ROME, Italy - American T.C. Dantzler delivered one of the biggest and most clutch victories in his Greco-Roman career to send the United States to the 2008 Olympic Games at 74 kg/163 lbs.

Dantzler swept Egypt's Ahmed Abdelsadek 7-0, 3-0 in the bronze-medal match at Olympic Greco-Roman Qualifier No. 1 late Sunday afternoon. By finishing in the top four, Dantzler qualifies the U.S. for the Olympics at 74 kilos. The Olympics in wrestling are set for Aug. 12-21 in Beijing, China.

"This is the best I've ever wrestled in my life - that tells you something about the caliber of competition here because I lost a match and I'm saying that," Dantzler said. "I was screaming and yelling after the win. I'm so excited. The pressure to qualify this weight class for the Olympics is like nothing I've ever experienced. It's been stressful. I'm so happy and relieved to be able to do this."

Dantzler came through after the U.S. failed to qualify for the 2004 Olympics at 74 kilos.

"T.C. wrestled great every match, even the match he lost," U.S. National Coach Steve Fraser said. "We're just ecstatic right now, we can't believe it. Everybody's hugging and we're in tears right now, we're so happy. T.C. deserves it. He wrestled with a great sense of calm and determination. This is just tremendous."

Dantzler will now turn his focus to the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, set for June 13-15 in Las Vegas. He clinched a spot in the best-of-3 finals by virtue of winning last month's U.S. Nationals.

The U.S. has now qualified 6-of-7 weight classes for the Olympics in Greco-Roman.

"I'm just so happy for my family and I can't wait to share the news with them," Dantzler said. "My coaches never gave up on me and my teammates kept telling me I could do it, and I believed them. Peter Hicks, my training partner, he's been unbelievable and he helped me a lot. Now I need to get ready for the Trials and build on this. I know I'm right there and I'm ready to win the Olympics. I know I can do it."

The second and final Olympic qualifier for Greco-Roman is scheduled for May 24-25 in Serbia. The U.S. still needs to qualify for the Olympics in Greco-Roman at 60 kg/132 lbs. The powerful American squad won the team title for the first time at the 2007 World Championships.

Dantzler wrestled for the bronze medal after going 3-1 in the first session of Olympic Greco-Roman Qualifier No. 1 in Rome, Italy.

Dantzler recorded a second-period fall in his first match over Graham Keitani of the Federated States of Micronesia. He followed with a 3-0, 3-0 win over Jonut Strambeanu of Romania.

In the quarterfinals, Dantzler notched a 4-2, 4-2 win over 2006 World Champion Vladimir Shatskikh of Ukraine. In the semifinals, Azerbaijan's Ilgar Abdulov edged Dantzler 1-1, 4-3.

"It was easy to come back from that loss," Dantzler said. "I wrestled well in that match and it just came down to a move at the end. I didn't get down about the loss because I knew how important the next match was. I was ready and I was focused. My coaches, Steve Fraser and Momir Petkovic, made sure I was ready to go."

The 37-year-old Dantzler (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC) has made the last five U.S. World Teams in Greco-Roman wrestling. He placed fifth at the 2006 World Championships. He is shooting for his first trip to the Olympics this year.

The U.S. has now qualified 15-of-18 weight classes overall for the Olympics. The U.S. has qualified 6-of-7 classes in Greco-Roman, 6-of-7 classes in freestyle and 3-of-4 classes in women's freestyle. One qualifier remains in Greco-Roman and two qualifiers remain in women's freestyle.