Red95

I think Dake’s Olympic podium finish will be a big factor on his future plans. If he wins gold he really doesn’t have anything left to prove. It would have to be tempting to retire while he’s at the top. If he doesn’t win gold I could see him aiming for another world title but I can’t see him making it all the way through the quad to 2028.

Possibly but it would have to be at 92kg.

If you look at the schedule it says match 3 (if necessary) for unqualified weights would happen before they begin match 2 for the qualified weights. It’s the same intent- let’s get these out of the way before the main event.

It’s because tonight is all about the Olympics. Everyone who wins tonight is punching their ticket to Paris. The guys at 57 and 65 (and several Greco weights) punched their their ticket to a tournament where maybe they can qualify for Paris.

I think they wanted the evening to be all about the Olympics. The evening winners will all be Olympians. The winners at unqualified weights might eventually be but they still have work to do. Hence the separation.

Top three wrestlers at each weight are considered the "national team". Only the top wrestler in each weight is "Olympic team" or "world team". You can see national team members here (at least the national team leading up to the trials). https://www.themat.com/team-usa/national-team I'm not sure exactly how they handle the non-Olympic weights. My guess is they stay as-is until the next world team trials.

That makes those unbalanced brackets even worse. I have no problem with the bye to the semis but it would tough even with plenty of rest. Whoever wins the Yianni / Mendez match is going to have a tough time with a fully rested Retherford 8 hours off the scale.

Anyone know if the 65kg and 86kg "quarterfinal" matches prior to Retherford and Valencia are happening in this session?

Seriously. Anyone taking the time to post here should spring for the $6. Just don’t forget to cancel within 30 days.

Vito and Yianni are the same age. Not sure Vito waiting for Yianni to be past his peak is a good strategy.

Burroughs is on the Mt Rushmore of USA wrestling so it would be unwise to look past him. He absolutely could win OTT but he too has lost a step and has a few landmines on the path to the finals and many of them will be tougher than Marstellar was last year. But it’s going to be fun to watch!

Tough crowd. The guy has medaled at every world championship and Olympics since 2018 with four golds, a silver, and a bronze. Good chance that Paris is his last rodeo (assuming he wins OTT). He may have lost a step or two but even so he’s still better than most of the world. He’ll be ready to go.

With the Gomez loss Cornell locks in 2nd place team finish. Only ~100 points out of first!

Close... There are actually three different events with similar names but different purposes / formats. 1) The Pan American Games, which, as mentioned above, happen every four years, contain multiple sports, and are like a mini-Olympics (currently underway in Santiago, Chile) 2) UWW Pan-American Championships, which happen every year (including Olympic years) and as far as I know are open to all member countries. Next up in Acapulco, Mexico Feb 21-25, 2024. These do not impact Olympic qualification. 3) UWW Pan-American Olympic Games Qualifier, which happens in Olympic years only and is open to any country that didn't qualify the weight via the prior year's UWW World Championships. Next up in Acapulco, Mexico Mar 1-3, 2024 (some sites say Feb 29 start). Top two finishers in each weight qualify. Any country that doesn't qualify the weight can go to the last-chance UWW World OG Qualifier in May 2024 in Istanbul.

Vito!!! Breaks is string of world silvers and brings home the gold!