U.S. fails to qualify 74 kg in Greco-Roman for the Olympics
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John Fuller (USA Wrestling)
03/13/2004
Tashkent, Uzbekistan - In the second Greco-Roman Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Keith Sieracki (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) failed to make it out of his pool at 74 kg/163 lbs. and did not qualify the weight class for the United States for the 2004 Olympic Games. The U.S. qualified six of the seven weight classes for the Olympics, which will be held in Athens, Greece. Sieracki won his first pool match 3-0 over Ara Grigoryan of Armenia. Sieracki scored one point on a lift, and two more points for an attempted lift leg foul against Grigoryan. Sieracki then lost his second pool match to 2002 World silver medalist Badri Khasaia of Georgia, 3-1 in overtime. In the match, Sieracki took a 1-0 lead with a gut wrench. Khasaia then tied the match at 1-1 with a reversal. In the second period, Sieracki attempted to lift and throw Khasaia, but Khasaia countered for one point and a 2-1 lead. Khasaia locked first in an overtime clinch. With 15 seconds remaining in the clinch sequence, Khasaia pushed Sieracki near the edge of the zone. Sieracki then unsuccessfully attempted a throw, giving Khasaia the third point needed to win the match. This was the final opportunity for nations to qualify athletes for Greco-Roman in the Athens Olympic Games. In order to qualify the weight class for the 2004 Olympic Games, wrestlers must place in the top four at their respective weight classes at this event. Wrestlers qualifying for the Olympic Games only qualify their weight class for their nation. Olympic Team athlete selection varies by country. Positions on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Teams will be determined at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Wrestling in Indianapolis, Ind., May 21-23. The Olympic qualifying tournaments are phases two and three of the Olympic qualification process. Phase one was the World Championships. In Greco-Roman, the United States qualified three out of seven weight classes for the 2004 Olympic Games, which is achieved by placing in the top 10 at each weight class. The United States has qualified at all seven men's freestyle, all four women's freestyle weights and six Greco-Roman weights.