There has been a different World champion each season for the last three years at this weight class. The reigning World champion is Manukar Kvirkelia of Georgia. Winning a World title in 2002 was Jimmy Samuelsson of Sweden and in 2001 was Vagninak Galustyan of Armenia. All of these champions have had challenges keeping the edge on this deep and balanced field.    Kvirkelia was also third in the 2002 World Championships and second in the 2001 European Championships, both strong finishes that show he is capable at any event.     Samuelsson has not had any strong performances since winning his World title. His 10th place at the World Championships last year put him in the field in Athens. He was not able to place in the top 10 in the 2004 European Championships this year, another indication that he will have his hands full at the Olympics.    Galustyan followed his World title in 2001 by placing ninth in the 2002 World Championships and fourth at the 2003 World Championships. He did not wrestle at the 2004 European Championships, as Zhora Vardanyan placed sixth for Armenia.    Now competing at this division is 2000 Olympic silver medalist Kim In-Sub of Korea, who wrestled at 58 kg in 2000, and also boasts World titles in 1998, and 1999. Kim was second in the World in this division in 2001 and sixth at the 2003 World Championships. He also captured the gold medal at the 2004 Asian Championships. Kim has the kind of skill that allows him to go deep into challenging tournaments, making him a medal hopeful every time he wrestles.    Armen Vardanyan of Ukraine placed second in 2003 World Championships, and followed that up with a gold medal at the 2004 European Championships. He was also ninth at the 2002 World Championships at this division.    2000 Olympic silver medalist Juan Maren of Cuba remains a threat, even though he has placed no higher than fourth since the Syndey Games. His fourth place in the 2001 World Championships shows he can still make it to the medal rounds. Maren earned his spot in Athens by winning a gold medal at the second Olympic Qualifying Tournament, beating some talented opponents along the way. Like many of his experienced Cuban teammates, Maren is seasoned and physically tough.    Farid Mansurov of Azerbaijan placed second in 2002 World Championships, and was eighth at the 2003 World Championships. Levente Furendi of Hungary won the World bronze medal in 2003 and was eighth at the 2001 World Championships. Both have proven the ability to reach the medal rounds.    Seref Eroglu of Turkey, who was a World champion in 1997, placed fifth in the World championships last year. He aims to make up for a 10th place finish at the 2000 Olympic Games with a medal performance in Athens.    Another past World champion in the field is Mkkhtar Manukyan of Kazakhstan, who was fourth at the first Olympic Qualifying event. Manukyan won World titles in 1998 and 1999 at 63 kg. He was seventh at the 2000 Olympic Games, but has not placed in the top 10 since then.    Sneaking into the field by placing fourth in the final Olympic Qualifying event was 1996 Olympic champion Ryszard Wolny of Poland. Wolny won his gold medal in Atlanta at 68 kg/149.5 lbs., so he had to drop some weight to get to this division. Poland might choose a different athlete here, as Marciej Panasiuk was their entry at the European Championships this year.    Qualifying for the Athens Games by placing in the top 10 at the 2003 World Championships were Jannis Zamandouridis of Germany and Luis Fernando Izquierdo of Colombia. Zamandouridis is a veteran who will be a dangerous draw. His bronze medal at the Pytlasinski Tournament was a strong showing going into the Olympics. Izquierdo has done a nice job becoming an international competitor, as Colombia has developed a stronger Greco-Roman program in recent seasons.    