The current situation facing the United States and much of the world is all-encompassing. Wrestling, in near totality, has been put on hold. Rightfully so. And for the United States specifically, it has all come about in a relative whirlwind. Just a few weeks ago, most American wrestling fans were beginning to hit fever-pitch excitement in advance of the various collegiate national championships. Then, the Pan-Am Championships in Ottawa arrived. That is when things started looking dicey. Within a week, all college-level competitions were canceled, all domestic Trials tournaments were postponed, and a week after that, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics followed suit (for what has turned out to be an entire year).
Thankfully, that last bit of news will not affect Team USA Greco-Roman’s efforts from Ottawa on March 13, which was the day four athletes qualified their weight categories. The US will hold onto those four weights, as expected, leaving only two more on the table for whenever the Last Chance Olympic Games Qualifier appears on the schedule. United World Wrestling has yet to announce new dates for the Last Chance, or the other three continental qualifiers still in need of completion. It is assumed that these events will not be rescheduled until a sense of normalcy at last returns, and of course, no one knows when that will actually be.
This past weekend was supposed to usher in the US Last Chance Olympic Trials Qualifier on the campus of Millersville University. This coming weekend was supposed to present the Olympic Trials itself (we say “itself” since it is a singular event, FYI). And in just about three and a half months from today, the 2020 United States Greco-Roman Olympic Team was supposed to land in Tokyo.
Several months back, we got our hands on what Team USA Greco’s schedule was to offer once they landed in Tokyo. The plan was to release this piece of information, along with some fill-in items, sometime in early-July. Unfortunately, there is no longer a reason to hold onto it. Though actual details (i.e., full training program, activities, and etc.) are unavailable, below are all of the pertinent dates that most of us were going to be focused on later this summer.
Team USA Greco — 2020 Tokyo Schedule
Monday, July 20: Delegation lands in Tokyo
Tuesday, July 21: Training (Nakatsugawa)
Wednesday, July 22: Training (Nakatsugawa)
Thursday, July 23: Arrive in Olympic Village
Friday, July 24: *Opening Ceremonies
Saturday, July 25: Training (Nakatsugawa)
Sunday, July 26: Training (Nakatsugawa)
Monday, July 27: Training (Nakatsugawa)
Tuesday, July 28: Training (Nakatsugawa)
Wednesday, July 29: Training (Nakatsugawa)
Thursday, July 30: Arrive at hotel (Tokyo)
Friday, July 31: Tokyo
Saturday, August 1: Tokyo
Sunday, August 2: Qualification round-semifinals — 60 kg, 130 kg
Monday, August 3: Qualification round-semifinals — 77 kg, 97 kg; Finals/bronze matches — 60 kg, 130 kg
Tuesday, August 4 — Qualification round-semifinals — 67 kg, 87 kg; Finals/bronze matches — 77 kg, 97 kg
Wednesday, August 5: Finals/bronze matches — 67 kg, 87 kg
Thursday, August 6: Olympic Village
Friday, August 7: Olympic Village
Saturday, August 8: Olympic Village
Sunday, August 9: *Closing Ceremony
Updated Content Plan
This has all required a series of adjustments for 5PM content releases. Simply put, availability has not been the same — and without events to cover as well narratives surrounding Q&A’s becoming irrelevant for the time being along with subject matter related to what were upcoming athlete profile pieces — we are forced to pivot. In doing so, we hope to offer some bread-and-butter material that most, hopefully, have come to expect from this platform.
On that note, you can look forward to…
- Follow-ups with Ildar Hafizov (60 kg, Army/WCAP) and Alex Sancho (67 kg, Army/WCAP, world #19).
- Interviews with Olympic/World silver Brandon Paulson and US Greco-Roman Operations Manager Gary Mayabb.
- The first-ever 5PM Podcast appearance of Zac Dominguez.
- New Memorable Matches segments.
- And all-new Coaches Reports.
And if there are any specific content or interview requests, feel free to send them along!
Questions? Concerns? Feel like reaching out? Do so on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!
Listen to “5PM35: Pan Am Qualifier Recap” on Spreaker.
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