NEAL WINS GOLD MEDAL, MCILRAVY WINS SILVER MEDAL, GUTCHES WINS BRONZE MEDAL AT WORLD FREESTYLE CHAMPIONSHIPS IN ANKARA, TURKEY, OCT. 10; UNITED STATES PLACES SECOND BEHIND RUSSIA IN TEAM STANDINGSThree U.S. wrestlers claimed medals during the final day of action at the 1999 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships in Ankara, Turkey, Oct. 10.
Stephen Neal (Bakersfield, Calif./Dave Schultz WC) claimed a gold medal at 286 pounds, Lincoln McIlravy (Iowa City, Iowa/Gateway WC) won a silver medal at 152 pounds and Les Gutches (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) earned a bronze medal at 187.25 pounds.
Russia won the team standings with 48 points, with the United States in second with 45 points and Turkey in third with 45 points. The USA won the tie-breaking procedure for second place, based upon medals won. It was an improvement from last year, when the USA placed third in the team standings.
In the semifinals on Sunday morning, Neal defeated Recep Ashabeliyev of Azerbaijan, 7-2. In the gold medal finals, Neal fell behind 2-0 early, but came back to stop three-time World medalist Andrei Shumilin of Russia, 4-3. Neal won five straight matches during the tournament.
Neal was competing in his first World Championships. He completed his college career in 1999, after winning two NCAA titles for Cal-State Bakersfield. He won gold medals in every tournament he entered this season, including the University Nationals, the U.S. Nationals, the World Team Trials and the Pan American Games.
McIlravy won his second career World medal, a silver in 1999 and a bronze in 1998. He defeated three-time World champion Araik Gevorkyan of Armenia, 3-2, in the quarterfinals. He scored a 3-0 decision over Yuksel Sanli of Turkey in the semifinals.
In the gold-medal finals, McIlravy was defeated by Daniel Igali of Canada, 3-2. McIlravy had defeated Igali in their three previous meetings, including the 1998 World bronze-medal match.
McIlravy boasts two World Cup gold medals as well as Goodwill Games and Pan American Games titles. He was a three-time NCAA champion at the Univ. of Iowa.
It was also the second career World medal for Gutches, who won a gold medal in 1997 and a bronze medal in 1999. Gutches won his quarterfinal match over 1993 World silver medalist Rasul Katinovosov of Russia, 5-2. In the semifinals, he was defeated by 1996 Olympic champion Khajimurad Magomedov of Russia, 2-0 in overtime. Gutches closed the day with a 4-2 win over Ali Ozen of Turkey in the bronze-medal match.
Gutches was seventh in the 1996 Olympic Games and seventh in the 1998 World Championships. He boasts gold medals at the World Cup, Goodwill Games and Pan American Games. Gutches was a two-time NCAA champion for Oregon State Univ.
The other U.S. wrestler in competition on Sunday, Eric Guerrero (Stillwater, Okla./Sunkist Kids), placed seventh at 127.75 pounds. He was defeated in the quarterfinals by eventual gold-medalist Harun Dogan of Turkey, 6-3.
Guerrero, a 1999 Pan American Games silver medalist, completed his college career at Oklahoma State Univ. this year, after winning three NCAA Div. I titles for the Cowboys (1997, 1998, 1999). Guerrero, competing in his first World Championships, replaced two-time World Champion Terry Brands in the U.S. lineup.
The U.S. team is led by co-head coaches Dan Gable of Iowa City, Iowa, John Smith of Stillwater, Okla. and Greg Strobel of Bethlehem, Pa., as well as National Freestyle Coach Bruce Burnett of Colorado Springs, Colo.
Four of the weight classes completed competition on Saturday, Oct. 9. Two U.S. wrestlers placed fourth on Saturday, Cary Kolat (Madison, Wis./Dave Schultz WC) at 138.75 pounds and Joe Williams (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC) at 167.5 pounds.
For the second straight year, Kolat had a victory taken away from him through an appeal process. He had to re-wrestle his semifinal victory over eventual champion Elbrus Tedeev of Ukraine, and was defeated. In 1998, a victory over Bulgarian Serafim Barzakov was overturned, and Barzakov also went on to take the gold. Kolat was a 1997 World silver medalist and a 1998 World bronze medalist.
"I'm proud of the way the guys wrestled," said Burnett. "We were in every match. We lost some close ones. I'm proud of how they hung in there in adverse conditions. America should be proud of them all."
This event served as the first freestyle wrestling qualifier for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. The top eight place winners at the 1999 World Championships qualify their nation to participate in the 2000 Olympic Games in their weight division. It is important to remember that the athletes do not qualify themselves for the Games; rather, they are qualifying their nation to participate in that weight class.
