USA Wrestling to offer special ticket packages for the Titan Games
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John Fuller (USA Wrestling)
04/01/2004
Tickets are now on sale for the Titan Games, The Road To Athens powered by Home Depot, in Atlanta, Ga., June 18-20. This special event will be the last opportunity for wrestling fans to see the members of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team in all three styles, men's and women's freestyle and Greco-Roman, before the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Wrestling will again be one of the featured sports, along with boxing, fencing, weightlifting, judo, taekwondo and shot put. Philips Arena is serving as the competition venue and Centennial Olympic Park is serving as the backdrop for the shot put. Wrestling will be contested on Saturday, June 19 and Sunday, June 20. Wrestling fans may purchase their tickets through USA Wrestling by calling (719) 598-8181. There are two packages available for purchase for wrestling fans. Package A features a $120 all-session floor pass, with only 100 available. This includes VIP Hospitality, matside seating and a chance to meet and great wrestling legends. Package B features a $60 All-Session Lower Level Seating ticket, which will be placed in the arena where the wrestling mat is located. Only 707 of these prime seats exist. These exclusive packages are available only through USA Wrestling thru June 1. Individual session tickets are available through Ticketmaster. There will be $100,000 of prizes and cash available to athletes in all sports participating in the event, with the payments based upon performance. An estimated 180 athletes from a dozen or more nations are expected to attend. Joining the U.S. Olympians will be Olympic competitors from other nations in many of the sports. The Titan Games will feature a "USA versus the World" format in dual and triangular meets. In men's freestyle and men's Greco-Roman, the teams competing against the United States will be Georgia and Iran. In women's freestyle, the opponents will be Canada and China. In men's freestyle, this field will feature the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 teams from the 2003 World Championships. Georgia won the World team title, followed by runner-up United States and third-place Iran. It was one of the closest team races in history. In men's Greco-Roman, Georgia was the 2003 World Champion. Iran is a developing power in Greco-Roman wrestling and has qualified six Greco-Roman weight classes for the Olympic Games. In women's freestyle, the USA was second in the 2003 World Championships. China was fourth and Canada sixth at the 2003 World meet. All three teams have qualified all four women's weight classes for the Olympic Games. Canadian women participated in the 2003 Titan Games. Final rosters of all competing nations will be posted on TheMat.com as they become available. Within Philips Arena, spectators will be entertained with simultaneous action happening on four "battle zones." Ancillary events of the Titan Games also include a Night of Champions, which honors past or current greats among the Titan Games sports, as well as an outdoor event complete with bands and more. "The Titan Games was one of our most successful ventures in 2003," said Jim Scherr, USOC's Chief Executive. "The continuation of these Games will give U.S. athletes elite competition opportunities in their preparation for Athens without the stress of traveling overseas." The inaugural Titan Games were held in San Jose, Calif. in 2003 and its edgy, fast-paced showcase of Olympic sports was popular among athletes and fans. Wrestling was one of the showcase sports at the first Titan Games. Cuba won the team title, followed by the United States and an International All-Star Team. Some of the top individual matches contested last year included Cael Sanderson of the USA vs. Yoel Romero of Cuba in men's freestyle, Rulon Gardner of the USA vs. Mijian Lopez of Cuba in men's Greco-Roman and Tina George of the USA vs. Natalia Ivashko of Russia in women's freestyle wrestling. A key U.S. win was Chris Bono's victory in men's freestyle at 66 kg over Irbek Farniev of Russia, who went on to become the 2003 World Champion. Many great matches are expected this year as well.