Should she make the team, Maroulis will be looking to defend her world title for the fourth straight year having won the 2015 World Championships, 2016 Olympic Games and the 2017 World Championships (where she outscored her opponents 53-0). If she wins in Budapest she'll be the first American to win four straight world titles since John Smith pulled off that feat in 1990 winning his fourth world title at the world championships in Tokyo.
Kyle Snyder may pull off the same recognition. If the three-time defending world title holder does make it a fourth straight it'll likely come after besting rival Abdulrashid Sadualev. Though don't get too excited for Snyderlaev II, since the Russian Tank needs to first best teammate Batciev at the Russian Nationals this weekend.
Streams to that tournament are linked below.
To your questions …
Q: Will there ever be a time when the World Championships are just for the best wrestlers and not just the qualifiers from countries? Imagine every country only being able to send one representative to Wimbledon.
-- @jagger712
Foley: The question of who to invite to the World Championships, or rather who qualifies, has been discussed since the Soviets were running through the competition in the 1970's. The thought then was that there were a number of nations who had top-level talent unable to make the team.
While the question has been around for a while, a lot of the discussion around implementation has disappeared, due in equal parts to: the breakup of the Soviet Union, success of the Olympic Games in spreading the sport to new nations, and the failure of any nation to qualify a wrestler for every spot in 2012 or 2016 Olympic Games. (Russia qualified all open spots in 2008.)
The breakup of the Soviet Union allowed for a number of new nations to enter the Olympic movement, including powerhouse wrestling nations like Azerbaijan and Georgia. But there were several more that came with the fall of communism and the breakup of Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. Now the nations who were once backlogged had more options in terms of competing nations.
The Olympic Games at 7-7-4 and now at 6-6-6 has led to a tremendous growth in the number of active nations participating in the sport of wrestling. To understand the system, first imagine that you don't live in the United States (the richest nation in the history of the world) and instead lived in Macedonia. The only funding you receive in Macedonia comes through the government -- a government without a bunch of excess monies to distribute. The only way to get them to back wrestling is to have individuals succeed at the sport.
That dynamic can often feel like a Catch-22 (succeed and you get paid, but the only way to succeed is through funding) but in fact there are a lot of inexpensive options for tournament success for smaller nations through the continental development funds and Olympic Solidarity. Look at nations like Nigeria, Croatia, Brazil, and India to see how even a modicum of success at the World Championships can lead to a windfall of financial support for training, coaching and even stipends for housing and food. That model is adversely affected if Russia, Azerbaijan, and the United States close out the majority of the medals.
The final reason for no need to add spots per nation is that in the past two Olympic cycles no nation has qualified all 18 Olympic weight categories. While seeing a backlog of talent in the United States at 74 kilograms might have seemed like a pressing matter, it's part of the trade-off the United States makes for having access to top-level training and almost endless financial support. Yes, some potential medalists might stay home, but that doesn't outweigh the overall mission of the Olympic sports to bring nations together and grow the sport around the world.
As a tangential note to this inquiry it should be noted that world and continental championships are also moved around the world in order to help facilitate ease of travel for participating nations, and to allow for host nations to build their financial coffers in support of their programs. The money made at the tournament helps fund that nation's programs, which is instrumental in growing the sport in new areas. Also, that government officials -- who hold purse strings -- also get to watch the sport is an added bonus that sometimes helps jiggle loose funding in future years.
As for Wimbledon, that is a Grand Slam event not run by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) which is the equivalent of United World Wrestling for tennis. The Grand Slams each have their own unique qualifying procedures, though players do earn ATP points for their performances at the Grand Slams.
Q: Picks for Russian Nationals?