The 2000 Olympic champion at 63 kg, Russia's Vartares Samourgachev, has moved up in weight and will not be in this mix here, although he may be the man at 74 kg. The only Russian to place in this Olympic cycle was Maksim Semenov who was fourth in the 2002 World Championships. Ambako Bagadze qualified Russia at this division by taking third at the first Olympic Qualification Tournament. Sergey Kuntarev competed for Russia at the 2004 European Championships and placed out of the top 10, but won the 2003 European bronze medal. Alexander Parfilkin won the gold medal at the 2004 Pytlasinski Tournament in Poland. Take your choice of Russian hopefuls.     The United States will have a new entry here, Oscar Wood, who beat 2000 Olympian Kevin Bracken to earn his trip to Athens. Wood is untested at this level, but has paid his dues for many years on the domestic scene. Bracken qualified the USA for the weight at the first Olympic Qualifier. Wood has considerable talent and enters the Olympics with great confidence. He is hoping that his "newcomer" status will be to his advantage, as the opponents do not know much about his style and technique. The question is whether the lack of big-time international experience will be a setback for Wood.    Winning a gold medal at the first Olympic qualifier was Bulgaria's Nikolay Gergov, an athlete who was also seventh at the 2002 World Championships. Placing second at that qualifier was Iran's Parvis Zaivand. Another Iranian was a World placewinner recently, as Mehdi Hodaei placed sixth in the 2002 World meet.    Gaining entry into the field through the final Olympic Qualifying event were Moises Sanchez of Spain and Kanatbek Bagaliev of Kyrgyzstan. American fans saw Sanchez at the Titan Games this summer, where he was beaten by American Oscar Wood. Greece gets an automatic entry in the tournament at every weight. Konstandinos Arkoudeas, who was also fifth at the 2004 European Championships, is expected to be the Greek entry.    Nations qualified (alphabetically): Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Cuba, Colombia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United States, Ukraine    Past gold medallists expected in field: Manukar Kvirkelia of Georgia (2003), Jimmy Samuelsson of Sweden (2002), Vaginak Galustyan of Armenia (2001), Kim In-Sub of Korea (1999, 1998), Mkkhitar Manukyan of Kazakhstan (1999, 1998), Seref Eroglu of Turkey (1997). Ryszard Wolny of Poland (1996)    Top World-level placement for Oscar Wood:  no previous U.S. teams    66 kg/145.5 lbs. -  Greco-Roman   1st at 2003 World Championships - Georgia (Manuchar Kvirkelia)  2nd at 2003 World Championships -Ukraine (Armen Vardanyan)  3rd at 2003 World Championships -Hungary (Levente Furedi)  4th at 2003 World Championships -Armenia (Vaghinak Galvstyan)  5th at 2003 World Championships - Turkey (Seref Eroglu)  6th at 2003 World Championships - Korea (Kim In-Sub)  7th at 2003 World Championnships -Germany (Jannis Zamandouridis)  8th at 2003 World Championships - Azerbaijan (Farid Mansurov)  9th at 2003 World Championships - Colombia (Luis Fernando Izquierdo)  10th at 2003 World Championships - Sweden (Jimmy Samuelsson)  Host Nation entry - Greece (Konstandinos Arkoudeas)  1st at Olympic Qualifier #1 - Bulgaria (Nikolay Gergov)  2nd at Olympic Qualifier #1-Iran (Parvis Zaidvand)  3rd at Olympic Qualifier #1 - Russia (Ambako Bagadze, Maksim Semenov or Sergei Kuntarov)  4th at Olympic Qualifier #1 -Kazakhstan (Mkkhitar Manukyan)  5th at Olympic Qualifier #1 -United States (Oscar Wood)  1st at Olympic Qualifier #2 - Cuba (Juan Maren)  2nd at Olympic Qualifier #2 - Spain (Moises Sanchez)  3rd at Olympic Qualifier #2 - Kyrgyzstan (Kanatbek Bagaliev)  4th at Olympic Qualifier #2 - Poland (Ryszard Wolny or Marciah Panasiuk)    RECENT WORLD AND OLYMPIC RESULTS    2003 World Championship results   66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Gold - Manuchar Kvirkelia (Georgia) dec. Armen Vardanyan (Ukraine), 5-2; Bronze - Levente Furedi (Hungary) dec. Vaghinak Galvstyan (Armenia), 3-2; 5th - Seref Eroglu (Turkey); 6th -  Kim In-Sub (Korea); 7th -  Jannis Zamandouridis (Germany); 8th - Ferik Masurov (Azerbaijan); 9th - Luis Fernando Izquierdo (Colombia); 10th - Jimmy Samuelsson (Sweden)    2002 World Champ