Missouri's first wrestling National Champion will begin his run at an Olympic gold medal the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 20, in Beijing China, which translates to Tuesday night for Americans hoping to catch a glimpse of the Tiger wrestler. Fans interested in viewing the tournament can watch Askren in the preliminary competition available online at www.nbcolympics.com from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. (CT), TUESDAY, AUGUST 19. (Columbia, Mo., is 13 hours behind Beijing, China). The medal round for the 74 kg weight class can be seen online from 3 a.m. to 5:50 a.m. (CT) or from 4 a.m.-10 a.m. (CT) on MSNBC, Wednesday, Aug. 20.
Askren sits on the bottom half of the 74 kg bracket along with two-time gold medalist and six-time world champion Buvaysa Saytiev of Russia. Should both Askren and Saytiev advance in the bracket, the two could meet in the quarterfinals. In addition, if Askren wins his opening round match, he will draw the winner of the match between Si Riguleng of China and 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Ivan Fundora of Cuba.
"Ben is a wildcard in the mix," said National Freestyle Coach Kevin Jackson. "He is bringing special skills to the mat that people have not seen before. I expect him to beat these guys. His training has gone fabulous. He listened to what we asked him to do. He followed the plan. He has adopted to what we need him to use against world-level competition. He has accepted the plan. He is going to go out and compete. I expect him to do very well."
Hatos, Hungary's 74 kg representative, competed in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece at 66 kg and finished 15th. Twenty-four year old Hatos has never finished higher than seventh in any of his international competitions.
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