The international wrestling community has been inactive since the Pan American Olympic qualification tournament in March. In the eight months since the world has battled the worst pandemic in 100 years, some nations are having more success in their fight than others. Wrestling, unlike other sports, has had to wait to resume competitions because of the safety protocols required and nations interested in hosting. And with one of the deadliest days in American history happening yesterday it can feel wrong to watch wrestling knowing that the spread of the virus here is uncontrolled.
On the topic of safety, there are a number of protocols in place for the IWC. The Serbian government is supporting United World Wrestling's effort to test all athletes, coaches, and staff prior to entering the country. The teams and the individuals will be in a bubble environment for the two weeks and everything, including dining, will be socially spaced and on a strict schedule. There are pages of protocols which will guide the behavior of the athletes and the event. There will be no fans or press allowed in the venue.
We are in the midst of a pandemic and protocols are important, but as we've seen with the American tournaments that's mostly becoming the background noise. The wrestling public, in general just wants to see some competition. As was stated last month, the United States won't be in attendance, but several European nations are bringing their starting lineups, including Russia who is bringing their full team of top wrestlers. With 300,000 CHF in prize money who can blame them?
There are myriad storylines to follow, including a Greco-Roman 97-kilogram weight class that is absolutely stacked with killers including defending Rio Olympic champion Artur Aleksanyan and defending world champion Musa Evloev.
The tournament schedule is here, and you can watch on Trackwrestling and follow along on United World Wrestling via Twitter, Instagram, TikTok (@unitedworldwrestling), YouTube, and Facebook.
To your questions …
Q: Does the news of Pennsylvania shutting down sports surprise you?
-- Jed R.
Foley: Yes. Pennsylvania had announced there were to be no rule modifications for the upcoming season and that competitions were to go forward as planned. Right now the soonest they can return is Jan. 8, 2021 but given the current numbers, planned holiday travel, the unstopped spread of the virus its highly unlikely that the date will stay unmoved.
A month off is a long time, but states seem to be reacting to immense pressure from educators, parents, and health officials.
I'm really interested to see how this will affect the collegiate wrestling season. As of today there is the abbreviated season to start in January, but will the NCAA (and the member institutions) just plow ahead if another 100,000 Americans die of COVID in January? I struggle to think of a situation in which several colleges would even choose to reopen for in-person classes and thus risk massive travel spread. If there are not in-person classes, then those same schools might follow the example of the Ivy League and shut down their seasons.
The NCAA has benchmarks for how many schools must be competing in order to qualify 33, 16 or fewer wrestlers for the tournament. Those may change. The entire thing could shut down. But as of right now it's the 2021 season with an aim to have a full bracket for the tournament.
Q: Initial thoughts on the announcement of Jordan Burroughs and David Taylor meeting on Jan. 9?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Gimme. This feels like a fresh matchup with a fun backstory and an exciting style comparison. The size and strength of David Taylor will be a factor, especially early, but it could be for naught if Taylor shuts down in the second period.
The Zahid match might be instructive for Taylor as he prepares. Wrestling low prevents doubles and reattack outside singles, but it does open up the defensive wrestler to front headlocks, snaps, and passbys. Taylor has shown himself to be aggressive of late. He's attacking opponents early and running up the score. That's likely to prevent any nasty entanglements like the one which caused his knee injury at Beat the Streets, but it also serves to give him a much larger cushion should he fade in the second period.
They haven't wrestled in six years and their lifetime results are close-close.
A 4-0 shutout at the 2013 U.S. Open, before the rule changes (3-0, 1-0), the epic 7-6 at the 2014 U.S. Open and then the back-to-back 5-2 and 6-5 matches at the 2014 World Team Trials.
That was a lifetime ago and at a different weight, but Burroughs is my favorite here. So much of wrestling is mental and until the King is Dead, Long Live the King.
Gabe Steveson (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com)Q: Do you view Gable Steveson as the favorite over Nick Gwiazdowski now?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Yes. He's gotten bigger, which is key for a heavyweight. He's gotten stronger. That's key for just about everyone. Gable has also improved his mat sense tremendously and seems focused on taking opportunities to compete and prepare for the Olympic Games. On the technical side, he also found a way to finish the knee pick he attempted in their prior two meetings, which indicates a legitimate game plan.
Where I thought Gable's youth was a disadvantage for a July 2020 Games, I think it's now a huge advantage. With Nick getting older and a number of the international heavyweights aging quickly, the thought of Gable on the Olympic stage would translate to a medal.
One concern is that he's chatting about this being his last year wrestling. I don't know what that means, or if that is a UFC type of ploy to gain attention and money, but it would be heartbreaking given he's a frontrunner to win the 2024 Olympics and whatever other pursuits he's interested in pursuing will still be around in three years.
MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME
#WrestleBelgrade
Burroughs vs. Taylor is going to be … outrageous
January 9th. pic.twitter.com/3IuYIfRrex
�" Jordan Burroughs (@alliseeisgold) December 10, 2020
Nate Parker's new movie American Skin debuts in January
Q: What do you think of James Green's chances at 65 kilograms? Do you think he is capable of making the team and qualifying the weight for the Olympics?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Of course. He's a world silver medalist and a top-level international competitor. The 65-kilogram field in America is extremely competitive. Yianni's first criteria win was an important match for both men, but heading into their first match I'd heavily favored Yianni and came away thinking Green is more effective at 65 kilograms than I'd previously thought. By the second match I thought Yianni had a gamesmanship advantage.
Green will face a tough Bryce Meredith in the first round of Flo's 8-Man Challenge, likely followed by a matchup with Jordan Oliver. Should he make it through that mess he will almost certainly face Bajrang Punia who is top three in the world.
I can speculate all I want about his ability to compete, but fortunately we will see it play out over the next several weeks.
On a separate note, I think Jordan Oliver is the wrestler best suited to qualify the weight class at the international level, followed closely by Jaydin Eierman and then Yianni.
Q: Who do you think will win Flo's 8-Man Challenge at 150 pounds?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Bajrang
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