American Kamal Bey remains alive in his quest to secure an Olympic berth.
Courtesy USA Wrestling
ISTANBUL, Turkey, May 9, 2024 –American Greco-Roman wrestler Kamal Bey remains alive in a hunt for a berth at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris while two U.S. teammates have been eliminated at the World Olympic Games qualifier.
Bey lost his first match against 2021 world silver medalist Sergei Kutuzov, an Individual neutral athlete from Russia, in the opening round at 77 kg of the Greco-Roman tournament. When Kutuzov advanced to the final, it created an opening and a second chance for Bey, who will have to win four consecutive matches to earn a spot in Paris.
U.S. Greco Roman wrestlers Dalton Roberts (60 kg) and Ellis Coleman (67 kg) did not advance.
A three-time U.S. World Team member and 2017 U20 World champion, Bey lost 8-0 to Kutuzov.
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 on Friday 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.
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 Baakehir 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.
Event Schedule
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.
