World's Wrestling Superpowers to Grapple At 1998 Goodwill Games in New York 
   International wrestling powers Iran, Russia, Turkey and the United States are heading to New York to battle in head-to-head competition at this summer's Goodwill Games. The Games' wrestling talent hits the mat on July 25 and 26 in the historic Theater at Madison Square Garden. The four teams and the complete wrestling format were announced at a Goodwill Games press briefing held today during the 1998 World Cup of Freestyle Wrestling in Stillwater, Okla. 
   "We have assembled the world's most dominant wrestling teams to showcase an international wrestling competition that provides athletes, spectators and television viewers with the best sports action," said Goodwill Games President Michael Plant. "The competition will truly feature the world's best." 
   Iran visits the U.S. for only their fifth time in the last 20 years when they come to participate in the Goodwill Games. An American team made a highly-publicized wrestling trip to Tehran, Iran on Feb. 17-20, marking the first U.S. team to compete in Iran in 20 years. This summer, the U.S. will continue its friendly, yet extremely competitive rivalry with Iran and the other international teams invited to the Goodwill Games. 
   "We are thrilled to bring our team to the Goodwill Games to compete against such an impressive line-up of wrestling powers," said USA Wrestling President Larry Sciacchetano. "Matching up the U.S. team, with Europe's and Asia's most powerful teams, creates an excellent forum for a world-class wrestling showdown." 
   The U.S. team, which dominated freestyle wrestling in recent years, will face a stiff challenge from its international guests. Annually, these teams are the best freestyle wrestlers in the world. At the 1997 World Championships, Russia captured the title of World Champion, with Iran earning a third-place finish and Turkey taking fourth. Turkey won the 1994 World Team title, and the United States won the 1993 and 1995 World Team titles. In addition, the U.S., Russia and Turkey have been a part of Goodwill Games wrestling since the Games' inception in 1986. Iran's wrestling debut in Goodwill Games competition was 1994. 
   The wrestling format is a team event, featuring competition in eight weight classes: 54 kg, 58 kg, 63 kg, 69 kg, 76 kg, 85 kg, 97 kg, 130 kg. The schedule for the Games' wrestling competition is as follows: 
  Saturday, July 25 
  Session 1  
  12:00-1:00 p.m. (EDT) Russia vs. Iran 
  1:30-2:30 p.m. (EDT) USA vs. Turkey 
  Session 2 
  7:30-8:30 p.m. (EDT) Russia vs. Turkey 
  9:00-10:00 p.m. (EDT) USA vs. Iran 
  Sunday, July 26 
  Session 1 
  12:00-1:00 p.m. (EDT) Turkey vs. Iran 
  1:30-2:30 p.m. (EDT) USA vs. Russia 
   The Goodwill Games, scheduled for July 19-August 2 in the New York metropolitan area, will showcase approximately 1,500 of the world's best athletes from more than 60 countries competing in 15 sports. The competitors, which include numerous world and Olympic champions, will be vying for $5 million in prize money and world record/performance incentives, the largest purse in multi-sport event history. 
   TBS Superstation, the Games' host network, will televise 45 hours of prime-time coverage of the 1998 Goodwill Games. CBS will televise 10 hours of weekend, afternoon coverage. In addition to appearing on TBS and CBS, boxing will be televised on HBO as part of the Boxing After Dark series. The 1988 Games mark the first time a sporting event has appeared on all three levels of television distribution. Internationally, the syndication rights are being sold by Warner Bros. International Television Distribution, and the Games are expected to be broadcast to more than 130 countries. 
   Past Goodwill Games sites include Moscow, Soviet Union, 1986; Seattle, Washington, 1990; and St. Petersburg, Russia, 1994. 
   The Goodwill Games are hosted through a combined effort between Goodwill Games, Inc. and the participating sports federations, in conjunction with the appropriate state, city and county governmental agencies. Goodwill Games, Inc., a division of Turner Sports and Time Warner, Inc., is responsible for all aspects of the event.