2008 Olympics preview at 55 kg/121 lbs. in men's freestyle wrestling
Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
07/17/2008

2007 World champion Besik Kudukhov of Russia has moved to the front of this division, improving on his World silver medal in 2006 with a strong performance last year. A past Junior World champion, Kudukhov has consistently competed at a high level his entire career. He will have to battle Junior World wrestling champion and 2008 European champion Djamel Otarsultanov just to make the Russian Team.

2006 World champion Radoslav Velikov of Bulgaria also placed second at the 2005 World championships, where he lost to two-time World champion Dilshod Mansurov of Uzbekistan. Both of these athletes are experienced and talented, hoping for a return trip to the top of the podium.

Naranbaatar Bayaraa of Mongolia claimed a World silver medal in 2007, and the World bronze medals were won by Andy Moreno of Cuba and Rizvan Gadshiev of Belarus. Naranbaatar also boasts a World bronze medal from 2005.

The United States hopes to challenge for a medal at this weight class with young Henry Cejudo, who won the 2007 Pan American Games but did not place in his first World Championships last year. He has wrestled most of the top wrestlers in the division. Cejudo has beaten Moreno a number of times, most recently at the 2008 Pan American Championships and also has a win over Kudukhov. To make the team, Cejudo beat 2004 Olympic silver medalist Stephen Abas in the final series, another step in his development.

Rounding out the top eight from the 2007 World Championships are Sezer Akguel of Turkey, Freddy Serrano of Colombia and Zhassulan Mukhtabekuly of Kazakhstan.

Japan’s Tomohiro Matsunaga won the 2008 Asian Championships, and Masashi Saito won the 2007 Asian Championships title for Japan.