TeamUSA Olympic Wrestling Schedule
Day 1, 8/14: Greco-Roman 59KG, 75KG
The United States’ team will be sparked by the young Jesse “Filthy” Thielke at GR59KG and 2x-defending World bronze medalist Andy Bisek at GR75KG.
World No. 19 Jesse Thielke enters the Olympic stage as a young, but worthy, wrestler. The 4x Wisconsin AA State Champion has been on the Olympic course since he graduated high school in 2011. In the 2011-2012 season, Thielke deferred a year from school to attempt to make the London Olympic team, placing 4th at 60KG (and one spot from making the national team) at the Olympic Team Trials. Thielke also captured a 2012 Junior World Bronze. He would redshirt in 2012-2013 for the University of Wisconsin Badgers, with his season culminating at the 2013 World Championships when Thielke made his first World team at 60KG, reaching the quarterfinals before being eliminated. Since 2013, Thielke has struggled between juggling folkstyle and Greco. In 2015-2016, Thielke made good on his Olympic redshirt by making the team and qualifying the weight in the final qualifiers (Thielke is not likely to return for the Badgers). Along the way, the opportunity to compete in Rio tested Thielke at every chance it could. At the US Olympic Trials and Last Chance Qualifier (Turkey), Thielke would face a total of 5 past-Olympians, including a 2x World 5th, a London Games Bronze, and a London Games Silver. Thielke was able to dispatch all but one, Hamid Soryan of Iran, a 7x World/Olympic champion. Soryan will take a World No. 14 ranking into the Games and is on the cusp of all-time greatness if he wins a second Olympic Gold. While Thielke may be, on paper, an outside medal-contender, I have had faith in the man from Wisconsin since his exciting run at the 2013 Worlds. His action, arsenal of attacks, and pace will be a problem for anyone seeking to make the match a one-score affair.
2014 and 2015 World Bronze medalist Andy Bisek maintains his spot as one of the leaders for the US Greco Roman program, making his first Olympic team and 5th-overall World team. Bisek is well-known for being the first World medalist for US Greco since 2009, in one of the deepest weight-classes in the world.
Coming into the Olympics as the World No. 5, Bisek is ranked to return to the medal round. At the 2016 Beat the Streets Gala in Times Square, Bisek lost a tightly contested 3-0 match to 2011 World Bronze, 2012 and 2013 Olympic/World Champion Kim Hyeon-Woo of South Korea. Kim is currently ranked World No. 4.
The current World No. 1 is 2011 World Gold, 2013 World Silver, and defending World/Olympic Champion Roman Vlasov. Vlasov has medaled every year since 2011, except in 2014 when Bisek knocked off the Russian champion in the early rounds of the World Championships.
Am I worried at 75KG? Not at all. The “‘Stache” has my faith, call me a homer.
Day 2, 8/15: Greco-Roman 85KG, 130KG
The second half of the US Greco-Roman contingent will be the London Games Olympian Ben Provisor at GR85KG and 2015 World 5th Robby Smith at GR130KG.
Ben Provisor, now a 2x Olympian, has returned to the Olympic stage after an odyssey of injuries and tribulation. Moving up from his 2012 weight-class of 74KG, Provisor has been in the hunt for the #1 spot in the US since 2012, finally achieving it in 2016. Provisor enters the Games unranked, but a stronger version of himself and a dangerous entrant into the field.
The “Beard”, son of California, and returning World 5th Robby Smith will look to right the wrong from 2015 and earn a medal here on the Olympic stage. Smith has cemented himself as the US #1 at 130KG, being the world teamer here for the entire quadrennium (since 2013). Smith vaulted himself into the psyche of the US fans when he had an all-out war with Russian champion (6x Freestyle World medalist, including three Gold medals; 2x Greco-Roman World Bronze) and future UFC fighter Bilyal Makhov in the Bronze medal match last year in Vegas.
While Makhov will wrestle heavyweight in freestyle for the Olympics, the young Sergey Semenov, World No. 6 and 3x Junior World medalist (Gold, Gold, Silver), will hold down the 130KG position for Russia. Despite being unranked, USA’s Robby Smith's uncanny technique and pure-heart will be a problem for anybody he draws. He’ll have the USA behind him.
Day 3, 8/16: Greco-Roman 66KG*, 98KG*
No USA competitors.
(Rankings based on UWW Pre-Olympic Greco-Roman rankings)
Check out our Women's and Men's Freestyle teams:
US Women's Freestyle preview
US Men's Freestyle preview
