg)
6 p.m. (11 a.m., EST)– True-bronze medal matches (MFS 57-65-74-86-97-125 kg)
*All times listed are local to Istanbul, Turkey, which is seven hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time.