In total, 64 Olympic berths were determined at the 1999 World Freestyle Championships in Ankara. Additional Olympic qualifying events will be held during the 2000 season.
By their strong performance, the United States qualified competitors in six of the eight weight classes for the Olympic Games. The only weights that the U.S. did not qualify were at 119 pounds and 213.75 pounds, where Eric Akin (Overland Park, Kan./Dave Schultz WC) and Dominic Black (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) did not place in the top eight of their divisions.
1999 WORLD FREESTYLE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS at Ankara, Turkey, Oct. 10
Medal matches
127.75 lbs./58 kg - Gold - Harun Dogan (Turkey) dec. Ali Reza Dabier (Iran), 3-0; Bronze - D. Zakhardinov (Uzbekistan) dec. Martin Berberyan (Armenia), 3-1
152 lbs./69 kg - Gold - Daniel Igali (Canada) dec. Lincoln McIlravy (USA), 3-2; Bronze - Yuksel Sanli (Turkey) dec. Emrur Bedinwishvili (Georgia), 4-2
187.25 lbs./85 kg - Gold - Yoel Romero (Cuba) dec. Khajimurad Magomedov (Russia), 4-2; Bronze - Les Gutches (USA) dec. Ali Ozen (Turkey), 4-2
286 lbs./130 kg - Gold - Stephen Neal (USA) dec. Andrei Shumilin (Russia), 4-3; Bronze - Abbas Jadidi (Iran) dec. Recep Ashabeliyev (Azerbaijan), 3-1
U.S. results, Oct. 10
127.75 lbs./58 kg - Eric Guerrero, Stillwater, Okla. - lost dec. to Harun Dogan (Turkey), 6-3
152 lbs./69 kg - Lincoln McIlravy, Iowa City, Iowa - dec. Araik Gevorkyan (Armenia), 3-2; dec. Yuksel Sanli (Turkey), 3-0; lost dec. to Daniel Igali (Canada), 3-2
187.25 lbs./85 kg - Les Gutches, Colorado Springs, Colo. - dec. Rasul Katinavasov (Uzbekistan), 5-2; lost by ref. dec. to Khajimurad Magomedov (Russia), 2-0, ot, 9:00; dec. Ali Ozen (Turkey), 4-2
286 lbs./130 kg - Stephen Neal, Bakersfield, Calif. - dec. Recep Ashabeliyev (Azerbaijan), 7-2; dec. Andrei Shumilin (Russia), 4-3
Top 10 teams - 1. Russia, 48 pts.; 2. United States, 45 pts.; 3. Turkey, 45 pts.; 4. Iran, 34 pts.; 5. Uzbekistan, 30 pts.; 6. Korea, 28 pts.; 7. Ukraine, 24 pts.; 8. Cuba, 20 pts.; 9. Bulgaria, 18 pts.; 10. Germany, 17 pts.
Final results from second set of weight classes, completed Oct. 10
127.75 lbs./58 kg - Gold - Harun Dogan (Turkey); Silver - Ali Reza Dabier (Iran); Bronze - D. Zakhardinov (Uzbekistan); 4th - Martin Berberyan (Armenia); 5th - Cuciuc Octavian (Moldova); 6th - Miron Dzadzaev (Russia); 7th - Eric Guerrero (USA); 8th - Andrej Fasanek (Slovakia); 9th - Yeondris Albear (Cuba); 10th - Zsolt Baveti (Hungary)
152 lbs./69 kg - Gold - Daniel Igali (Canada); Silver - Lincoln McIlravy (USA); Bronze - Yuksel Sanli (Turkey); 4th - Emrur Bedinwishvili (Georgia); 5th - Araik Gevorkyan (Armenia); 6th - N. Loizidis (Greece); 7th - Yosmany Sanchez (Cuba); 8th - Almaz Askarov (Krygyzstan); 9th - Ivan Diaconu (Moldova); 10th - Hwang Sang-Ho (Korea)
187.25 lbs./85 kg - Gold - Yoel Romero (Cuba); Silver - Khajimurad Magomedov (Russia); Bronze - Les Gutches (USA); 4th - Ali Ozen (Turkey); 5th - Tatsuo Kawaii (Japan); 6th - Rasul Katinovosov (Uzbekistan); 7th - Magomed Kurguliev (Kazakhstan); 8th - Yang Hyun-Mo (Korea); 9th - Vincent Aka (Ivory Coast); 10th - Plamen Penev (Bulgaria)
286 lbs./130 kg - Gold - Stephen Neal (USA); Silver - Andrei Shumilin (Russia); Bronze - Abbas Jadidi (Iran); 4th - Recep Ashabeliyev (Azerbaijan); 5th - Aydin Polatci (Turke