Olympic Trials

[ViseGrip]

That's pretty cool AKIN.  Let us know which matches you are involved with. 

mspart

I'm an athlete escort, so I've been lucky to be matside for most of the best matches. It's interesting to see the different warm-up routines the wrestlers have.

Please elaborate

[mspart]

I just want to say I thought Gwiz, Snyder, and  Burroughs would be on the Olympic team.  As of now, Snyder is in his second match, the other two lost 2-0.  I am batting .333 which is good for baseball but not very good in the world of prediction.  I feel bad for Burroughs, but Dake showed he is better.  JB did not have any left in his tank to pull out a victory at the end which he does very often.  Gwiz just got outmatched by a horse.  Incredible.

I batted .667 for wrong predictions.  Kudos to everyone. 

mspart

[RYou]

Add
Gilman
Oliver and
Taylor

Oliver still has to qualify 65 come May in Bulgaria

[goStanford18]

My original picks:

Vito (2nd)
Yianni (4th)
Dake
Taylor
Snyder
Steveson


I'm pretty excited for this roster. I expect no less than 4 medals. 74kg-125kg are all contenders, and I really think 2-3 golds are within reach. Gilman has made the world finals before too so the potential is there. With the right draw, I like Gilman's chances. Oliver has to go qualify the weight next month. Consistency has to be his biggest issue. If he can string together a good set of matches at the qualifier and in Tokyo, he can bring home a medal.

[ctc]

My original picks:

Vito (2nd)
Yianni (4th)
Dake
Taylor
Snyder
Steveson


I'm pretty excited for this roster. I expect no less than 4 medals. 74kg-125kg are all contenders, and I really think 2-3 golds are within reach. Gilman has made the world finals before too so the potential is there. With the right draw, I like Gilman's chances. Oliver has to go qualify the weight next month. Consistency has to be his biggest issue. If he can string together a good set of matches at the qualifier and in Tokyo, he can bring home a medal.

When Gilman won silver, weren't most of the hosses not competing in it?

[goStanford18]

When Gilman won silver, weren't most of the hosses not competing in it?

Here's the UWW 57kg Bracket from 2017: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_World_Wrestling_Championships_%E2%80%93_Men%27s_freestyle_57_kg

Recent hosses at 57kg:

Uguev ('18 and '19 world champ) was in the 2017 bracket and failed to medal
Sanayev ('18 Silver, '19 Bronze) was in the 2017 bracket and failed to medal

Older hosses at 57kg:

Khinchegashvili ('16 Gold, '12 Silver; '15 Gold, '14 Silver) was up at 61kg that year. He's never been back down to 57kg since Rio.
Higuchi ('16 Silver) also bumped up to 61kg; Takahashi was the 57kg rep and won Gold in '17, beating Gilman in the finals
Aliyev ('16 Bronze) also bumped back up to 61kg to defend/reclaim his 2 titles there in '14 and '15

Make of that what you will...

The way I see it, the hosses from Rio and before all bumped up to 61kg. The new blood was in the bracket, but didn't place.

[AKIN]

That's pretty cool AKIN.  Let us know which matches you are involved with. 

mspart

I'm an athlete escort, so I've been lucky to be matside for most of the best matches. It's interesting to see the different warm-up routines the wrestlers have.

Please elaborate

Some just walk back and forth in the warm-up area, some drill, some jump up and down, some scream out every few minutes. It's just interesting to see how they get psyched up. You learn pretty quickly who you can have a conversation with, and who you need to leave alone. All the coaches were really good about having conversations while waiting to go into the "chute", before heading to the mats. Well, all but Brands, he didn't care to talk to anyone. McKnight from NLWC is an awesome guy. I got to talk to he and Cody before Helen's last match. They were great.

Also, the escorts in the finals are the USADA chaperones for their athletes, so once the match is over, you are responsible for getting them back to the testing area. Some of them go quickly. Others, not so much. I had Gwiz after he lost, and I got to keep an eye on him for about 30 minutes before he decided he was ready to go. I had Rau, and he went quickly, after putting his shoes in the center of the mat. Finally, I had Helen in the last match. Needless to say, I wasn't done for a long time after wrestling ended. It was a great time over the two days. I hope I get a chance to do something like this again.

