The story continues for Kamal Bey (77 kg, Army/WCAP) in Istanbul.
Bey has just defeated two-time European Championships medalist Iuri Lomadze of Georgia to earn bronze at the World Olympic Qualifier in Istanbul, Turkey. In what was one of the most thrilling contests to involve an American competitor in quite some time, Bey held strong till the end but had to survive a late-match sequence from Lomadze to walk away as the winner.
Following the preamble, Bey was selected by the officials to go down in par terre, Lomadze’s best position. But as the Georgian settled his lock for a lift, Bey contorted and adjusted to land on top of Lomadze, essentially sitting on top of his chest. Lomadze appeared close to being pinned before Bey gathered the strength to attempt his own lift. Soon the match was stopped and Lomadze was penalized for a leg caution. The US therefore had a chance from par terre top due to the infraction but the points margin went unchanged. After the scoring action was confirmed, Bey led 5-1 and entered the break up by that same score.
In the second period, Bey kept a firm and steady rhythm to start as Lomadze energetically pawed in the tie-ups. It was not long before the officials deemed Bey passive once again. Lomadze tried to secure another lift, and Bey defended. His lead had been trimmed to 5-2 and Lomadze was growing increasingly desperate as time became a factor. Short duck-under looks and urgent entries were his methods, yet Bey saw all of it coming — until the last :30 of the match. Lomadze had attacked the body from a duck-under and instantly twisted Bey to his back, and the Army wrestler had to fight to avoid being pinned. Lomadze was awarded two points for the action, which elicited aggressive disagreement from the Georgian corner as they felt four points were appropriate. Bey found his stomach just prior to the conclusive whistle and has thus earned for himself a wrestle-off that will include a trip to the Paris Olympics if he is able to prevail.
Bey will face ’22 World silver medalist Zoltan Levai of Hungary in the “true third” match. Levai had defeated Bey back in ’16 at the Junior World Championships — but last year at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Bey decisioned Levai by a score of 7-3. Earlier this morning, Bey defeated Timur Berdiev (AIN) and Per Albin Olofsson (SWE) in consecutive matches to advance to the bronze medal round against Lomadze.
The “true third” round featuring Bey versus Levai is scheduled for 8:30pm local time in Istanbul (1:30pm ET). FLOWrestling is carrying the live broadcast for the US audience.
2024 World Olympic Games Qualifier
May 9-10 — Istanbul, TUR
TEAM USA DAY 2 RESULTS
77 kg: Kamal Bey (Army/WCAP) — BRONZE
WON Timur Berdiev (AIN) 9-1, TF
WON Per Albin Olofsson (SWE) 5-1
WON Iuri Lomadze (GEO) 5-4
vs. Zoltan Levai (HUN — Paris Olympics wrestle-off)
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
Listen to “5PM57: Kamal Bey and David Stepanyan” on Spreaker.
Listen to “5PM56: Rich Carlson and Spencer Woods” on Spreaker.
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