Session 4
SIM Wins in Overtime at 48kg: SIM Kwon-Ho of Korea scored a pair of two-point gut wrenches, the second 1 minute, 16 seconds into overtime, to beat Alexsandr PAVLOV of Belarus 4-0 in the gold medal match Sunday afternoon at the Georgia World Congress Center.
SIM did not allow a point against him in his four tournament matches. Zafar GULYOV of Russia won the bronze medal.
Medals: Gold - SIM Kwon-Ho (KOR); Silver - Alexsandr PAVLOV (BLR); Bronze - Zafar GULYOV (RUS)
MELNICHENKO Earns Revenge at 57kg: Yuriy MELNICHENKO of Kazakhstan scored a four-point throw with 3 minutes, 17 seconds remaining in the match and made it stand up for a 4-1 victory over Dennis HALL of the United States in the gold-medal match.
The victory allowed the 1994 World Champion to gain the ultimate revenge for his loss to Hall in the 1995 World Championship final.
SHENG Zetian of China, whom Hall defeated 1-0 in the semifinals, earned his second straight Olympic Games bronze medal.
Medals: Gold - Yuriy MELNICHENKO (KAZ); Silver - Dennis HALL (USA); Bronze - SHENG Zetian (CHN)
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WOLNY Caps Incredible Journey at 68kg: Ryszard WOLNY of Poland, whose only previous medal in a world-level event was a bronze medal in the 1990 World Championships, shut out Ghani YOLOUZ of France, 7-0, to win the gold medal.
WOLNY, who was a wild card entry into the Olympic Games, started with a 4-3 victory over defending Olympic gold medalist Attila REPKA of Hungary and dominated the final against YOLOUZ after starting the scoring with a three-point hip toss in the first minute.
It was a weight class at which not only REPKA but defending World Champion Rustam ADZHY of Ukraine were eliminated without winning a single match. Alexsandr TRETYAKOV of Russia, who lost to YOLOUZ in the opening round Saturday morning, won six straight matches in Pool B to earn the bronze medal.
Medals: Gold - Ryszard WOLNY (POL); Silver - Ghani YOLOUZ (FRA); Bronze - Alexsandr TRETYAKOV (RUS)
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The Boy Wonder Prevails at 82kg: Hamza YERLIKAYA just turned 20 years of age 3 June, but he already has won three world titles in weight class normally dominated by men five years his age and older.
On Sunday afternoon, YERLIKAYA added the Olympic gold medal to the World titles he won in 1993 and 1995, shutting out 1994 World Champion Thomas ZANDER of Germany 3-0 in the title match.
YERLIKAYA scored his first two points when ZANDER was penalized for grabbing his ankle to stop a lift YERLIKAYA was trying to use to earn points. The rules of Greco-Roman wrestling do not allow the defensive wrestler to grab or hook the opponent below the waist to prevent the opponent from scoring.
Medals: Gold - Hamza YERLIKAYA (TUR); Silver - Thomas ZANDER (GER); Bronze - Valeriy TSILENT (BLR)
WRONSKI Returns to Top Step at 100kg: Andrzej WRONSKI of Poland won his second Olympic gold medal, his first since 1988, after battling Sergey LISHTVAN of Belarus to a scoreless tie after minutes, five of regulation time and three of overtime. WRONSKI was awarded the victory by referee's decision on the basis of a 3-2 edge in passivity calls.
WRONSKI's win, along with teammate Ryszard WOLNY's triumph at 68kg, gave Poland two Olympic gold medalists, the only nation to accomplish the feat in Group A.
Mikael LJUNGBERG of Sweden, the World Champion in 1993 and 1995, scored the only pin of the round when he put away Teymuraz EDISHERASHVILI of Russia at 1 minute, 50 seconds to earn the bronze medal. It was the first loss of the day by a Russian wrestler. After ending Saturday's competition with all five Group A wrestlers eliminated from gold-medal contention, the four Russians still alive won their first 11 matches Sunday, earning three bronze medals, prior to EDISHERASHVILI's loss in the bronze-medal match.
Medals: Gold - Andrzej WRONSKI (POL); Silver - Sergey LISHTVAN (BLR); Bronze - Mikael LJUNGBERG (SWE)
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| The volunteer staff of the 1996 Olympic Games totaled 50,152. They worked an estimated 850,000 shifts. |