[mspart]

So we have

57 Gilman
65 Oliver
74 Dake
86 Taylor
97 Snyder
125  The BEAST

I am really very surprised about Oliver.  It has been a long time coming with him.  He finally was able to put it together.  But he has always been inconsistent.  Will he qualify the weight in Bulgaria.  I certainly hope so, but I'm not really so sure.  If he comes with his A game like he did this past weekend, he will do it.  I really hope he does.

Steveson also really surprised me.  But I had not followed him at all and he has greatly matured in his body and mind (apparently).  He is hungry and strong and determined.  I expect a medal from him.

Snyder won as I had hoped.  I think he is our best bet at 97.  I think he has all the tools to make it to the finals.  Hopefully he remains focused and does just that.  But he will either have Sadulaev on his side of the bracket or Sharifov.  I can't see those two on the same side with seeding.  I think Snyder can beat those two on any given day, but I think that he is really top 3 at the weight.  With his new NLWC experience, will that be enough for him to climb to the top?  I hope so. 

Taylor should medal.  He should get the yellow medal.  I see no reason why he cannot.

Dake should medal.  I don't think he gets gold if Sidakov is there.  Both he and Sidakov have unreal defenses so it will be a real fight if they meet up.  But Dake should medal. 

That leaves Gilman, I think he proved himself this time.  He is the one to go on.  He has got silver in 2017 but in 2018, just missed the bronze.  Fix beat him min 2019 and did not medal.  So Gilman is right there.  I think he can medal, I hope he can medal.  That would be awesome.

I see 4 for sure medals, and 2 possible medals.   Which is not bad really.

mspart

[mspart]

Regarding Dake, Did you see that back exposure he got on JB?  It was wild really.  Just looked like he rolled him over his own head.   He had an extremely high gut wrench (chest lock?) and just forced JB over JB's head.  Powerful move.   You can see it here.

https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2021/04/03/jordan-burroughs-kyle-dake-olympic-wrestling-trials/

It is at 2:35 2nd period but the set up for it is at 2:45 or so. 

mspart

[mspart]

J'den Cox fails to make weight.

He made weight, but he was late to weigh-ins so they didn't count it.

I've got a story here. I'll expound later.

What's your story AKIN?  And give a rundown on your whole experience.  Should have been pretty cool I'd bet.

mspart

[RYou]

Regarding Dake, Did you see that back exposure he got on JB?  It was wild really.  Just looked like he rolled him over his own head.   He had an extremely high gut wrench (chest lock?) and just forced JB over JB's head.  Powerful move.   You can see it here.

https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2021/04/03/jordan-burroughs-kyle-dake-olympic-wrestling-trials/

It is at 2:35 2nd period but the set up for it is at 2:45 or so. 

mspart

I've got at about 6:55 of the vid.  go in around 6:40 if you want to short cut.

[ViseGrip]

That's pretty cool AKIN.  Let us know which matches you are involved with. 

mspart

I'm an athlete escort, so I've been lucky to be matside for most of the best matches. It's interesting to see the different warm-up routines the wrestlers have.

Please elaborate

Some just walk back and forth in the warm-up area, some drill, some jump up and down, some scream out every few minutes. It's just interesting to see how they get psyched up. You learn pretty quickly who you can have a conversation with, and who you need to leave alone. All the coaches were really good about having conversations while waiting to go into the "chute", before heading to the mats. Well, all but Brands, he didn't care to talk to anyone. McKnight from NLWC is an awesome guy. I got to talk to he and Cody before Helen's last match. They were great.

Also, the escorts in the finals are the USADA chaperones for their athletes, so once the match is over, you are responsible for getting them back to the testing area. Some of them go quickly. Others, not so much. I had Gwiz after he lost, and I got to keep an eye on him for about 30 minutes before he decided he was ready to go. I had Rau, and he went quickly, after putting his shoes in the center of the mat. Finally, I had Helen in the last match. Needless to say, I wasn't done for a long time after wrestling ended. It was a great time over the two days. I hope I get a chance to do something like this again.

Which Brands? Terry I assume. So...he was a bit of grinch huh? Whoulda thunk it. Should have had a movie camera I guess.