Once again, one of the most dramatic events of the Olympic Games was wrestling. 17 former Russians competed in wrestling alone. Not without scandals. But the most important thing is the medals.
The Russian Championship was held in Paris
The tournament in the weight category up to 74 kg was particularly bright. It was a kind of Russian championship. Six former Russian athletes have registered for the 2024 Olympics: Razambek Zhamalov (Uzbekistan), Chermen Valiev (Albania), Viktor Rassadin (Tajikistan), Khetik Tsabolov (Serbia), Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (Belarus) and Taimuraz Salkazanov (Slovakia).
Razambek Zhamalov
Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Zhamalov won the 74 kg final. He was stronger than his Japanese opponent Daichi Takatani. And on the way to gold, his opponents were Kadimagomedov, Salkazanov and Valiev.
Zhamalov commented on the victory at the Olympic Games:
Olympic wrestling champion Zhamalov: this is gold for Russia, Dagestan and Chechnya
“I won the fight”
The draw brought Zhamalova to Chermen Valiev in the quarter-finals. The match was not easy, and even two days after the end it provoked mixed reactions among fans. The fact is that a few seconds before its end, Zhamalov was losing 4:5, but then received two points from the judges of the opposing side and advanced to the semi-finals.
Chermen Valiev
Photo: Kadir Caliskan/Getty Images
Valiev later took bronze in the tournament in the repechage match, but he clearly expected a different result. He lodged a protest against the match with Zhamalov.
“I won the fight. The challenge was called out of desperation, in the last seconds they pressed the button. The judges decide the outcome. I think it is inappropriate to give two points in a row to an opponent for his passivity. It was not even close. I did not avoid the fight. When a person leads, he does not attack, but defends and does not risk going to the feet. One was given, well, there were five seconds left, I was standing in the center of the mat, he stepped on my leg and I jumped. Everything. The judge on the mat did not give a score, then they watched the video and changed their decision. I don’t know how it works and now I don’t understand what the judges were thinking. I know the rules of the fight and I think that these actions were judged incorrectly. Anyone who understands wrestling and if you show him this fight, he will say that it was judged incorrectly,” Valiev said.
Opinions were also divided in the professional community. However, what happened cannot be changed. The medals have found their owners.
At the Olympics, a wrestler from Egypt also got into a scandal:
Not like a wrestler. An Olympic athlete was arrested for sexually abusing a woman.
Gergebil is happy
In the weight category up to 97 kg, Akhmed Tazhudinov (Bahrain) stood out more than the rest, and rightly so.
The 21-year-old Akhmed had already won gold at the World Championships and the Asian Championships before the Games. Originally from the small Dagestani village of Gergebil, he represented Bahrain in Paris. He was also raised in the Russian wrestling school. Akhmed grew up and learned from the wrestling of Abdulrashid Sadulayev. Therefore, his victory in Russia was received very warmly.
Akhmed Tazhudinov
Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
In the semi-finals of the 2024 Olympics, he faced Sadulaev’s old rival, American Kyle Snyder. There was no easy victory over him. Tazhudinov won 6:4 and advanced to the final against Georgian Givi Matsarashvili. And the final did not take long for the former Russian. An early victory and the first gold medal in Bahrain’s history for a wrestler at the Games.
Victory for father
Another gold, but this time it was brought to Bulgaria by Magomed Ramazanov. In the final of the weight category up to 86 kg he defeated the tournament favourite, the legendary Iranian Hassan Yazdani. The 2016 Olympic champion was injured during the fight and was unable to do anything serious to his opponent.
Ramazanov basically had a chance at life. He is now 31 years old and this could be his last Olympic Games. He dedicated the victory to his father, who since childhood wanted a better life for his son.
Magomed Ramazanov
Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images
In total, former Russians won seven medals in Paris, including bronze medals for Dauren Kurugliev (Greece, 86 kg), Islam Dudayev (Albania, 65 kg) and Magomedkhan Magomedov (Azerbaijan, 97 kg).
US anti-record
For the first time in 56 years, the US team was left without an Olympic gold medal. Even the absence of Russian competitors did not help. The Americans have three medals in total: two silver and one bronze.
Even the title-winning Kyle Snyder failed to secure bronze in the weight class up to 97 kg, losing the medal fight to Iran’s Amir Azarpira.
Unlike wrestling, the United States’ position remains unshakeable in basketball:
“Dream Team” is back with gold! LeBron, Curry and Durant had their “Last Dance”
Medal price: 100 grams
The women’s wrestling tournament was anything but boring, especially in the weight classes up to 50 kg.
Indian athlete Vinesh Phogat first defeated undefeated Yui Susaki (Japan) and then reached the final. The night before the decisive fight, the athlete hurriedly lost weight to go through the standard weigh-in procedure, but it was all in vain. The next morning, the scales showed 100 grams more.
Vinesh Phogat
Photo: Luke Hales/Getty Images
The athlete was not allowed to make it to the final. Now Vinesh is challenging this decision at the CAS and demanding that her Olympic silver be returned to her. The athlete believes that she deservedly qualified for the final, as after three bouts her weight was normal. There is no solution yet, but it is all very interesting.
The fifth consecutive gold in the Greco-Roman heavyweight tournament was won by Cuban Mikhain Lopez. This great athlete ended his career, leaving wrestling on the mat. Perhaps his performance was one of the most striking at the Paris Olympics.
Lopez became a five-time Olympian. Here’s how:
Event of the century at the Olympic Games! The Cuban giant did what no one else can do
