LOUKIDES PLACES FOURTH IN FREESTYLE WRESTLING IN SECOND WORLD MILITARY GAMES IN ZAGREB, CROATIA, AUGUST 15-16 
 Jason Loukides of the U.S. Army  placed fourth at 130 kg/286 lbs., the top U.S. performance at the Second World Military Games, held in Zagreb, Croatia, August 15-16. 
 The World Military Games is held every four years, and features the world's best military athletes in 24 sports. The United States participated in 21 of the featured sports.  
 Loukides lost his first match to Yuric Chobitko of Ukraine, 4-0, but followed with victories over Laurent Lazerat of France, 6-0, and Dirk Winterfeld of Germany, 5-0. In the semifinals, Loukides lost to Bayram Dogan of Turkey, 7-1. He was again beaten by Yuric Chobitko of Ukraine in the bronze medal match, to place fourth. 
 Loukides was a 1999 Armed Forces freestyle champion, and placed third in the 1996 U.S. Nationals. He competed at Edinboro Univ. before joining the Army, and is now stationed at Fort Carson, Colo. 
 The only other U.S. athlete to advance past the pool competition was John Torres of the U.S. Army at 69 kg/152 lbs. Torres won his first two matches to win his pool, stopping Tlaili Abessstar of Tunisia, 4-3, in overtime at 6:15 and claiming a 10-0 technical fall over Nicolaos Djouvas of Cyprus in 55 seconds. In the quarterfinals, Torres lost by technical fall to Dariouz Chojnacki of Poland, 10-0, in 5:59 and was eliminated from medal contention.  
 Rex Holman of the U.S. Army won two of his three matches at 97 kg/213.75 pounds, but did not qualify for the medal round. He opened with a 7-0 win over Renato Lombardo of Italy, then lost a competitive 3-1 match to 1994 World Champion Arawat Sabejew of Germany, 3-1. In his final match, Holman defeated Nikolaos Kydros of Greece, 5-0. 
 Holman was a NCAA Div. I champion at Ohio State prior to joining the U.S. Army, and was a member of the 1998-99 Freestyle Team USA. 
 Another U.S. wrestler with two wins was James Shillow of the U.S. Marine Corps at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. Shillow opened with a pair of technical fall wins, stopping Antreas Karaolis of Cyprus, 10-0, in 1:57 and Hrovoje Klas of Croatia, 11-1, in 3:05. He was eliminated after losing by technical fall to Po Song Hwang of North Korea, 10-1, in 1:51. 
 Shillow was a 1999 Armed Forces freestyle champion, and is also a top Greco-Roman wrestler at his weight class. 
 Earning a 1-1 record in the tournament were James Mahone of the U.S. Navy at 76 kg/167.5 lbs. and William Carr of the U.S. Marine Corps at 85 kg/187.25 lbs. Finishing with an 0-2 record was Eric Albarracin of the U.S. Army at 54 kg/119 lbs. 
 The U.S. wrestling team was led by head coach Jay Antonelli of the U.S. Marine Corps and assistant coach Greg Gibson of the U.S. Marine Corps. Antonelli was the 1998 USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Coach of the Year. Gibson won a silver medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1984 Olympic Games. 
 The First World Military Games were held in Rome, Italy in 1995. The event is conducted under the auspices of Counseil Internationalle du Sport Militaire (CISM), which represents military athletes from 121 nations. 
 Many international wrestling stars entered the tournament, including a number of World and Olympic medalists.  
 1999 WORLD MILITARY GAMES OF FREESTYLE WRESTLING at Zagreb, Croatia, August 15-16 
 Medalists 
 54 kg/119 lbs. - Gold - Jin Ju Dong, North Korea; Silver - Gevork Markarian, Ukraine; Bronze - Ivan Djorev, Bulgaria 
 58 kg/127.75 lbs. - Gold - Nazim Alidjanov, Azerbaijan; Silver - Ri Yong Sam, North Korea; Bronze - Mourad Ramazanov, Russia 
 63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Gold - Rovshan Hajiev, Azerbaijan; Silver - Yevgen Buslovyak, Ukraine; Bronze - Miron Dzadzhev, Russia  
 69 kg/152 lbs. - Gold - Artour Tavkazakhov, Russia; Silver - Sebastien Bourdin, France; Bronze - Lee Young Min, Korea  
 76 kg/167.5 lbs. - Gold - Bouivasar Saitiev, Russia; Silver - Emzar Bedineishvili, Georgia; Bronze - Elshad Allahverdiev, Azerbaijan  
 85 kg/187.25 lbs. - Gold - Khadjimourad Magomedov, Russia; Silver - Athanasios Kydros, Greece; Bronze - Eldar Asonov, Ukraine 
 97 kg/213.75 lbs. - Gold - Georgi Gogshelidze, Russia; Silver - Arawat Sabejew, Germany; Bronze - Sergei Priadun, Ukraine  
 130 kg/286 lbs. - Gold - Andrei Choumiline, Russia; Silver - Bayram Dogan, Turkey; Bronze - Yuric Chobitko, Ukraine 
 U.S. team performance 
 54 kg/119 lbs. - Eric Albarracin, U.S. Army - lost by ref. dec. to Sang Sun Jeon, Korea, 2-1, ot, 9:00; lost dec. to Ivan Djorev, Bulgaria, 5-0 
 58 kg/127.75 lbs. - no entry 
 63 kg/138.75 lbs. - James Shillow, U.S. Marine Corps - won by tech. fall over Antreas Karaolis, Cyprus, 10-0, 1:57; won by tech. fall over Hrovoje Klas, Croatia, 11-1, 3:05; lost by tech. fall to Po Song Hwang, North Korea, 10-1, 1:51 
 69 kg/152 lbs. - John Torres, U.S. Army - dec. Tlaili Abessstar, Tunisia, 4-3, ot, 6:15; won by tech. fall over Nicolaos Djouvas, Cyprus, 10-0, 0:55; lost by tech. fall to Dariouz Chojnacki, Poland, 10-0, 5:59 
 76 kg/167.5 lbs. - James Mahone, U.S. Navy - lost by tech. fall to Bouvaisa Saitiev, Russia, 10-0, 3:34; pin Hindri Walid, Tunisia, 0:35 
 85 kg/187.25 lbs. - William Carr, U.S. Marine Corps - pin Ambor Bachamba (Tunisia), 1:44; lost dec. to Milan Revicky, Slovakia, 3-0 
 97 kg/213.75 lbs. - Rex Holman, U.S. Army - dec. Renato Lombardo, Italy, 7-0; lost dec. to Arawat Sabejew, Germany, 3-1; dec. Nikolaos Kydros, Greece, 5-0 
 130 kg/286 lbs. - Jason Loukides, U.S. Army, 4th place - lost dec. to Yuric Chobitko, Ukraine, 4-0; dec. Laurent Lazerat, France, 6-0; dec. Dirk Winterfeld, Germany, 5-0; lost dec. to Bayram Dogan, Turkey, 7-1; lost dec. to Yuric Chobitko, Ukraine, score unavailable 
 Head Coach - Jay Antonelli, U.S. Marines 
 Assistant Coach - Greg Gibson, U.S. Marines 
 Team Leader - Van Stokes, U.S. Army