1992 U.S. Olympic Team highlight video is the new “Bout of the Week” on USA Wrestling Members-Only w

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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
01/25/2005


USA Wrestling has updated its new "Bout of the Week" on USA Wrestling's Members-Only website    The featured match this week is a highlight video of the U.S. Olympic freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling team at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.    The 1992 U.S. team was one of the most successful groups of athletes in U.S. wrestling history, with some of the more memorable performances on an individual basis.    The U.S. won eight medals in wrestling at the 1992 Olympic Games, including six in men's freestyle and two in men's Greco-Roman.    Three Americans brought home gold medals, all in freestyle: John Smith at 62 kg/136.5 lbs., Kevin Jackson at 82 kg/180.5 lbs. and Bruce Baumgartner at 130 kg/286 lbs. All three had amazing and interesting performances.     Baumgartner won his second Olympic gold medal and third career Olympic medal (he would add a fourth medal at the 1996 Atlanta Games). It was perhaps the most dominant performance of his Hall of Fame wrestling career. He defeated two World champions on the way, including an exciting last-second victory over 1988 Olympic champion David Gobedjishvili of the Unified Team in the third round. He outscored his opponents 38-1, with four shutouts and one pin. In the finals, he smashed Canada's Jeff Thue, 8-0.    Smith added his second Olympic gold medal, making it an unbelievable run of six straight years with a World or Olympic title (1987-1992). However, this victory had its challenges, as Smith actually lost a match in his pool competition against Cuba's Lazaro Reinoso, but advanced to the gold-medal finals where he defeated veteran Iranian star Asgari Mohammadian, 6-0. It ended up being the last match of his amazing career, a retired superstar at the age of 27.    Jackson came off of a World title in 1995, and won five matches which he controlled completely. His finals match will long be remembered for its controversy. Jackson faced 1989 World Champion Elmadi Jabrailov of the Unified Team. The match went into overtime tied at 0-0. Jabrailov almost scored on a leg attack, which some fans believed may have scored. Jackson won the match on a double leg takedown.  Unified Team coaches jumped on the mats, and fans threw debris from the stands. During the medal ceremony, Jabrailov had to be escorted to the podium by his coaches. Fans booed and whistled during the playing of the American national anthem.    Each of the other freestyle medallists had great stories, as Zeke Jones added a silver medal at 52 kg/114.5 lbs., Kenny Monday won a silver medal at 74 kg/163 lbs. and Chris Campbell won a bronze medal at 90 kg/198 lbs.    Jones, a 1995 World Champion, won five straight matches to make the finals bout. Among his victims was over 1988 Olympic champion Mitsuru Sato of Japan. In the gold medal finals, he was defeated by an exciting Li Hak-Son of North Korea.    Monday wrestled the 1992 Olympics with a secret injury, a severe dislocation of his elbow suffered right before the competition started. There were concerns he could not even compete. Taping his good elbow to try to trick the opponents, Monday won his first four matches without surrendering a single point. In the finals, he was edged by Park Jang-Soon of South Korea, 1-0, a close match with a true superstar opponent.    Campbell was 37 years old going into the Games, a tremendous feat just to make the U.S. team. He lost his first match of the Games to a Hall of Fame star, the eventual champion Makharbek Khadartsev of the Unified Team, then battled back with four straight wins to take the bronze medal. He became the oldest known U.S. wrestling medalist in wrestling.    "Coming in, I said that this is a good team, a very good team," said U.S. Olympic freestyle coach Bobby Douglas after the Games ended. "Now I can say it is a great team. It is probably the best freestyle team we have ever put on the mat, and it will get better with age."    The Greco-Roman squad emerged with a stong finish, including two medallists: silver medalist Dennis Koslowski at 100 kg/220 lbs. and bronze medalist Rodney Smith at 68 kg/149.5 pounds. It was an improved performance from the previous Olympics and another indication that the USA was becoming a world power in Greco-Roman.    Koslowski became the first U.S. Greco-Roman wrestler to win two career Olympic medals, to go with his bronze medal from the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. He had retired after the Seoul Olympics to become the USA Wrestling National Greco-Roman Coach, but made a comeback as an athlete in 1991. His opening match was memorable, a 2-0 decision over 1988 Olympic champion Andrzej Wronski of Poland. Koslowski won four bouts to reach the finals, where he lost a tight 2-1 overtime match to 1991 World champion Hector Millian of Cuba.    Smith was a surprise medalist, an athlete who was competing at his first World-level event for the United States. He got on a roll early, winning his first three matches, before losing to eventual gold-medalist Attila Repka of Hungary. He kept his medal hopes alive with a 7-5 win over the tough Ghani Yalouz of France. In the bronze-medal match, he stopped Cuba's Cecilio Rodriguez, 6-3 and celebrated his success. It was a long way for a kid from Massachusetts, who competed in college on the Div. III level, and entered the U.S. Army in order to chase his wrestling dream.    Highlights of all 20 U.S. wrestlers in the Olympic Games are included on this video, which also features a music soundtrack. The show is almost 10 minutes long, and gives an entertaining review of the excitement of the U.S. athletes and teams at the Barcelona Games.    This popular feature will be changed on a regular basis, allowing members to enjoy many of the greatest matches in wrestling history.     Posted in the archive section of the Members Only web page was 1988 Andy Seras vs. Mike Mann men's Greco-Roman match from the Olympic Team Trials in Pensacola, Fla.. Many other entertaining and historic matches are in the archive section for the Bout of the Week.     USA Wrestling has done a complete redesign and expansion of its Members-Only website, providing all USA Wrestling members with an impressive new resource stocked with interactive learning tools and entertaining features.     The web page is still available for all to view and sample for a short time. This will allow those not familiar with the site to enjoy the contents and become familiar with the features.    Once the sampling period ends, this on-line resource is available free of charge only to current members of USA Wrestling, one of the most exciting benefits of joining the organization. At that time, USA Wrestling members will need to enter the number from their 2004-05 membership card into an entry form, and the exciting new Members-Only page will become available to them.    RECENT BOUTS OF THE WEEK PLACED IN ARCHIVE  1988 Andy Seras vs. Mike Mann men's Greco-Roman match   1992 Kevin Jackson vs. Rasul Khadem men's freestyle match  1992 Chris Campbell vs. Puntsag Sukhbat men's freestyle match  2000 Garrett Lowney vs. Gogi Koguachvili men's Greco-Roman match  1988 Randy Lewis vs. Stepan Sarkissian men's freestyle match  1996 Kurt Angle vs. Abbas Jadidi men's freestyle match  1990 Chris Wilson vs. Arsen Fadzeav men's freestyle match  1990 John Smith vs. Stepan Sarkissian men's freestyle match  2004 Sunkist Kids International Open men's Greco-Roman gold-medal matches  2004 Sunkist Kids International Open men's freestyle gold-medal matches  1990 Bill Scherr vs. Alexei Golovko men's freestyle match  2004 Cael Sanderson vs. Moon Eui Jae men's freestyle match  2004 Rulon Gardner Olympic semifinals and finals men's Greco-Roman feature  2004 Sara McMann vs. Stavroula Zygouri women's freestyle match  2004 Toccara Montgomery vs. Kristie Marano women's freestyle match  2004 Joe Williams vs. Joe Heskett men's freestyle match  2004 Eric Guerrero vs. Mike Zadick men's freestyle match  2004 Cael Sanderson vs. Lee Fullhart men's freestyle match  2004 Dennis Hall vs. Brandon Paulson men's Greco-Roman match  1996 Townsend Saunders vs. Pat Santoro men's freestyle mat