Once again, the last three years have seen a different World champion at this division every season. Claiming the gold medal in 2003 was Martin Lidberg of Sweden. The 2003 World champion was Mekhmet Oezal of Turkey who was also the World bronze medalist in 2002. Russia's Alexandre Bezroutchkine was the 2001 World champion.     Lidberg seems to be on a roll, including gold medals at the 2004 European Championships and the 2004 Pytlasinki Tournament in Poland, a key tuneup event in July. Lidberg has made great strides since moving up in weight a few seasons ago, after the retirement of 2000 Olympic champion Mikael Ljungberg. Lidberg was third in the 1998 World Championships, fifth in the 1999 World Championships, sixth in the 2001 World Championships and seventh in the 2000 Olympics down at 85 kg.    Oezal was unable to place in the top 10 at the World Championships this year, but qualified the nation with a third-place finish at the first Olympic Qualification Tournament. He was sixth as the 2004 European Championships.     Lidberg and Oezal have something in common: they both beat exciting Karam Gaber of Egypt in the World finals the last two seasons. Gaber is known for his explosive throws and high-scoring attacks, and has wrestled in the United States many times in recent seasons. Gaber has the ability to dominate opponents, but has not been able to close it out in the finals.    Bezroutchkine placed sixth at the 2003 World Championships and fifth at the 2004 European Championships. He might be the logical choice for Russia, but five-time World champion Gogi Koguachvili is still competing and might be giving the Olympics another shot. In 2000, he was upset in the the pool competition by young American star Garrett Lowney and did not place. In 1996, Russia entered a different athlete instead. There is some great motivation for Koguachvili to return for another shot at Olympic gold.    Two of the 2000 Olympic medallists will return, silver medalist Davyd Saldadze of Ukraine and bronze medalist Garrett Lowney of the United States. Saldadze was a strong fourth at the 2003 World Championships and was also fourth at the 2004 European Championships.     Lowney could not even compete at the 2003 World Championships due to injury, but has battled back this year and is making a strong run for glory again. He qualified the U.S. for the Olympics in the first Olympic Qualifier, beat a tough Justin Ruiz in the U.S. Trials, then won a silver medal at the Pytlasinski Tournament in July. When Lowney did well in Sydney it was a surprise. If he can do well in Athens, it will be a testement to his dedication and perserverance. He is one of America's top hopefuls.    Ramaz Nozadze of Georgia won a bronze medal in the 2003  World Championships. His performance helped Georgia win the team title at the 2003 World meet, something that was unexpected and exciting for the wrestling-rich nation. Nozadze was also a 2003 Junior World champion and a 2003 European Champion.    Cuba's Ernesto Pena won a silver medal at the 2001 World Championships, and was a champion at the first Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Pena was also fourth at the 2002 World Championships, and has dominated recent Pan American competitions.     Veteran Ali Mollov of Bulgaria won a bronze medal at the 2002 World Championships, and has a history of success in this division. He did not place at the 2000 Olympic Games, and will be looking for another chance for a medal in Athens.    Host Greece has a strong entry, Kostas Thanos, who was fourth at the Sydney Games, but has not placed on the world level since.     Two tough challengers from Asia are Aleeksey Cheglakov of Uzbekistan and Gennadiy Chhaidze of Krygyzstan. Cheglakov was fifth in the 2003 World Championships, while Chhaidze placed seventh in the World meet last year. At the 2004 Asian Championships, Chhaidze won the gold medal, while Cheglakov won the bronze medal. Cheglakov has been a bit more consistent, also placing sixth in both the 2001 and 2002 World Championships. However, Chhaidze had a strong performance at Sydney Olympics, placing sixth. Confused between the two? Their opponents know that both are very talented and capable of winning medals at this level.    