Four Olympic Games qualifiers remain on the schedule with the star-studded European event appearing on the calendar for this week. The first two weekends of April bring forth the Africa/Oceania and Asian versions, respectively, and the fourth and final opportunity arrives beginning on May 6 with the World OG tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Brackets at the 2020 (or now, 2020ne) Tokyo Olympic Games will present 16 athletes per weight category. At the ’19 Worlds in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, each weight class satisfied six spots for Tokyo between gold, silver, two bronze, and two fifth-place competitors. The Pan-American Olympic Games Qualifier contested on March 13 last year in Ottawa added two more entries per weight, as is the case with the four qualifying tournaments mentioned in the introductory paragraph.
In other words:
- Each of the six Olympic weight categories still has eight spots to be filled.
- Top-2 wrestlers in each weight (finalists) secure berths on behalf of their nations.
- After the World OG tournament in May is completed, 48 wrestlers will have qualified following the ’19 World Championships.
- The total number of competitors in each Olympic wrestling discipline is 96.
Remaining Spots Per Nation
Only Cuba is presently guaranteed a full six-man roster for Greco-Roman in Tokyo. The United States, on the strength of their performance at Ottawa ’20, currently has four. Several nations enter the impending but brief qualifying season having garnered three spots in Nur-Sultan, and plenty of others are welcoming the spring with one apiece. We break down the remaining spots in descending order per nation according to continent. Although the Pan-Am tournament came and went 12 months ago, that event was the first in the string of Olympic qualifiers. Note: most prominent nations featured.
Pan-American
Argentina – 6
Canada – 6
Peru – 6
Puerto Rico – 6
Brazil – 5
Chile – 5
Colombia – 5
Mexico – 5
USA – 2
Cuba – 0
European
Azerbaijan – 6
Bulgaria – 6
Greece – 6
Italy – 6
Moldova – 6
Romania – 6
Switzerland – 6
Belarus – 5
Denmark – 5
Estonia – 5
Poland – 5
Sweden – 5
Armenia – 4
Georgia – 4
Hungary – 4
Serbia – 4
Turkey – 4
Ukraine – 4
Germany – 3
Russia – 3
Asian
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – 6
Iraq – 6
Mongolia – 6
Syria – 6
Korea – 6
India – 6
Japan – 5
Kyrgyzstan – 5
Kazakhstan – 4
Iran – 3
Uzbekistan – 3
African/Oceania
Algeria – 6
American Samoa – 6
French Polynesia – 6
Guam – 6
Marshall Islands – 6
Micronesia – 6
Morocco – 6
Nauru – 6
New Zealand – 6
Nigeria – 6
Palau – 6
South Africa – 6
Tunisia – 6
Egypt – 5
2021 European Olympic Qualifier Schedule
It is an odd circumstance for the two-day format. As is now custom, Day 1 (Saturday) will offer the semifinal round, which is when finalists are determined, i.e., the top-2 per weight. The finals may still, hopefully, offer enough captivating match-ups to entice viewers. However, it is the semifinal round on Saturday that is the headliner across all weight divisions.
*All times are local for Budapest, Hungary (+5 hours ET). The European Olympic Games Qualifier can be viewed live in the US on FLOWrestling.
Saturday, March 20
11:00am-3:30pm — Qualification rounds-quarterfinals (60, 67, 77, 87, 97, & 130 kg)
6:00pm-8:00pm — Semifinals
Sunday, March 21
4:45pm-5:45pm — Repechage
6:00pm-8:00pm — Finals/bronze-medal matches
Germany’s Nationals
In this season of National tournaments affecting selection processes for a World Championships more often than an Olympiad, Germany is the latest Greco-friendly country to move towards a summer date for their primary domestic gathering — with July 16-18 as their target. As seen in the continental lists above under “European”, Germany already has three weight categories locked down for the Tokyo Olympics, and all three, of course, stemmed from the goings-on in Nur-Sultan. At the ’19 event, three-time World Champion Frank Staebler (67 kg) and ’16 Olympic bronze Denis Kudla (87 kg) both placed third, and Eduard Popp (130 kg) finished fifth.
Do You Understand Hungarian?
If so, you can carve out 45 minutes to watch multi-time World medalist siblings Tamas Lorincz (77 kg) and Viktor Lorincz (87 kg) from their appearance on Hungary’s Csisztu Channel Sport Cast. In the piece, the Lorincz brothers touch on personal topics pertaining to their relationship, as well as their responsibilities at home away from competition. There is presumably much more to the interview for those who are not encumbered by a language barrier.
Listen to “5PM46: Taylor LaMont and Jessy Williams” on Spreaker.
Listen to “5PM45: Chatting with Dennis Hall and Max Nowry” on Spreaker.
Listen to “5PM44: Michael Hooker and Toby Erickson join the show” on Spreaker.
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