The final tournament of the Ranking Series has concluded, determining the seedings for the men's freestyle division for the 2024 Olympic Games. Check out the articles below for a brief rundown of how the seedings were determined, as well as a breakdown of the biggest storylines for the U.S. team in each bracket.
2024 Olympics viewing party
How are Olympic wrestling seedings determined?
It is important to understand how these seeds were set because they are very different from how seeds are determined in the American wrestling system. Instead of determining seeds by head-to-head matches and results as in the US, United World Wrestling uses ranking points that individual wrestlers earn each year to determine the top 8 seeds for the Olympics. Wrestlers can earn these ranking (or seeding) points at World Championships, Continental Championships, or two different ranking series events. Wrestlers for the Olympics are seeded by points. This system encourages the best wrestlers to participate in events that UWW holds throughout the year. Finally, the seeds below can only be changed if a seeded wrestler does not participate in the Olympics.
57 kilograms
- Stevan Missick, SRB
- Akira Higuchi (Japan)
- Arsen Harutyunyan, ARM
- Zelimkhan Abakarov, ALB
- Aman Sherawat, India
- Zaur Uguev, AIN (Russia)
- Wanhao Zhou, CHN
- Gromzhon Abdullayev, UZB
List of unseeded 57kg wrestlers in order of ranking points:
- Gamal Mohammed, Egypt
- Diamantino Iuna Fafe, GBS
- Aliabas Luzazard, AZE
- Spencer Lee, USA
- Aryan Tziutlin, AIN (BLR)
- Darian Cruz, PUR
- Roman Bravo Young, Mexico
- Bekzat Almaz Ulu, KGZ
You'll notice that Spencer Lee did not earn enough points to qualify in the top eight, meaning he was randomly placed in the 57kg weight class. Nearly all of the top wrestlers in the 57kg weight class are in the top eight, but the lower bracket is a bit tougher than the higher bracket. 2023 World silver medalist Rei Higuchi, three-time World bronze medalist Arsen Harutyunyan, Olympic champion and two-time World champion Zaur Uguev, and Wanhua Zhou (who had Li's toughest match of the year) are all in the lower bracket.
I think it will be tougher at the bottom, but it won't be easy at the top either. At the top are two-time world champions Micic ('23) and Abakarov ('22), both of whom are capable of winning gold in Paris. Regardless of where Spencer Lee ranks, he will likely have to beat two former world champions to get to the final.
65 kilograms
- Vazgen Tevanian, ARM
- Rahman Amzad, IRI
- Ismail Muskaev, HUN
- Sebastian Rivera, PUR
- Shamil Mamedov, AIN (Russia)
- Haji Aliyev, AZE
- Islam Dudayev, ALB
- Tulga Tumul Ochir, MGL
Unseeded 65kg wrestler Ranking points order:
- Georgy Okorokov, Australia
- Goderji Djebisashvili, GEO
- Alejandro Valdes, CUB
- Kotaro Kiyooka
- Takeshi Akazawa, SAM
- Austin Gomez, MEX
- Elnazar Akhmataliev, KGZ
- Zain Rethorford, USA
Like Spencer Lee in the 57kg division, Zain Rezaford is not a seeded athlete and will be randomly drawn into the 65kg Olympic bracket. While most of the top athletes are seeded, two-time World Championship medallists Elnazar Akhmataliev (KGZ) and Kotaro Kiyooka are two other contenders who will be randomly drawn into the same bracket as Rezaford. Kiyooka defeated Muskaev in the recent Budapest Ranking Series tournament and also beat Tokyo Olympic champion Takuto Otoguro at the Olympic Trials in Japan.
The top and bottom of the 65kg division are closely matched, so it won't be an easy draw for Rethorford in Paris. The bottom division might be a little tougher with two-time world champions Musakev and Amouzad at the bottom, but Mamedov, Tumul Ochir and Tebanyan are all world medallists and gold medal favourites.
74 kilograms
- Kyle Dake, USA
- Zaubek Sidakov, AIN (Russia)
- Turan Bayramov, AZE
- Georgios Kougioumtsidis, GRE
- Ketykh Tsavorov, SRB
- Tadzhimuraz Sarkhazanov, SVK
- Bakar Ndum, GBS
- Younes Emami, IRI
Unseeded 74kg wrestler Ranking points order:
- Anthony Montero, VEN
- Daichi Takaya (JPN)
- Victor Rassadin, TJK
- Razambek Dzhamalov, UZB
- Jandri Garzon, CUB
- Iman Mahdavi, EOR
- Chaman Valiev, ALB
- Magomed Khabib Kadi Magomedov, AIN (BLR)
- Amr Reda Hussen, Egypt
Dake and Sidakov are on opposite sides of the bracket and are the favorites to meet in the final. Most American fans will remember the 2023 World Final where Sidakov barely beat Dake 10-7. Dake is the favorite to reach the final, but it won't be an easy road, with world medalist Younes Emami at No. 8 seed and Kugiumtsidis and Tsaborov at No. 4 and No. 5 seed. Dake beat Emami 2-2 at the 2022 World Championship and Kugiumtsidis 4-1 at the 2023 World Championship. He has never faced Tsaborov, who is a seasoned veteran with two wins over Zaurbek Sidakov. Again, Dake is the favorite in all these matches, but it won't be an easy road.
