Winning the 2000 Olympic gold medal in his first major appearance was Vartares  Samourgachev of Russia, who defeated Juan Maren of Cuba in the gold-medal match.  However, Samourgachev was not listed on the Russian roster, as the athlete  choices included Igor Tchoutchoumov, Serguei Kovalenko or Vladimir Bolshakov.  Just to show the depth in the Russian program, 2001 European silver medalist  Tehou Tehoumov was not on the Russian roster, either.    Maren won Olympic silver medals in 1996 and 2000, and has been a top World-class  star for many years. He won the Pan American Championships title this year, an  annual conquest for Maren. Maren could be the top contender in the field  expected in New York.    The bronze medal in Sydney went to Akaki Chachua of Georgia, and Beat Motzer of  Switzerland was fourth. Both are listed on the rosters for New York, and they  will be looking to take the final step by moving into the gold-medal match.    Bakhodir Kurbanov of Uzbekistan was fifth in the Sydney Games. American fans  were able to enjoy Kurbanov's many talents, when he claimed a gold medal at the  Dave Schultz Memorial International earlier this spring.    Kevin Bracken of the United States placed sixth in the 2000 Olympics, and  continues to show progress. His victory at the Pytlasinki Tournament in Poland  this summer included a win over two-time Olympic Champion Armen Nazarian of  Bulgaria (who was competing up a weight class). It would not be surprising to  see Bracken take the next step in his career and qualify for the medal rounds.    1997 World Champion Seref Eroglu of Turkey finished 10th in the 2000 Olympics,  but rebounded to win the 2001 European title.  He is one of three possible  choices for Turkey, but based upon his considerable talent and experience,  Eroglu is expected to be the man in New York.    Two-time World Champion Kim In-Sub of Korea has moved up to this class from 58  kg, and should be considered a serious contender to win the title.  Kim was  second at the 2000 Olympic Games, losing to Nazarian in the finals.    Wlodzimierz Zawadski of Poland, the 1996 Olympic champion, is still a threat.  His third place performance at the 2001 European Championships shows that he is  capable of great achievements in the later stages of his career. Nikolai Gergov  of Bulgaria was fourth in the European Championships and has established himself  as a challenger.    Iran's Mahdi Nassiri was the 2001 Asian Champion, and is among the stars in the  emerging Greco-Roman program from his wrestling-proud nation. Gurbinder Singh of  India was fourth in the 2001 Asian Championships, as India has also recently  made great strides in their international wrestling program.    Belarus will be well represented, as both possible entries, Eduard Apelvich or  Vitali Zhuk, have considerable success on the international circuit. Ukraine  also has two quality choices, with Dmytro Monastyrsky or Hrihoriy Kamyshenko on  the team's roster. Kamyshenko placed eighth in the Sydney Olympics and was  seventh in the 1999 World meet.    Germany's Jurij Kohl and Azerbaijan's Elbrus Mammadov also have become factors  on the European scene. Riccardo Magni of Italy and Phillippe Bendjoudi of France  have also shown promise. Magni upset Kevin Bracken in the pool competition in  the Sydney Games, but Bracken advanced by winning the tie-breaking criterion.    This weight class could be considered a true tossup. Battle-tested warriors such  as Maren, Eroglu, Kim and Zawadski hope to maintain their previous level of  success. However, it would not be a big reach to see a new face on the top of  the podium this year. Remember, nobody had ever heard of Vartares Samourgachev  until he went home with the gold from Sydney.    GRECO-ROMAN 63 kg/138.75 lbs.  (36 athletes as of 9/13)  Albania- Leonid Sakmashi  Armenia - Vaghinak Galystyan  Australia - Boban Petrov   Azerbaijan - Elbrus Mammadov or Farid Mansurov  Belarus  - Eduard Apelvich or Vitali Zhuk  Bulgaria - Nikolai Gergov  Canada - Mike Francis  China - Cui Peng  Chinese Taipei - Yen Shih-Chieh  Colombia - Julio Cesar Cuenu  Cuba - Juan Luis Maren  Denmark - Morten Helt  Estonia - Olari Suislep  France - Phillippe Bendjoudi  Georgia- Akaki Chachua or Zurab Shelia   Germany - Jurij Kohl  Greece - Christos Gikas  Hungary - Levente Furedy  India - Gurbinder Singh  Iran - Mahdi Nassiri, Sh. Khakssar or M. Ghalavand  Italy - Riccardo Magni  Japan - Masaki Imuro  Kazakhstan - Nurlan Koizhaiganov  Korea -Kim In-Sub  Norway -Stig A. Hansen Havan  Peru - Enrique Cubas Ypanaque  Poland - Wlodziemierz Zawadski   Romania - Ion Panait, Catalin Matache or Constantin Borascu  Russia - Igor Tchoutchoumov, Serguei Kovalenko or Vladimir Bolshakov  Switzerland - Beat Motzer  Tajikistan - Ari Rahmatov  Turkey - Seref Eroglu, Emik Bunyamin or Erkan Ulvan  Turkmenistan - Dovletberdy Mamedov  Ukraine - Dmytro Monastyrsky or Hrihoriy Kamyshenko  United States - Kevin Bracken  Uzbekistan -Bakhodir Kurbanov    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!!!