USA Greco

Jacobson Falls to SRB; Rau Downed in Repechage

By 5PM Staff

Posted on August 7, 2024

joe rau, 2024 olympics, greco-roman, 97 kg

For a fourth straight Olympiad, the United States Greco-Roman Team will return home without a medalist.

not all roads lead to gold, parent edition, jim gruenwald

As Day 3 of Greco-Roman at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics got underway, Team USA still had two athletes in the mix. Young Payton Jacobson (87 kg, Sunkist/NTS) was primed to make an impression in his Senior World-level debut, whereas three-time World Team member Joe Rau (97 kg, TMWC) was set to go on a run through his bracket’s repechage round. Neither of the Americans were able to advance, however, which means that the US will have to re-group and re-focus once this edition of the Games reaches its conclusion.

Entering action on Wednesday morning, Rau was with a second chance to earn an Olympic medal. Rau, 33, was defeated in the round-of-16 yesterday by ’21 World champ and otherwise well-decorated Iranian Mohammadhadi Saravi; but because Saravi eventually prevailed in the semifinal (over Mohamed Gabr of Egypt), Rau was given a new lease on life in the 97 kg repechage against Uzur Dzhuzupbekov (KGZ). Like Rau, Dzhuzupbekov was also bounced from the championship bracket by Saravi.

Ultimately, Dzhuzupbekov advanced past the American and will compete in the bronze round later today opposed by Gabr. But the match did not end without Rau exhibiting the type of heart and perseverance that have defined his impressive Senior-level career.

And with the exception of one technique executed from top par terre by Dzhuzupbekov, it was actually Rau who controlled the match.

From the outset, Rau peppered Dzhuzupbekov in the tie-ups, varying between two-on-one looks to gauging possible entries from space. A quick try at a headlock from Dzhuzupbekov did not land, and Rau immediately scampered behind but the action was ruled a slip for Kyrgyzstan. Back standing, and Rau flashed a high dive attempt before resuming pleasantries in the hand-fight. In short order, Dzhuzupbekov was the beneficiary of the bout’s first passivity call. From top par terre, he managed a high lock and gained enough elevation on his hold to pick up four points along with a 5-0 lead. Undaunted, Rau bored back into the trenches and threatened to knock Dzhuzupbekov out of bounds just as the buzzer sounded.

Not long into the second period, Dzhuzupbekov was cited for passivity. Rau set up from top and wasted no time in clamping a front headlock. As Rau gathered the hold, Dzhuzupbekov rose to his feet and was soon penalized for a foul. Two caution points were distributed to Rau, thus cutting his deficit to 5-3. Rau’s subsequent opportunity from top par terre did not yield additional points and a restart was ordered.

There was not an ounce of his reserves that Rau failed to empty as time raced off the clock. He generated relentless pressure, with intent, and level-changed numerous times in search of openings to the body. And with :12 remaining, Rau bullied Dzhuzupbekov off the line to score a step-out point off of just such an exchange. There was a pause on the part of the US after the action was scored, if only because it had appeared that Dzhuzupbekov might have been eligible for an accompanying fleeing call. But one did not materialize. 5-4 read the board on the final reset, and, in despair, Rau locked double overhooks to try and come up with a last-gasp throw that would change the outcome. Alas, Dzhuzupbekov landed on top and was awarded four more points to walk away the 9-4 victor.

Jacobson

Each bracket at the Paris Olympics has featured a who’s-who of recent World champs and medalists, and Jacobson’s field at 87 kg was no exception. For the round-of-16, Jacobson had drawn Aleksandr Komarov, whose own story is unique. Komarov was one of Russia’s most-prized prospects as an age-group competitor, having won two Cadet and Junior World titles before coming away with gold on the U23 level in ’21. Following that tournament triumph, Komarov ceased representing Russia and moved to Serbia, for whom he earned European Championships gold this past spring.

The assignment for Jacobson was not difficult to understand, though certainly difficult to achieve: get past Komarov, and then it would likely mean having to deal with ’23 co-World champ David Losonczi of Hungary.

As was the expectation, Jacobson aggressively pursued Komarov upon the whistle, hastily digging into the hands and churning his legs. It was a contrast in energies. Jacobson demonstrated forceful urgency while Komarov was content to express very little zeal as they prodded in the ties. A slight pressure-release from Komarov, and then another briefly put Jacobson off-balance, but they were still amid the preamble. But a double-overhook attempt from Jacobson saw Komarov respond by executing a throw that scored four points. There were no follow-up points, for the Northern Michigan student had bounded up immediately.

Jacobson quickly shook off the maneuver but was soon called passive by the officials. From top par terre, Komarov rotated two gutwrenches. Initially, only the first turn was scored due to Jacobson’s head being out of bounds; but after a review, it was determined that a fleeing call on the US was warranted, which provided to Komarov the points necessary to end the match early in his favor.

Komarov was defeated in the quarterfinal round by Losonczi to eliminate Jacobson from reappearing in the tournament during tomorrow’s 87 kg repechage round.