After coming up short to Semen Novikov (87 kg, BUL) in the round-of-16 on Wednesday, Turpal Bisultanov earned a big win in the repechage this morning and then followed up with a tight 2-1 decision over ’23 World Champion David Losonczi (HUN) to give Denmark their first Olympic medalist in eight years.
The fourth and final day of Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics began at 11:00am local time (5:00 ET) and streamed live in the US on the Peacock Network.
Bisultanov was decisioned by Novikov 5-1 in the opening round yesterday morning; but when the former Ukrainian national team member advanced to this afternoon’s final, Bisultanov received a second opportunity to compete for a medal through the repechage bracket. In his first bout today, he cruised past ’19 World gold/multi-time medalist Lasha Gobadze (GEO) by a score of 6-0 to set up a showdown with Losonczi for Olympic bronze.
Losonczi was called for passivity in the first period but Bisultanov could not gain traction with a gutwrench attempt. In the second period, the passivities flipped to allow the Hungarian a chance from top par terre. Although Losonczi, who now held criteria, had come close to rotating his lock, Bisultanov did not surrender any points and a restart was ordered.
The score was 1-1 with 1:24 remaining when the officials deemed Losonczi passive once again. Rather than settle for a gutwrench try from par terre top, Bisultanov opted for a lift. He elevated Losonczi past his hips as he carried him towards the edge before finishing the maneuver out of bounds. Losonczi had not exposed, but because the action was completed off the line, Bisultanov was awarded one point and thus assumed a 2-1 lead. Losonczi certainly poured out his reserves as time began to race from the clock, but Bisultanov, on several occasions, thwarted his opponent’s efforts by snapping and locking over the top of Losonczi’s head. Before long, the match reached its conclusion and Danish head coach Szymon Kogut dashed onto the tarp to bodylock his athlete in celebration.
Novikov defeated Alireza Mohmadipiani (IRI) 7-0 in the championship final. In the 87 kg bracket’s other bronze-medal round, Zhan Belenyuk of Ukraine was victorious over Arkadiusz Kulynycz (POL) 3-1. Belenyuk, who earned Olympic gold in ’21, Olympic silver in ’16, and owns two World titles, retired after the match.
Bisultanov — who does not turn 23 years of age until October — was both a European Championships gold medalist and World runner-up in ’22. Although he had performed well in both Olympic qualifying opportunities this past spring, he was on the outside looking in at the Paris Games until the Russian Federation decided to boycott the proceedings after the majority of AIN (Individual Neutral Athletes, Russia and Belarus) had been declared ineligible by the International Olympic Committee. Bisultanov took Russian Alan Ostaev‘s spot in the 87 kg bracket this week in Paris.
The last Danish Greco-Roman wrestler to earn a medal at the Olympic Games prior to Bisultanov was the legendary Mark Madsen, who came away with silver at Rio ’16.
2024 Paris Summer Olympics
August 5-8 — Paris, FRA
TEAM DEN FULL RESULTS
87 kg: Turpal Bisultanov (BK Thor) — BRONZE
LOSS Semen Novikov (BUL) 5-1
WON Lasha Gobadze (GEO) 6-0
WON David Losonczi (HUN) 2-1
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