-- @kozakjon
Foley:
57: Zaur Uguev
61: (Rashidov in waiting)
65: Kuular (Bekbulatov in waiting)
74: Ketik Tsabalov
79: Magomed Gadzhimagamedov
86: Vladislav Valiev
97: Abdulrashid Sadulaev
125: Alan Khugaev
David Taylor wrestling Aleksander Gostiyev of Azerbaijan at the World Cup (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Q: Kyle Dake and David Taylor have had some nice international wins, but neither wrestler has competed at the World Championships. Wrestling fans are talking like they are locks to make the World finals. Don't you think American wrestling fans need to pump the breaks a little bit on Dake and Taylor?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Putting aside Kyle Dake for a moment, I think that it's an understatement to say that David Taylor has had "some nice international wins." He just decked four dudes in one weekend! At a top-level international tournament! He hasn't lost this year and has a 2017 win (via pin) over the 2016 Olympic champion at 74 kilograms.
David Taylor is arguably the hottest wrestler in the world right now. If you're a foreigner preparing for the World Championships where you might see David Taylor, what do you prepare for? What set of moves can you predict from your feet, from par terre, from a clinch that could possibly stop him? When facing Taylor a foreign wrestler has to be 100 percent effective at implementing their strategy for six minutes. There can't even be so much as a hesitation on a low single (cradled), laziness in defending a high gut wrench (leg and deep half), or a lack of energy (positional dominance). Any mistake and it's hasta lasagna.
I think there are some answers to beating Taylor, but right now I think that it'll take a while before the international wrestling community comes up with all the details necessary to knock him off his game.
Oh, and the other thing, Taylor adapts and morphs. He's got new stuff all the time. It might not be new-new, but I bet that if you watched his matches from Yarygin the thought occurred that you hadn't seen anyone hit THAT before in an international match. The guy is out there treating grown-ass Turkish men like they are sophomores from Brecksville stepping on the mat for the Ironman quarterfinals.
And Dake is equally terrifying, but for a whole different set of reasons. He's the strongest 79-kilogram wrestler in the world. Save the Yarygin finals where he looked a little tuckered out, he seems unwavering in his determination to capture a gold in Budapest. No matter how bad the loss was in January, you'd be a fool to bet against him in October. All the guy does is win big tournaments.
MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME
Kushti being taught to Indian youngsters
Russian Nationals promo
Russian Nationals streams
Q: Why are the World Championships so spread out for Cadet (July), Junior (September), U23 (November) and Senior (October)?
-- Mike C.
Foley: If for no other reason than the staff at United World Wrestling can remain happily married. I'm (kinda) kidding, but the scheduling is the toughest part since you have to ensure the resources of the host nation and the international federation are in place. Also, this allows for some of the 18-23 crowd to float through tournaments and gain as much access as possible to top-level competition.
Q: Thoughts on this American Wrestling League? Who scheduled their first event in August? Smart to push the event back until after the World Championships?
-- @EricOlanowski
Foley: Information has been difficult to come by, but the idea was to loop in with events in Iowa. The only problem is that the Iowa State Fair will likely be pulling fans to the other side of the state. Also, there is some issue with pulling wrestlers from other countries since almost none of them would be willing to travel so close to the World Championships.
Would be interesting to me if that effort was put towards hosting a grand finale for the Ranking Series. Big prize event with lots of media attention, kind of like what we see with Beat the Streets, but on an even more international scale. Athletes making real money while fans get a show on-par with what we've seen with the World finals and Final X.
Q: Daton Fix and Spencer Lee both going to wrestle at 125 pounds this fall? If so, how do you see that working out?
-- @german663
Foley: I suspect Daton Fix will wrestle 133 pounds with Nick Piccininni at 125 pounds.
Q: If Greg Kerkvliet does what everyone expects and signs with Penn State, what do you think Seth Nevills will do? Stay at Penn State? Sign elsewhere?
-- Mike C.
Foley: I have a blind spot for the transferring of athletes and their motivations. Was this move because he lost at the World Championships? Why is Penn State the frontrunner? And why would that then cause Nevills to transfer?
I'm guessing the answers are something like: kinda, Cael, and competition.
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