It is a safe bet that Russia will have a talented entry at this division. The reigning World Champion is Russian Varteres Samourgashev, who won the Olympic gold medal in Sydney, Australia at 63 kg. That's right. Samourgashev added 11 kg of weight (22.2 lbs.) since his Olympic title and has returned to the top of the world just two years later. The scary part is that Russia has other athletes in this weight class who are also capable of winning golds.    Consider Alexei Gloushov, who was second at the 2001 World Championships at 69 kg, and won the gold medal at the 2003 European Championships at 74 kg. He was also an Olympic bronze medalist at 69 kg at the Sydney Games. The champion of the Pytlasinski Tournament in Poland, a key World Championships tune-up event, was also a Russian, Mikhail Ivantchenko. Alexei Michine was a World silver medalist at 76 kg back in 2001.     Clearly the most decorated athlete in this division is Cuban superstar Filiberto Azcuy, who has won two straight Olympic gold medals, with a 74 kg title in 1996 and a 69 kg title in 2000. Azcuy was also a World champion at 69 kg in 2001, and when the weight classes changed, moved back up to 74 kg and won a World bronze medal. Azcuy battles with intensity and skill, and when he is wrestling well, he throws his opponents around with dominance. Azcuy won the Pan American Games gold medal this summer, something he was unable to achieve in 1999 when he lost to American Matt Lindland.    This weight division will include a mix of athletes who wrestled in the former 69 kg class and the 76 kg class. When you add in some young talents, this becomes a battle-royale that could be quite unpredictable.    At the World Championships, Badri Khasaia of Georgia won the silver medal, and Volodymir Shatskikh of Ukraine placed fourth. So where did these guys place at the European Championships this year? Khasaia was 10th and Shatskikh was 12th, way down in the standings. When you take a deep field and break the athletes into pools randomly, the results can be very different one year to the next.    The Scandinavian nations are pretty darn good in Greco-Roman wrestling, and this weight is a fine example. Finland's former World Champion Marko Yli-Hannuksela is still very competitive. He was third at the 2000 Olympics, then placed in the top 10 at the last two World Championships. Consider Sweden, which is led by Mohammed Babulfath, who was fourth in the European Championships.    European athletes dominated this division a year ago, winning eight of the top 10 places. Others from Europe who were among the World placewinners last season were Tamas Berzicza of Hungary, Michal Jaworski of Poland, Konstantin Schneider of Germany and Aleksander Kikinov of Belarus. Kikinov comes into the tournament on a hot streak, winning a silver medal at the European Championships and a bronze medal at the Pytlasinki Tournament in Poland.    Where does the United States fit into this picture? For the second straight year, the entry will be the exciting T.C. Dantzler, who had to beat a superb talent in Keith Sieracki to make the team. Last year at the World meet, Dantzler dazzled the fans with an explosive show of throws in the early rounds, but was beaten in the championship bracket. He has battled some injuries that have slowed him at times. U.S. coaches hope that Dantzler can get on one of his famous runs, and tear through the field with success this year.    The Asian nations have not stepped up recently in this division, but will always be a factor in Greco-Roman. The only Asian athlete in the top 10 at last year's World meet was Dzhakhombir Turdiev of Uzbekistan, who finished 10th. Turdiev won the silver medal at the 2003 Asian Championships. Other Asian medalists this year were champion Choi Duk-Hon of Korea and bronze medalist Rustem Baiseitov of Kazakhstan. Baisetov was a World Champion in 1997, but has not been a medalist for a number of years at the World level. The 2003 Junior World Champion comes from Asia, Park Jin-Sung of Korea, but he may not be the choice for Korea at this time.    