Brands vs. Jang is the new “Bout of the Week” on USA Wrestling Members-Only website

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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
02/22/2004


USA Wrestling has updated its new "Bout of the Week" on USA Wrestling's Members-Only website.    The featured match this week will be the Tom Brands vs. Jang Jae-Sung gold-medal match from the 1996 Olympic Games at 62 kg/136.5 lbs. in men's freestyle wrestling.    This match was held in Atlanta, Ga., and was the final bout of the career for Brands, who was one of the nation's greatest of his generation. Jang was a young star from Korea who was competing in his first World-level event and was a surprise finalist. The match displayed the dominance that Brands displayed in Atlanta, where he allowed only one point in the entire Olympic Games. It also was the coming-out party for Jang, who has been a World-class star ever since.    Brands dominated freestyle wrestling in the United States between 1993-96, holding the No. 1 position all four years. He made his international debut at the 1993 World Championships in Toronto, Canada, winning the World title alongside his twin brother Terry, who was the World champion at 57 kg/125.5 pounds. The Brands brothers were the USA Wrestling Athletes of the Year for 1993.    Brands competed in the next two World Championships, not earning a placement at the 1994 World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey and taking ninth at the 1995 World Championships in Atlanta, Ga. At the 1996 Atlanta Games, Brands was one of three U.S. freestyle wrestlers to win gold medals.    He was the 1995 Pan American Games champion, and won two World Cup gold medals. Brands won four straight U.S. Nationals titles (1993-96).    A three-time NCAA champion for the Univ. of Iowa, Brands is originally from Sheldon, Iowa where he was a state high school champion. He is currently the assistant wrestling coach at the Univ. of Iowa. Brands has also been named as a 2004 U.S. Olympic Coach in freestyle wrestling.    Jang's first international success came in the 1992 Junior World Championships where he won a gold medal. His first event representing Korea on the Senior level was the 1996 Olympics, where he reached the finals against Brands. Jang returned at the 2000 Olympics, where he won a bronze medal at 63 kg/138.75 pounds. He has also won a pair of World Championships medals, capturing the silver medal in 1999 and the bronze medal in 2001.    At 29, Jang is still competing on the international level. He most recently moved up to 74 kg/163 pounds and placed 24th at the 2003 World Championships in New York City.     This popular feature will be changed on a regular basis, allowing members to enjoy many of the greatest matches in wrestling history.     Moving into the archived section of Bouts of the Week was last week's 2004 Eric Larkin vs. T.J. Williams men's freestyle match. Many other entertaining and historic matches are in the archive section for the Bout of the Week.     USA Wrestling has done a complete redesign and expansion of its Members-Only website, providing all USA Wrestling members with an impressive new resource stocked with interactive learning tools and entertaining features.     This on-line resource is available free of charge only to current members of USA Wrestling, one of the most exciting benefits of joining the organization.    USA Wrestling members will only need to enter the number from their 2003-04 membership card into an entry form, and the exciting new Members-Only page will become available to them.    RECENT BOUTS OF THE WEEK PLACED IN ARCHIVE  2004 Eric Larkin vs. T.J. Williams men's freestyle match  1992 Rodney Smith vs. Cecilio Rodriguez men's Greco-Roman match.  1988 Rico Chiapparelli vs. Lukman Jabrailov men's freestyle match  2003 Kristie Marano vs. Ewelina Pruszko women's freestyle match  1999 Stephen Neal vs. Andrei Shumilin men's freestyle match  2003 Cael Sanderson vs. Sajid Sajidov men's freestyle match