(30 July 1996; Day 11)
In international-style wrestling, so much depends on "the luck of the draw."
In the World Championships and the Olympic Games, there is no seeding, no separation of any kind. At the weigh-in, you draw a number at random out of a box and put it up on the board. That's where you go in the bracket.
If the gold and silver medalists from the previous Olympic Games are back at the same weight, they go into the draw just like everybody else. The next time around, they are equally as likely to meet in the first round as in a gold-medal rematch.
Brothers also fall under the same rules. Whereas in American events brothers are separated into opposite brackets by rule, brothers at the same weight in international competition also go into the draw. The result can be what happened in the second round Tuesday morning in the freestyle wrestling competition at the Georgia World Congress Center, when Lucman JABRAILOV, 34, competing for Moldova, squared off against his younger brother, Elmadi, 31, competing for Kazakhstan.
Each brother has a world championship title - Elmadi in 1989, Lucman in 1994. Elmadi also was the 1992 Olympic silver medalist. Originally from Chechnya, they've wrestled each other many times, dating back to their days as teammates in the former Soviet Union. Now, with the breakup of the former Soviet Union, the brothers exercise their opportunity to compete for two former Soviet states, now independent republics.
Still, there's the family connection. In the biographies provided by Federation Internationale de Lutte Amateur (FILA), wrestling's international governing body, Elmadi lists Lucman as his coach. Lucman lists another brother, Ruslan JABRAILOV, as one of his mentors. Neither knows how the series between the two stands, but Elmadi gives his brother a slight edge.
"It is very difficult to wrestle your brother," Elmadi said. "He usually wins because he's older and because he's my coach. Before the match, we talked about it, and we already knew what the outcome would be, except it turned out different this time. Afterwards we joke about it."
On Tuesday morning, though, the student beat the teacher. Elmadi fell behind 0-3, then scored nine of the next 11 points to take a 9-5 lead. A late rally by Lucman fell short as Elmadi won the match by a 10-8 score.
The family championship safely in hand, Elmadi has advanced to the semifinals, where American Les GUTCHES could be waiting. In another "family" shootout of sorts, GUTCHES beat Kevin JACKSON at the U.S. Nationals, then in the Olympic Team Trials to claim the 82kg spot on the U.S. team. Perhaps the JABRAILOV brothers will join the same side as they determine how Elmadi might reach the gold-medal match for the second straight Olympiad against an unfamiliar American opponent.
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Robert Sherrill.
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