Turkey has some strong options at this division this year. Serkan Oezden won the bronze medal at the European Championships in 2003. Mahmut Altay was the gold medalist at the 2002 World Cup, and claimed a silver medal at the Pytlasinski Tournament in Poland in August.     A few other athletes to watch include Igor Balaur of France, Dalibor Busic of Serbia and Montenegro, Robert Ribaric of Croatia, Kasuhiko Nagata of Japan, Mohsen Pounyaki of Iran, Abdou El Barbary of Egypt, Vougar Aslanov of Azerbaijan and Jose Escobar of Colombia.    There are many question marks at this weight class. Can Russia continue to dominate at this division, and who will be the chosen entry from Russia? Is Azcuy from Cuba as good as he was earlier in his career when he could beat anybody at any time? What athletes can escape from their pool competitions and put themselves in medal contention? Is American Dantzler ready to take the next step, from exciting also-ran to World medalist? This year's World meet should help answer many questions, and give a more clear picture who to expect battling for Olympic medals in Athens next summer.    RECENT WORLD AND OLYMPIC RESULTS    2002 World Championships results   74 kg/163 lbs. - Gold - Varteres Samourgashev (Russia) dec. Badri Khasaia (Georgia), 3-0; Bronze - Filiberto Ascuy (Cuba) dec. Volodymir Shatskikh (Ukraine), 5-1; 5th - Tamas Berzicza (Hungary); 6th - Michal Jaworski (Poland); 7th - Konstantin Schneider (Germany); 8th - Aleksandr Kikiniov (Belarus); 9th - Marko Yli-Hannuksela (Finland); 10th - Dzhakhombir Turdiev (Uzbekistan)    2001 World Championships results    69 kg/152 lbs. -  Gold - Filiberto Azcuy (Cuba) dec. Alexei Gloushkov (Russia), 4-0; Bronze - Rustem Adzhy (Ukraine) pin Jimmy Samuelson (Sweden), 1:28; 5th - Moises Sanchez (Spain); 6th - Parviz Zaidvand (Iran); 7th - Song Sang Pil (Korea); 8th - Maxim Schwindt (Germany); 9th - Ondrej Jaros (Czech Republic); 10th - Mahmut Altay (Turkey)    2001 World Championships results   76 kg/167.5 - Gold - Ara Abrahamjian (Sweden) pin Alexei Michine (Russia), 5:04; Bronze - Kim Jin Soo (Korea) dec. Sergiy Solodkyy (Ukraine), 3-0; 5th - Tamas Berzicza (Hungary); 6th - Marko Yli-Hannuksela (Finland); 7th - Bakhtiyar Baiseitov (Kazakhstan); 8th - Odelis Herrero (Cuba); 9th - Artur Michalkiewicz (Poland); 10th - Dimitris Avramis (Greece)    2000 Olympic Games results   69 kg/152 lbs. - Gold - Filiberto Azcuy (Cuba) won by tech. fall over Katsuhiko Nagata (Japan), 11-0, 1:44; Bronze - Alexei Glouchkov (Russia) dec. Valeri Nikitin (Estonia), 5-0; 5th - Song Sang-Pil (Korea); 6th - Islam Doguchiyev (Azerbaijan); 7th - Ryszard Wolny (Poland); 8th - Adji Roustam (Ukraine); 9th - Ender Memet (Romania); 10th - Ruslan Biktyakov (Uzbekistan); 11th - Ghani Yalouz (France); 12th - Heath Sims (United States); 13th - Adam Juretzko (Germany); 14th - Juha Lappalainen (Finland); 15th -Csaba Hirbik (Hungary); 16th - Parviz Zaidvand (Iran); 17th - Vladimir Kopytov (Belarus); 18th - Mattias Schobert (Sweden); 19th -Ali Abdo (Australia)    2000 Olympic Games results   76 kg/167.5 lbs. - Gold - Mourat Kardanov (Russia) dec. Matt Lindland (United States), 3-0; Bronze - Marko Yli-Hannuksela (Finland) dec. David Manukyan (Ukraine), 4-2; 5th - Kim Jin-Soo (Korea); 6th - Ara Abrahamian (Sweden); 7th - Vyacheslav Makarenko (Belarus); 8th - Tarieli Melelashvili (Georgia); 9th - Artur Michalkeiewicz (Poland); 10th - Bakhtiyar Baiseitov (Kazakhstan); 11th - Evgeniy Erofaylov (Uzbekistan); 12th - Dimitros Avramis (Greece); 13th - Nazmi Avluca (Turkey); 14th - Tamas Berzicza (Hungary); 15th - Yvon Reimer (France); 16th - Khvicha Bichniashvili (Azerbaijan); 17th - Takamitsu Katayama (Japan); 18th - Levon Geghamyan (Armenia); 19th - Faafetai Iutana (Samoa); 20th - Kader Slila (Algeria)    Starting September 22, TheMat.com will preview one weight class each day for the 2003 World Championships of Greco-Roman Wrestling, in Cretiel, France, Oct. 2-5. Please visit TheMat.com each day for a new preview of the championships. To discuss the World Championships with other fans, please v