Men's freestyle 57kg class
US Entry – Spencer Lee (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC)
From an American perspective, it's not something that can be predicted right away. spencer lee He will be in the top three in Türkiye with 57kg. He has won three age group world titles and has an extensive track record of international success. Not to mention his impressive performance at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, which culminated with a dominating victory over 2020 Olympic bronze medalist and former world champion Thomas Gilman in two matches.
Lee took seven years off the international stage to focus on his collegiate career at the University of Iowa, where he was a three-time NCAA champion and two-time Dan Hodge Trophy winner. He competed in the Bill Farrell Memorial International Championship last winter, aiming for gold and also winning the Pan American title. So it's not like Lee will be heading to Istanbul without taking his latest international test. The question here is how seriously a lack of international flair affects American superstars, especially when it comes to distinct European and Asian styles.
The list of candidates to take on Lee this weekend is long, including one Olympian, three world medalists, and a number of up-and-comers entering their prime years.
Bulgaria's entry Georgi Vangelov, finished 5th at the Tokyo Olympics. He also finished fifth at the 2022 World Championships and has medaled twice in Europe. The Bulgarian athlete lost 7-3 to former Belarusian individual neutral athlete and 2021 World Championship bronze medalist Ayan Tsiutlin in the semi-final of the European Olympic Qualification.
World medalists in the bracket include: Alireza Sarlacc of iran, Zanabazar Zandanbudo Mongolian and Andriy Yatsenko of Ukraine. Sarlacc finished runner-up to Gilman at the 2021 World Championships. Zandanbad finished with a bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships, also losing to Gilman. Sarlacc and Zandanbad are both Asian silver medalists. Yatsenko won bronze in 2017, his only world medal. He was a two-time U17 World Champion over 10 years ago. It seems more likely that it will be either Sarlak or Zandanbud, rather than Yatsenko, who will finish in the top three in Istanbul.
India and China, the Asian nations, could be the top two countries that pose a threat to Lee in this weight class, even though none of their representatives have ever made it to the senior world podium.
Aman Aman The 2022 U23 World Champion and three-time U17 World Medal winner is a serious threat to everyone coming his way. He was the 2023 Asian Champion and also the Asian Games Bronze Medalist. He was nailed by Tokyo Olympian Gromjon Abdullaev (Uzbekistan) in the semi-finals of the Asian Olympic Qualification.
China finished in the top 10 at the last two world championships Wanghao Zou He is another notable athlete who weighs 57kg. He was the 2018 U23 World Championship bronze medalist. Zou earned a spot in the Olympic Games after being upset 3-2 by Bekzat Almazbek Ulu of Kyrgyzstan, a two-time bronze medalist at the U23 World Championships, in the quarterfinals of the Asian Olympic Qualifications. To further put it in the U.S. context, Zou lost to Gilman 8-2 at the 2022 World Championships.
2024 European Medalists Roberti Dingashvili Georgia and Muhammet Karabas The Turkish people are among them.
The 2024 Zagreb Open Ranking Series event is a high-profile tournament to watch for this group. All four medalists from Zagreb will enter the stadium in Istanbul. Aman became the champion, Zou won the silver medal, and Vangelov and Karabas won the bronze medal. Fifth place went to Dingashvili and the German team. horst rail, is also expected to appear in Istanbul. Zane Richards of the 2023 U.S. World Team also competed in the tournament and finished seventh, losing 11-0 to Aman and 17-8 to Carabas.