Adding to the intrigue of the 74kg class are the unseeded wrestlers. Magomed Khabib Kadimagomedov, Razambek Dzhamalov, Cherman Valiev, and Viktor Rassadin are all Russians representing other countries who will be randomly drawn into the 74kg class. Kadimagomedov and Dzhamalov are among the best in the division. American fans will remember Kadimagomedov for coaching Kyle Dake to a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, shocking the world. Razambek Dzhamalov may be less well known, but he has wins over Frank Chamizo, Tadzhimuraz Sarkhazanov, and Hetik Tsavorov. Not only that, Dzhamalov also won the 2020 Russian Championships, where Sidakov won the bronze medal. Both Kadimagomedov and Dzhamalov have the ability to stop Dake and Sidakov from meeting in the Olympic final.
86 kilograms
- Azamat Dauretbekov, KAZ
- Hassan Yazdani, IRI
- Miles Amin, SMR
- Dzhavleil Shapiev, UZB
- Magomed Ramazanov, Bulgaria
- Byambasurengiin Bat-Erdene, MGL
- Dowren Kurugliev, GRE
- Hayato Ishiguro
Unseeded 86kg wrestler Ranking points order:
- Fateh Benferjara, ALG
- Jaeden Lawrence, AUG
- Vladimir Gamkrelidze, EGO
- Ethan Ramos, PUR
- Osman Nurmagomedov, AZE
- Alex Moore, Canada
- Aaron Brooks, USA
- Artur Naifonov, AIN (Russia)
The 86 kg weight class is one of the most lopsided in the Olympics, with world and Olympic champion Hassan Yadani in the same weight class as Myles Amin and Daurren Kurugliev. Amin is a world and Olympic bronze medalist, while Kurugliev is a transfer from Russia who has a previous win over Amin, having narrowly lost to David Taylor at the 2018 world championships.
Aaron Brooks will be unseeded, but with so much talent already at the bottom of the field, it would be best for Brooks to be in a higher group, where he will face Hassan Yazdani. However, Brooks is not the only wrestler who will be unseeded. World and Olympic bronze medalist Artur Naifonov will also be randomly selected for the 86kg group. This means that Hassan Yazdani, Aaron Brooks, Myles Amin, Artur Naifonov, and Dauren Kurugliev could all be in the same group at the Olympics. This is the worst-case scenario for Brooks, and it will make his road to the Olympic finals tough.
97 kilograms
- Magomedkhan Magomedov, AZE
- Ahmed Tazdinov, BRN
- Kyle Snyder, USA
- Ibrahim Çifçi, TUR
- Givi Machalashvili, GEO
- Eric Thiele. GER
- Abdulrashid Sadulaev, AIN (Russia)
- Alisher Yelgali, KAZ
Unseeded 97kg: Wrestler Ranking points order:
- Zbigniew Baranowski, Poland
- Mostafa Elders, Egypt
- Amir Ali Azalpira, IRI
- Aliaksandr Khustin, AIN (BLR)
- Arturo Sirotto, CUB
- Luis Miguel Pérez, DOM
- Ausaiman Havilah, CHN
- Nicholas de Lange, RSA
Kyle Snyder will be seeded 3rd at the Olympics, putting him in the same bracket as defending world champion Ahmed Tazdinov and two-time Olympian and five-time world champion Abdulrashid Sadulaev. This is the worst possible match for Snyder, but it could be even worse considering Iran's Amir Ali Azarpira will be randomly drawn into the bracket. Just 22 years old, Azarpira is one of Iran's best young wrestlers, and he defeated Snyder 6-3 at the Zagreb Open earlier this season. Snyder has won nine consecutive World Championship/Olympic medals, but this may be the toughest tournament of his career.
125 kilograms
- Amir Hossein Zare, IRI
- Geno Petriashvili, GEO
- Mason Paris, USA
- Taha Akgul, TUR
- Daniel Ligety, HUN
- Giorgi Meshvildushvili, AZE
- Abdulla Kurbanov, AIN (Russia)
- Tang Zhiwei, CHN
Unseeded 125kg wrestler Ranking points order:
- Ayar Lazarev, KGZ
- Jonovan Smith, PUR
- Giannis Kramiankou, AIN (BLR)
- Ashton Mutwa, NGR
- Diaeruddin Kamal, Egypt
- Amar Dhesi, Canada
- Yusup Batyrumurzaev, KAZ
- Lukavageler Munktur, MGL
Mason Paris is seeded third at the Olympics and is expected to face three-time world champion Geno Petriashvili in a rematch in the semifinals. Paris and Petriashvili reached the semifinals at last year's World Championships, with Petriashvili defeating Paris 8-6. Paris and Petriashvili will be the favorites to reach the semifinals regardless of who is randomly drawn, so Paris will likely have to beat Petriashvili to reach the Olympic final.
