This could be one of the most competitive and wide open weight divisions in men's freestyle wrestling. No athlete has dominated. There has been a different champion every year in this Olympic cycle. It is anybody's division to win.     The reigning World champion is Dilshod Mansurov of Uzbekistan. Winning the World title in 2002 was Roberto Montero of Cuba. The 2001 World champion was Herman Kontoyev of Belarus. The 2000 Olympic champion was Namik Abdullayev of Azerbaijan. All of these athletes have qualified for Athens and each are capable of winning a title again.     Neither Montero, Kontoyev or Abdullayev placed in the top 10 at the World Championships in 2003, so they had to go through the Olympic Qualifying events to get into the field in Athens. In the first of these qualifiers in Slovakia, Montero won the gold, Kontoyev was second and Abduallayev was fourth.     American wrestling fans remember Abdullayev well. In the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, he wrestled a great match but lost a controversial finals to Bulgarian superstar Valentin Jordanov. In the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, he faced U.S. star and past World champion Sammie Henson in the finals, and won a close controversial decision. It will be interesting to see if he can make it into the medal rounds for a third Olympic Games.    U.S. wrestlers have had success against both Montero and Kontoyev, including the American entry in Athens, Stephen Abas, who has beaten them both. Abas was fifth at the World Championships last year, his best finish since taking over the division in the USA in 2001. Abas seeks his first Senior-level medal, but showed his potential as a Junior World Champion in 1998. Abas can score points and has tremendous mat skills, but hasn't yet put together a complete tournament at the World level. Many believe he is ready for that kind of performance in Athens.     Mansurov had the best performance of his career in New York, working his way through a crowded field. He beat Moldova's Ghenadie Tulbea in the World finals, 7-4. Mansurov has a talented teammate at this division, Adcham Achilov, who won the 2004 Asian Championships. You should expect the reigning World champion Mansurov to be the choice for Athens.    Earning the 2002 and 2003 World bronze medal was Oleksandr Zakharuk of Ukraine. Zakharuk has won a number of European titles as well, making him potentially a gold-medal hopeful at the Olympic level. All three of the World medalists last year were from former Soviet republics. There are a ton of talented for Soviets competing in this division (and pretty much in every freestyle weight class).     Placing fourth in the World last year was Iran's Mohammed Aslani, who has to beat some tough challengers just to make the Iranian team. Babak Nourzad, an international veteran and 2001  World silver medalist, is also a top contender to take this position for Iran.  There were some discussions that Gholam Reza Mohammadi, a multiple World medalist, was considering a comeback. In any case, Iran will be well represented at this division.    Amiran Kartanov of Greece placed sixth in the World Championships last year, his best finish since winning the Olympic bronze medal in Sydney, Australia. Greece gets a full team at the Olympics because it is hosting the event, but Kartanov is clearly their best gold medal hopeful in wrestling. He was fourth at the European Championships this year, a solid performance that shows he will be ready to compete on the home mats in Athens this summer.    Powerhouse Russia has not performed well at this weight for many years, but can not be overlooked. The probable choice for Athens is Mavlet Batirov, who competed for Russia at last year's World meet but was beaten in the pools by Abas. The athlete who qualified the nation for the weight was Alexander Kontoev, who placed in one of the Olympic Qualifying events.    One of the wrestlers who enters the event wrestling well is Martin Berberyan of Armenia, who won the 2004 European Championships. Berberyan was third at the first Olympic Qualifier in Slovakia to get into the field in Athens.    