(21 July 1996; Day 02 )
After winning the bronze medal in the 1988 Olympic Games and the silver medal in 1992 in Barcelona, veteran heavyweight Tomas JOHANSSON of Sweden certainly would like to move one more step up the Olympic ladder this week.
But he'll have go through two-time defending gold medalist Alexsandr KARELIN of Russia to do it.
JOHANSSON, 34, a seven-time World and Olympic medalist, could meet KARELIN in the second round of the 130kg draw. American Matt GHAFFARI, meanwhile, is on the other side. GHAFFARI, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, took KARELIN to overtime in the world championships last year before settling for the bronze medal.
At 52kg and 62kg, the 1992 finalists will meet early. Two-time gold medalist Jon RONNINGEN of Norway will meet Alfred TER-MKRTCHYAN of Germany, the wrestler he defeated for the gold medal four years ago, in the second round Monday at 52kg. And at 62kg, Sergey MARTINOV of Russia, unbeaten at the world level the past five years except in the gold-medal match in 1992, could be looking for revenge against the gold medalist, Akif MEHMET PRIM of Turkey ---but it probably will be in the semifinals.
An interesting draw at 74kg finds two 1995 World medalists, silver medalist Bachtiar BAISEITOV of Kazakhstan and bronze medalist Filiberto ASCUY of Cuba, meeting in the first round. The winner would face 1992 Olympic gold medalist Mnazakan ISKANDRARJAN of Russia, a four-time World-level champion. The 1995 World Champion, Yvon REIMER of France, is injured and unable to compete.
At 90kg, Group B's largest weight class with 23 entries, 1992 Olympic gold medalist Maik BULLMANN of Germany is away from most of the major competitors at his weight. BULLMANN, however, hasn't won a World title since Barcelona, winning the silver medal in the 1993 World Championships and the bronze medal in 1994.
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Robert Sherrill
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| An estimated 5.3 million visted Centennial Olympic Park between opening day - 13 July - and closing day - 4 August, making the park the most single most visited Olympic site during the Games. |