Qualifying to compete in Athens through the 2003 World Championships were also Lajos Virag of Hungary, Mirko Englich of Germany and Marek Sitnik of Poland. Englich made a move up in status in 2003, when he captured a silver medal at the European Championships. Sitnik was seventh at the 2001 World Championships, while Englich was eighth in the 2002 World meet.     Mindaugas Ezerskis of Lithuania earned his spot in the field with a second place finish at the first Olympic Qualification Tournament. His bronze medal at the Pytlasinski Tournament in Poland is a strong indication that he can make an impact in the Athens Games.    Iran has made great strides in Greco-Roman wrestling, with Masoud Hashimzade winning a gold medal at the final Olympic Qualification Tournament. Ehssan Karimfar was eighth in the 2001 World meet for Iran, but did not win a medal at the 2004 Asian Championships for Iran.    Placing second in that final Qualifying Tournament was Siarhei Lishtvan of Belarus, who was also second at the 2004 European Championships. Lishtvan is a successful veteran, including a silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and a ninth place finish at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.    Among the other veteran wrestlers to qualify their nation to compete by placing in the final Olympic Qualification event were Petre Sudureac of Romania and Asset Mambetov of Kazakhstan. Sudureac placed fourth at the 1998 and 2001 World Championships. Mambetov was fourth at the 2004 Asian Championships, in a small but loaded field. Also earning a spot in the competition with a FILA Wildcard is Latvia's Igor Kostins.    Nations qualified (alphabetically):  Belarus, Bulgaria, Cuba, Egypt, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Uzbekistan    Past gold medalists expected in field:  Martin Lidberg of Sweden (2003), Mekhmet Oezal of Turkey (2002), Alexandre Bezroutchikine of Russia (2001), Gogi Koguachvili of Russia (1999, 1998, 1997, 1994, 1993)    Top World-level placement for Garrett Lowney:3rd (2000)     96 kg/211.5 lbs. -  Greco-Roman  1st at 2003 World Championships - Sweden (Martin Lidberg)  2nd at 2003 World Championships -Egypt (Karam Gaber)  3rd at 2003 World Championships -Georgia (Ramaz  Nozadze)  4th at 2003 World Championships -Ukraine (Davyd Saldadze)  5th at 2003 World Championships - Uzbekistan (Aleksey Cheglakov)  6th at 2003 World Championships - Russia (Gogi Koguachvil or Alexander Bezrutchkin)  7th at 2003 World Championships -Kyrgyzstan (Gennadiy Chhaidze)  9th at 2003 World Championships - Hungary (Lajos Virag)  10th at 2003 World Championships - Germany (Mirko Englich)  11th at 2003 World Championships - Poland (Marek Sitnik)  Host Nation entry - Greece, also 8th in World Championships (Kostas Thanos)  1st at Olympic Qualifier #1 - Cuba (Ernesto Pena)  2nd at Olympic Qualifier #1-Lithuania (Mindaugas Ezerskis)  3rd at Olympic Qualifier #1 -Turkey (Mehmet Ozal)  4th at Olympic Qualifier #1 - Bulgaria (Alli Mollov)  5th at Olympic Qualifier #1 -United States (Garrett Lowney)  1st at Olympic Qualifier #2 - Iran (Masoud Hashimzade)  2nd at Olympic Qualifier #2 -Belarus (Siarhei Lishtvan)  3rd at Olympic Qualifier #2 -Romania (Petre Sudureac)  4th at Olympic Qualifier #2 -Kazakhstan (Asset Mambetov)  Wildcard - Latvia (Igor Kostins)    RECENT WORLD AND OLYMPIC RESULTS    2003 World Championships results   211.5 - Gold - Martin Lidberg (Sweden) dec. Karam Gaber (Egypt), 3-0; Bronze - Ramaz  Nozadze (Georgia) dec. Davyd Saldadze (Ukraine), 6-0; 5th - Aleksey Cheglakov (Uzbekistan); 6th - Alexander Bezrutchkin (Russia); 7th - Gennadiy Chhaidze (Kyrgyzstan); 8th - Kostas Thanos (Greece); 9th - Lajos Virag (Hungary); 10th - Mirko English (Germany)    2002 World Championships results  96 kg/211.75 lbs. - Gold - Mekhmet Oezal (Tur