Canada's Daniel Igali, who won the 1999 World Championships and 2000 Olympic Games will be the favorite in New York.  Igali, who is originally from Nigeria, has been able to combine outstanding athletic skills with top-flight technique and become one of the sport's true superstars. He is a hero in both Canada and Nigeria, and will have many supporters in the audience in New York.    Outside of Igali, the main question in this weight division is exactly what veteran stars will be coming to New York, and who will emerge as the new stars for the next Olympic cycle.    Olympic silver medalist Arsen Gitinov of Russia was a surprise newcomer in Sydney, but he is not even listed as a possible entry on the Russian roster. Among the possible Russian entries is Yrbeg Farniev, who placed second in the 2001 European Championships. Other possible Russian wrestlers at this weight are veteran Velikhan Alakhverdiev and emerging star Dmitiri Kirillov.    Olympic bronze medalist Lincoln McIlravy of the United States, is no longer competing. The U.S. entry is his life-long rival, Chris Bono, who placed behind McIlravy in both college and U.S. freestyle competitions. Bono has steadily improved in major international events, with a strong silver medal performance at the 2001 World Cup.    Also missing from the field is Araik Gevorgian of Armenia, who boasts three World titles (1995, 1997, 1998), but placed fifth at the 1996 Olympics and seventh at the 2000 Olympics. He did not appear on Armenia's roster.    Moving up to this weight class from 63 kg is talented Jang Jae-Sung of Korea, who was a 1996 Olympic silver medalist, 2000 Olympic bronze medalist and 1999 World silver medalist. Jang has not been tested at this weight class, and it will be interesting to see if he can manage the move up in size and strength.    Medal hopefuls who just  missed medals in Sydney were Siarhei Dzemchanka of Belarus (fourth) and Yosmany Sanchez of Cuba (fifth). Dzenchanka had his best-ever performance in Sydney, losing to McIlravy in the bronze-medal showdown. Sanchez has shown great skills, and has given both McIlravy and Igali tough matches in North American events.    The competitor from Turkey should be a medal contender, either 2001 European Champion Ahmet Gulhan or 1999 World bronze medalist Yuksel Sanli. Gulhan, who also won the 2001 World Cup, is the best bet, since Sanli placed just ninth at the Sydney Olympics.    Nikolai Paslar of Bulgaria was third at the 2001 European Championships, and Macedonia's Ljuljzim Vrenezi placed fourth. Both wrestlers look to make their mark on the international scene.    2001 Asian Champion Amir Tavakolian of Iran is also a veteran challenger. He placed 10th at the 2000 Olympic Games, and has been competitive in many major international events. The other possible Iranian entry is Jalal Latifi. The other medalists from the 2001 Asian Championships, silver medalist Ramesh Kumar of India and bronze medalist Adiyakhuu Boldsukh of Mongolia, are in the entry lists for New York and should be among the contenders.     Emzar Bedineishvili of Georgia, who was fourth in the 1999 World Championships,  has also shown the skill to make a run at the medals. Uzbekistan will feature veteran Igor Kupeev, who should also be a dangerous challenger. Don't be surprised if athletes such as Stefan Fernyak of Slovakia, Zahid Mirzayev of Azerbaijan, Andriy Shiyka of Ukraine or Sabit Kendybayev of Kazakhstan step up this time around.    This weight class could develop into a showcase of the future, as young challengers for glory at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece begin to identify themselves. The pressing task at hand is to see if anybody can bring the firepower to deny Igali another gold medal.    FREESTYLE   69 kg/152 lbs. (35 athletes as of 9/7)  Azerbaijan - Zahid Mirzayev or Roushan Hajiyev  Bangladesh - Alamgir Hossain  Belarus -Siarhei Dzemchanka or Yury Zviazhnski  Bolivia - Ivan Marques  Bulgaria - Nikolai Paslar  Canada - Daniel Igali  China - Li Xiaobing  Cuba - Yosmany Sanchez  Estonia - Ahto Raska  France - Pierre Vazeilles  Georgia - Emzar Bedineishvili or Nikloz Melkadze  Germany - Sergei Kowalenko, Dominik Zeh or Dominik Gross  Great Britain  - John Melling  Guinea-Bissau - Pam Braia  India - Ramesh Kumar  Iran - Amir Tavakolian Haghighi or Jalal Latifi  Japan - Kazuyuki Miyata  Kazakhstan - Sabit Kendybayev  Korea - Jang Jae-Sung  Latvia- Andrejs Plisko  Macedonia - Ljuljzim Vrenezi  Mexico - Celso DeAnda  Mongolia - Adiyakhuu Boldsukh  Netherlands - Gocha Papasjvili  Nigeria -Enetime Joel or Fred Jessey  Peru - David Cubas Ypanaque  Romania -Szabolc Laszlo  Russia - Velikhan Alakhverdiev, Yrbeg Farniev, Dmitiri Kirillov  Slovakia - Stefan Fernyak  Spain - Carlos Dominguez  Turkey - Ahmet Gulhan or Yuksel Sanli  Ukraine - Andriy Shiyka  United States - Chris Bono  Uzbekistan - Igor Kupeev  Yemen - Mohsin Mohamed Al-Shabi    Starting on September 4th, TheMat.com will publish a preview each day for an individual weight class that will be contested at the 2001 World Championships of Wrestling. All 22 weight classes that will be contested in New York City will be featured, concluding on Tuesday, September 25, the day of weigh-ins for the tournament. Visit TheMat.com daily for detailed coverage leading up to wrestling's most important event this year!!!