Asia boasts many talented contenders such as China's Li Zhengyu, Japan's Tanabe Chickara, Mongolia's Bayaraa Naranbaatar, Korea's Kim Hyo Sub, India's Dutt Yogeshwar and Kazakhstan's Bauyrshan Orazgaliev. Asian athletes have traditionally done well at the lightest weight classes, and this year's event should be no exception. At this year's Asian Championships, Bayaraa of Mongolia was second and Kim of Korea was third behind Achilov. Yogeshwar showed his skill by winning the gold at the final Olympic qualifier in Bulgaria, beating Kim in the finals.    Another Asian wrestler was added to the field when FILA gave a wildcard to North Korea's O Sang-Nam, making him the only wrestler from North Korea in the Olympics this time.     Other wrestlers from Europe who were able to qualify to compete included Turkey's Ramazan Demir, and Bulgaria's Radislav Velikov. Also getting into the tournament was Souh Africa's Shawn Williams, who was 11th in the World Championships in New York. Greece's Kartanov placed in the top 10 in New York, but had an automatic spot, sliding No. 11 Williams into the Olympic tournament.    The pool competitions at this division should be brutal. Last year, just to advance out of the pools, Abas defeated Olympic champion Abdullayev and Russia's Batirov, only to lose to Tulbea in the quarterfinals. That kind of tough road could be common in Athens. To win, an athlete will have to beat some tremendous talents. Just who that athlete will be is hard to predict.    Past gold medalists expected in field: Dilshod Mansurov of Uzbekistan (2003), Roberto Montero of Cuba (2002), Herman Kontoyev of Belarus (2001), Namik Abdullayev of Azerbaijan (2000)    Top World-level placement for Stephen Abas: 5th (2003)    Tentative field at 55 kg/121 lbs.- Freestyle  1st at 2003 World Championships - Uzbekistan (Dilshod Mansurov or Adcham Achilov)  2nd at 2003 World Championships -Moldova (Ghenadie Tulbea)  3rd at 2003 World Championships -Ukraine (Oleksandr Zakharuk)  4th at 2003 World Championships -Iran (Babak Noorzad or Mohammad Aslani)  5th at 2003 World Championships - United States (Stephen Abas)  7th at 2003 World Championships - Japan (Tanabe Chickara)  8th at 2003 World Championships - Turkey (Ramazan Demir or Melvana Kulac)  9th at 2003 World Championships - Kazakhstan (Bauyrshan Orazgaliev or Maulen Mamyrov)  10th at 2003 World Championships - Mongolia (Bayaraa Naranbaatar)  11th at 2003 World Championships - South Africa (Shawn Williams)  Host Nation, also 6th at World Championships - Greece (Amiran Kartanov)  1st at Olympic Qualifier #1 - Cuba (Roberto Montero)  2nd at Olympic Qualifier #1- Belarus (Herman Kontoev)  3rd at Olympic Qualifier #1 -Armenia (Martin Berberyan)  4th at Olympic Qualifier #1 -Azerbaijan (Namig Abdullaev)  5th at Olympic Qualifier #1 -China (Li Zhengyu)  1st at Olympic Qualifier #2 - India (Dutt Yogeshwar)  2nd at Olympic Qualifier #2 -Korea (Kim Hyo Sub)  3rd at Olympic Qualifier #2 -Russia (Mavlet Batirov, Adam Batirov or Alexander Kontoev)  4th at Olympic Qualifier #2 -Bulgaria (Radislav Velikov or Ivan Velkov Dyorev)  Wildcard - North Korea (O Song-Nam)    RECENT WORLD AND OLYMPIC RESULTS    2003 World Championship results  54 kg/121 lbs. - Gold - Dilshod Mansurov (Uzbekistan) dec. Ghenadie Tulbea (Moldova), 7-4; Bronze - Oleksandr Zakharuk (Ukraine) dec. Mohammed Aslani (Iran), 5-2, ot, 6:22; 5th - Stephen Abas (United States); 6th - Amiran Kartanov (Greece); 7th - Tanabe Chickara (Japan); 8th - Ramazan Demir (Turkey); 9th - Bauyrzhan Orazgaliyev (Kazakhstan); 10th - Bayaraa Barabbaatar (Mongolia)    2002 World Championships results  55 kg/121 lbs.  - Gold - Roberto Montero (Cuba) dec. Namik Abduallayev (Azerbaijan), 4-1; Bronze - Oleksander Zakharuk (Ukraine) dec. Adcham Achilov (Uzbekistan), 3-1; 5th - Martin Berberyan (Armenia); 6th -  Chikara Tanabe (Japan); 7th - Oularbek Tuganbay (Kyrgyzstan); 8th - Zunbayan Tumendemberel (Mongolia); 9th - K. Kumar (India); 10th - Ercan Cetin (Turkey)    2001 World Championships results