Date of competition: Sunday, Sept. 12

Russia didn’t miss a beat when the legendary Bouvaisa Saitiev stepped aside after winning his third Olympic title in 2008.

Denis Tsargush stepped in and won the 2009 World freestyle title at 74 kg/163 lbs. Tsargush is back again after winning Russian Nationals this year. He will look to repeat on the final day of the World Championships on Sept. 12 in Moscow, Russia.

Tsargush won the European Championships earlier this year.

The returning silver medalist is veteran Chamsulvara Chamsulvarayev of Azerbaijan. Bronze medalists from last year were Ramesh Kumar of India and Sadegh Goudarzi of Iran. Chamsulvarayev was third at the 2010 Europeans.

Kiril Terziev of Bulgaria placed second at the European Championships this year. He was ninth in the World in 2009 after winning a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

2007 World bronze medalist Ivan Fundora is another wrestler to watch in this weight class. Fundora won the Pan American Championships this year.

The U.S. features a first-time World Team member in this weight class with Travis Paulson, who beat his twin brother Trent en route to making the team. Trent Paulson made the 2009 World Team at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. before bumping up a weight class this year.

Travis Paulson has wrestled extensively overseas the past few seasons. He won the Hargobind International this season before placing third in the Cerro Pelado event in Cuba and second in the Heydar Aliyev Golden Grand Prix in Azerbaijan.

Paulson is a physical wrestler who has the potential to earn a spot on the podium in Russia. If he goes to his offense and avoids going to ball draws and clinches, he could be very successful at the World Championships.

The U.S. is looking for its first World-level medal in this weight class since Donny Pritzlaff won a bronze medal at the 2006 World Championships in Guangzhou, China.

RECENT WORLD AND OLYMPIC RESULTS

2009 World Championships
Gold - Denis Tsargush (Russia); Silver - Chamsulvara Chamsulvarayev (Azerbaijan); Bronze - Ramesh Kumar (India); Bronze - Sadegh Goudarzi (Iran); 5th - Alexandr Burca (Moldova); 5th - Murad Gaidarov (Belarus); 7th - Apostolos Taskoudis (Greece); 8th - Kiril Terziev (Bulgaria); 9th - Bi Shengfeng (China); 10th - Andrej Shyyka (Germany)

2008 Olympic Games
74 kg/163 lbs. - Gold – Bouvaisa Saitiev (Russia); Silver – Soslan Tigiev (Uzbekistan); Bronze – Murad Gaidarov (Belarus); Bronze – Kiril Terziev (Bulgaria); 5th – Gheorghita Stefan (Romania); 5th – Ivan Fundora (Cuba); 7th – Ben Askren (USA); 8th – Arsen Gitinov (Kyrgyzstan); 9th – Emzarios Bentinidis (Greece); 10th – Ahmet Gulhan (Turkey)

2007 World Championships
74 kg/163 lbs. - Gold - Makhach Murtazaliev (Russia); Silver - Ibragim Aldatov (Ukraine); Bronze - Chamsulvara Chamsulvaraev (Azerbaijan); Bronze - Ivan Fundora (Cuba); 5th - Stefan Gheorghita (Romania); 5th - Joe Heskett (United States); 7th - Gabor Hatos (Hungary); 8th - Gela Saghirashvili (Georgia); 9th – Ali Asghar Bazrighaleh (Iran); 10th - Emzarios Bentinidis (Greece)

2006 World Championships
74 kg/163 lbs. – Gold – Ibraghim Aldatov (Ukraine); Silver – Ali Asharbazrei (Iran); Bronze – Soslan Tigiev (Uzbekistan); Bronze – Donny Pritzlaff (USA); 5th – Mihail Ganev (Bulgaria); 5th – Murad Gaidarov (Belarus); 7th – Emzarios Betinidis (Greece); 8th – Bouvaisa Saitiev (Russia); 9th – Krystian Brzozowski (Poland); 10th – Stefan Gheorghita (Romania)

2005 World Championships
74 kg/163 lbs. - Gold - Bouvaisa Saitiev (Russia); Silver - Arpad Ritter (Hungary); Bronze - Joe Williams (USA); Bronze - Nikolay Paslar (Bulgaria); 5th - Alexandru Burca (Moldova); 5th - Mehdi Hajizadeh (Iran); 7th - Ivan Fundora (Cuba); 8th - Soslan Tigiev (Uzbekistan); 9th - Talant Jekshenov (Krygyzstan); 10th - Salvatore Rinella (Italy)