Brands, McIlravy win Olympic bronze medals in freestyle wrestling

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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
10/01/2000


Two members of the U.S. freestyle wrestling team won bronze medals at final session of competition at the Olympic Games, held at the Sydney Exhibition Centre in Darling Harbour, October 1: Terry Brands (Lincoln, Neb./Hawkeye WC) at 58 kg/127.75 pounds and Lincoln McIlravy (Iowa City, Iowa /Gateway WC) at 69 kg/152 lbs.    Brands defeated Damir Zakhardtinov of Uzbekistan for the bronze medal, 3-2. The Uzbek scored the first point on a takedown at the 45 second mark, but Brands responded with his own takedown at 1:51 to knot it at 1-1. Brands hit a double leg takedown for one point at 2:44 and led 2-1 at break. At the 4:06 mark, Brands hit another double leg for the 3-1 lead and enough points for the win. Zakhardtinov  scored a final takedown at 5:58 to close the scoring at 3-2.    Brands is a two-time World champion, winning golds in 1993 and 1995. This was the first-world level event for Brands since he won the 1995 title in Atlanta, Ga. He is the new assistant wrestling coach at the University of Nebraska. Brands won two NCAA titles for the Univ. of Iowa, and is originally from Sheldon, Iowa.    McIlravy scored a solid 3-1 victory over Sergei Demtchenko of Belarus for the bronze medal. Lincoln scored a pair of one-point takedowns in the first period, at 2:14 and 2:37 for a 2-0 lead at break. In the second period, he scored the winning third point on a spin behind takedown at 5:04. Demtchenko scored his lone point on a takedown in the last 10 seconds.    McIlravy is a two-time World medalist, winning a silver medal in 1999 and a bronze medal in 1998. He was a three-time NCAA champion for the Univ. of Iowa. He is originally from Philip, S.D.    The United States ended the tournament with four medals, a pair of silvers: Sammie Henson at 54 kg and Brandon Slay at 76 kg and a pair of bronzes: Terry Brands at 57 kg  and Lincoln McIlravy at 69 kg. Two other U.S. wrestlers placed fifth: Charles Burton at 85 kg and Kerry McCoy at 130 kg.    The U.S. team was led by co-head coaches Dan Gable, John Smith and Greg Strobel, and National Freestyle Coach Bruce Burnett, plus a team of additional coaches. Scott Beck served as team leader.    Freestyle Wrestling, October 1, 2:30 p.m. session    58 kg - Terry Brands, Lincoln, Neb. (Hawkeye WC)    Bronze medal match - dec. Damir Zakhartdinov (Uzbekistan), 3-2    69 kg - Lincoln McIlravy, Iowa City, Iowa (Gateway WC)    Bronze medal match - dec. Sergei Demtchenko (Belarus), 3-1    58 kg    Gold - Ali Reza Dabier (Iran) vs. Yevgen Buslovich (Ukraine), 3-0    Bronze - Terry Brands (United States) dec. Damir Zakhartdinov (Uzbekistan), 3-2    69 kg    Gold - Daniel Igali (Canada) dec.  Arsen Gitinov (Russia), 7-4    Bronze - Lincoln McIlravy (United States) dec. Sergei Demtchenko (Belarus), 3-1    85 kg    Gold - Adam Saitiev (Russia) pin Yoel Romero (Cuba), 3:41    Bronze - Magomed Ibragimov (Macedonia) dec. Amir Khadem (Iran), 4-1, ot, 8:25    130 kg    Gold -David Moussoulbes (Russia) dec. Artur Taymazov (Uzbekistan), 5-2    Bronze - Alexis Rodriguez (Cuba) won by ref. dec. over Abbas Jadidi (Iran), 0-0, ot, 9:00