Olympic Wrestling 2012: Dark Horses Who Could Still Claim Medals

As the Olympics wind down, freestyle wrestling is heating up. With Greco-Roman wrestling competitions over, freestyle now snags the attention of wrestling fans around the world.

Medal events for the 55 and 74kg weight classes finish Friday. The 60, 84 and 120kg weight classes will earn their medals on Saturday. The 66 and 96kg weight classes finish up on the final day of the Olympics on Sunday.

With many of these weight classes in their respective semifinals, there are some underdogs that have survived and could walk away with the coveted prize.

Vladimir Khinchagashvili—Georgia (55kg)

The 21-year-old Georgian has shocked the competition with his strong performances and has himself poised for gold.

Khinchagashvili was one of six wrestlers that needed to win to advance to the round of eight. He did by beating Mohamed Abdelkahim of Egypt, 3-1.

Khinchagashvili continued his run and knocked off Radislav Marinov Velikov of Bulgaria, 3-1. That was a significant upset for Khinchagashvili. Velikov finished second at last year’s world championships.

His run continued today by advancing over japan’s Shinichi Yumoto by another 3-1 score.  Tied heading into the final round, the Georgian outscored Yumoto 2-0 to advance out of the semifinals.

Khinchagashvili is headed to the gold-medal match against Russia’s Dzhamal Otarsultanov.

Denis Tsargush—Russia (74kg)

Tsargush has bounced back from a rough showing at the 2011 World Championships to reach the semifinals.

Tsargush, who has won three European Championships at 74kg and two World Championships, struggled in 2011. The Russian finished 11^th at the Worlds in Istanbul, a disappointing finish for one of the world’s best wrestlers at 74kg.

His struggles at the 2011 Worlds led to a lower seed and a tougher road in this year’s Olympics. That hasn’t slowed Tsargush.

Tsargush knocked off Aliyev Ashraf of Azerbaijan 3-1 in the 1/8 round. Tsargush then cruised by upstart Davit Khutsishvili, the 21-year-old from Georgia, 3-0 to advance into the semifinals.

Tsargush’s semifinal opponent was the 2011 World Champion Jordan Ernest Burroughs of the United States. Burroughs held off Tsargush 3-1, and now the Russian will need to beat Gabor Hatos of Hungary if he is going to medal.

Jared Frayer—United States (66kg)

Frayer surprised team USA by beating Brent Metcalf twice at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. He will have additional motivation to succeed in London.

Frayer, an assistant wrestling coach at the University of Oklahoma, won’t have his family with him for the competition due to the birth of his second child.

Wrestling is a sport in which competitors can will themselves to victory. Frayer may just have an edge in that department.

He has the motivation of his second child, his team in Norman, Oklahoma and his own experiences.

Frayer was the runner-up in 2006 and 2009 at the world team trials and finished fifth at the 2008 Olympic trials.

He appears to be putting together his best stretch of wrestling, and in perfect time.

He is going to need his best if he is going to get through a loaded 66kg field. The field features the top four finishers in last year’s world championships, including defending world champion Mehdi Kermani (Iran) and runner-up Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu (Japan).

Frayer has a tough road ahead of him, but he may have just enough to get him to the medal stand.