Three-time US World Team member Kamal Bey (77 kg, Army/WCAP) was defeated in the first round of the 2024 World Olympic Qualifier on Thursday morning in Istanbul, Turkey by Sergey Kutuzov (AIN/RUS). Kutuzov then got past Per Albin Olofsson (SWE) and Iuri Lomadze (GEO), respectively, to place in the top-2 of the weight division. Kutuzov’s run means that Bey has been pulled into Friday morning’s repechage round.
Due to the size of the bracket (exceeding 32 competitors), Bey has multiple repechage matches in front of him if he is to secure an Olympic Games berth. He will first battle Timur Berdiev (AIN/BLR); if successful, then he would face Olofsson; next would be Lomadze for bronze — and, finally, Bey would meet the bronze medalist from the opposite side of the repechage bracket to determine which of the two will qualify 77 kg on behalf of their nations (the USA selection process stipulates that the 77 kg spot is already his).
Bey on Thursday fell to Kutuzov due in large part to what the officials deemed to be leg fouls. Kutuzov had scored two from an attack earlier in the first period and had attempted to lift Bey in a subsequent exchange. He did execute the maneuver, and tried for a second time, but Bey had not exposed and the US corner challenged the call on the mat. The officials reviewed the sequence and the score was adjusted to account for the original scoring actions. However, one more review ordered by the head of officiating brought forth a result which said that Bey had committed the leg infractions. This call promptly ended the match in Kutuzov’s favor.
Bey’s fellow Olympic and Army teammates Dalton Roberts (60 kg) and Ellis Coleman (67 kg) were both eliminated from the tournament. Roberts was downed by Viktor Petryk (UKR) 11-6 in the qualification round. Coleman won his first match, a tough 1-1 decision against Aliaksandr Liavonchyk (AIN/BLR) and was defeated in the round-of-16 by Andreas Vetsch (SUI).
Remaining World OG Qualifier Schedule
— All times +7 hours ET
— Streaming live on UWW+ and FLOWrestling (USA)
Friday, May 10
10:00am — Repechage
4:45pm — Bronze medal rounds
8:30pm — True-3rd matches (winners secure Olympic berths for their countries)
2024 World Olympic Games Qualifier
May 9-10 — Istanbul, TUR
TEAM USA DAY 1 RESULTS
60 kg: Dalton Roberts (Army/WCAP)
LOSS Viktor Petryk (UKR) 11-6
67 kg: Ellis Coleman (Army/WCAP)
WON Aliaksandr Liavonchyk (AIN) 1-1 (criteria)
LOSS Andreas Vetsch (SUI) 8-1
77 kg: Kamal Bey (Army/WCAP)
LOSS Sergey Kutuzov (AIN) 8-0, TF
vs. Timur Berdiev (AIN)
Listen to “5PM57: Kamal Bey and David Stepanyan” on Spreaker.
Listen to “5PM56: Rich Carlson and Spencer Woods” on Spreaker.
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