U.S. LINEUPS SET FOR OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENTS, TO BE HELD ACROSS THE WORLD FROM JANUARY-MARCH 2000; USA MUST STILL QUALIFY EIGHT WEIGHT CLASSES FOR OLYMPICSUSA Wrestling is completing its plans for sending U.S. athletes to participate in the series of Olympic Qualification Tournaments, which will be held all across the world from January-March 2000.
The Olympic Games wrestling competition is not an open tournament. The International Olympic Committee has set a fixed number of participants for wrestling at the Olympic Games. The nations which provide wrestlers for the Olympic Games must go through a qualification process.
The approved total number of wrestling participants for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia is 320, with 160 Greco-Roman athletes and 160 freestyle athletes.
The first phase of Olympic qualifying occurred during the 1999 World Championships in both freestyle and Greco-Roman, where the top eight nations at each weight class qualified athletes for the 2000 Olympic Games. At the 1999 World Championships, the United States qualified athletes at six weight classes in freestyle wrestling and two weight classes in Greco-Roman wrestling.
The second phase of the qualifying procedures is the Olympic Qualification Tournaments, which includes five qualification tournaments in each style. The tournament locations will include two events in Europe, one in the Americas, one in Asia and one in Africa.
The United States must still qualify at two weight classes in freestyle (54 kg, 97 kg) and six weight classes in Greco-Roman (54 kg, 57 kg, 63 kg, 69 kg, 76 kg, 85 kg).
Athletes score points for their nation at each event, based upon their placing at the weight class. After the five events are concluded, the top three placements at the weight class are totalled. The top seven nations at each weight class from these events will qualify for the Olympic Games. A total of 112 Olympic berths will be determined through these qualification tournaments, 56 in freestyle and 56 in Greco-Roman. The USA will send athletes to each of the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, in order to attempt to qualify the remaining weight classes.
The third and final qualifying phase for the 2000 Olympic Games are the Continental Championships, scheduled for April and May of 2000. Only the top non-qualifying nation at each weight class from the Continental Championships will qualify for the Olympic Games.
The USA will participate in the Pan American Championships in Medellin, Colombia, May 19-24. The U.S. athletes for this event have not yet been determined.
The competition at each Olympic qualifying event is expected to be intense, as positions in the 2000 Olympic Games are at stake.
U.S. ATHLETES WHO WILL PARTICIPATE IN 2000 OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENTS
FREESTYLE
Jan. 29-30, Freestyle Olympic Qualifier, Minsk, Belarus - 54 kg - Sammie Henson (Norman, Okla./Sunkist Kids); 97 kg - Joel Sharratt (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm)
Feb. 12-13, Freestyle Olympic Qualifier, Leipzig, Germany - 54 kg - Eric Akin (Overland Park, Kan./Dave Schultz WC); 97 kg - Dominic Black (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army)
Feb. 26-27 - Freestyle Olympic Qualifier, Tokyo, Japan - 54 kg - Lou Rosselli (Edinboro, Pa./New York AC); 97 kg - J.J. McGrew (Stillwater, Okla./Sunkist Kids)
March 11-12 - Freestyle Olympic Qualifier, Mexico City, Mexico - 54 kg - Mike Mena (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC); 97 kg - Melvin Douglas (Mesa, Ariz./Sunkist Kids)
March 25-26 - Freestyle Olympic Qualifier, Alexandria, Egypt - 54 kg - Akin, Rosselli or Henson- to be determined; 97 kg - Johnny Curtis (Manassas, Va./Dave Schultz WC)
GRECO-ROMAN
Jan. 22-23 - Greco-Roman Olympic Qualifier, Faenza, Italy - 54 kg - Brandon Paulson (Golden Valley, Minn./Minnesota Storm); 58 kg - Dennis Hall (Plover, Wis./Sunkist Kids); 63 kg - Shon Lewis (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army); 69 kg - David Zuniga (New Brighton, Minn./Minnesota Storm); 76 kg - Matt Lindland (Lincoln, Neb./Sunkist Kids); 85 kg - Quincey Clark (New Brighton, Minn./Minnesota Storm)
Feb. 5-6 - Greco-Roman Olympic Qualifier, Clermont-Ferrand, France - 54 kg - Shawn Sheldon (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC); 58 kg - Jim Gruenwald (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids); 63 kg - Kevin Bracken (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC); 69 kg - David Zuniga (New Brighton, Minn./Minnesota Storm); 76 kg - Kevin Vogel (Temperence, Mich./Michigan WC) or Keith Sieracki (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army); 85 kg - Quincey Clark (New Brighton, Minn./Minnesota Storm)
Feb. 19-20 - Greco-Roman Olympic Qualifier, Tashkent, Uzbekistan - 54 kg - Brandon Paulson (Golden Valley, Minn./Minnesota Storm); 58 kg - Jim Gruenwald (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids); 63 kg - Shon Lewis (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army); 69 kg - Chris Saba (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) or Marcel Cooper (Quantico, Va./U.S. Marines); 76 kg - Matt Lindland (Lincoln, Neb./Sunkist Kids); 85 kg - Dan Henderson (Gresham, Ore./Dave Schultz WC)
March 4-5 - Greco-Roman Olympic Qualifier, Colorado Springs, Colo., United States - 54 kg - Steven Mays (Pensacola, Fla./U.S. Navy); 58 kg - Dennis Hall (Plover, Wis./Sunkist Kids); 63 kg - Glenn Nieradka (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army); 69 kg - David Zuniga (New Brighton, Minn./Minnesota Storm); 76 kg - T.C. Dantzler (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) or Keith Sieracki (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army); 85 kg - Dan Niebuhr (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids)
March 18-19 - Greco-Roman Olympic Qualifier, Alexandria, Egypt - 54 kg - Shawn Sheldon (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC); 58 kg - Jim Gruenwald (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids); 63 kg - Kevin Bracken (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) or Shon Lewis (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army); 69 kg - Chris Saba (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) or Marcel Cooper (Quantico, Va./U.S. Marines); 76 kg - Matt Lindland (Lincoln, Neb./Sunkist Kids); 85 kg - Dan Henderson (Gresham, Ore./Dave Schultz WC) or Quincey Clark (New Brighton, Minn./Minnesota Storm)