|
| Event type

Super-Heavyweight, Greco-Roman (≤120 kilograms), Men

Date 6 August 2012
StatusOlympic
LocationExCeL, Newham, London (North Arena 2)
Participants20 from 20 countries
FormatSingle elimination tournament. Competitors losing to the finalists entered repechage tournament for bronze medals.

Mijaín López of Cuba was the undisputed favorite in the men’s super-heavyweight Greco-Roman event at the 2012 Summer Olympics; as the defending Olympic champion and four-time World Champion, no one else came close. Since 2005 his only defeats at the World Championships had come from Khasan Baroyev of Russia, the 2004 Olympic Champion and the 2008 runner-up, and Rıza Kayaalp of Turkey, who was now the reigning World Champion. They were both in London, but were only two among a host of other strong entrants who were seen as unlikely to challenge López for the crown.

López powered through the tournament, which included defeating Kayaalp in the semi-finals. Baroyev, meanwhile, was conquered in his first match and, when the dust of the tournament had settled, Heiki Nabi of Estonia stood to challenge López for gold. Nabi had been a heavyweight wrestler throughout his career, winning the 2006 World Championship in the division, but had switched to the super-heavyweight category to compete in his first Olympics. In the end, however, it was López’s experience and raw power that won the day, making the most of his top advantage in the first-round par terre and successfully defending against both a gut-wrench and a challenge to his Olympic title in the second.

In the first bronze medal match, Kayaalp easily defeated Guram Pherselidze of Georgia, pushing him out of the ring in two rounds and claiming a podium spot. In the contest for the other bronze medal, Belarus’ Iosif Chugoshvili and Sweden’s Johan Eurén, a bronze medalist from the 2010 European Championships, were evenly matched. The first two rounds went to par terre, where each wrestler was successful in their defense, which left the final podium spot up to a final, decisive two minutes. With neither competitor able to score in the first 90 seconds, and with points and cautions tied, a ball was drawn to determine who would choose the positions in the final par terre. Chugoshvili won and picked the top position, but was unable to convert this advantage into any points, giving Eurén the bronze.

PosWrestlerNOC
1Mijaín LópezCUBGold
2Heiki NabiESTSilver
=3Johan EurénSWEBronze
=3Rıza KayaalpTURBronze
=5Iosif ChuhashviliBLR
=5Guram PherselidzeGEO
7Bashir BabajanzadehIRI
8Yury PatrikeyevARM
9Łukasz BanakPOL
10Dremiel ByersUSA
11Mihály Deák-BárdosHUN
12Abdelrahman El-TrabilyEGY
13Liu DeliCHN
14Khasan BaroyevRUS
=15Ali NadhimIRQ
=15Radhouane ChebbiTUN
=15Muminzhon AbdullayevUZB
=18Andrés AyubCHI
=18Nurmakhan TynaliyevKAZ
=18Yevhen OrlovUKR

Round One (6 August 2012)

Winner of each match advanced to round two. Losers to eventual finalists advanced to repêchage round one.

Match #1 Guram PherselidzeGEO Bye
Match #2 Andrés AyubCHI Bye
Match #3 Mijaín LópezCUB Bye
Match #4 Abdelrahman El-TrabilyEGY Bye
Match #5 Dremiel ByersUSA Bye
Match #6 Muminzhon AbdullayevUZB Bye
Match #7 Rıza KayaalpTUR Bye
Match #8 Yevhen OrlovUKR Bye
Match #9 Łukasz BanakPOL Bye
Match #10 Radhouane ChebbiTUN Bye
Match #11 Heiki NabiEST Bye
Match #12 Iosif ChuhashviliBLR Bye
Match #13 Mihály Deák-BárdosHUN Liu DeliCHN Decision (2 - 1)
Match #14 Johan EurénSWE Nurmakhan TynaliyevKAZ Decision by shutout (4 - 0)
Match #15 Yury PatrikeyevARM Khasan BaroyevRUS Decision (4 - 1)
Match #16 Bashir BabajanzadehIRI Ali NadhimIRQ Decision by shutout (3 - 0)

Round Two (6 August 2012)

Winner of each match advanced to quarter-finals. Losers to eventual finalists advanced to repêchage round one.

Match #1 Guram PherselidzeGEO Andrés AyubCHI Decision by shutout (4 - 0)
Match #2 Mijaín LópezCUB Abdelrahman El-TrabilyEGY Decision by shutout (4 - 0)
Match #3 Dremiel ByersUSA Muminzhon AbdullayevUZB Decision by shutout (3 - 0)
Match #4 Rıza KayaalpTUR Yevhen OrlovUKR Decision by shutout (4 - 0)
Match #5 Łukasz BanakPOL Radhouane ChebbiTUN Decision by shutout (3 - 0)
Match #6 Heiki NabiEST Iosif ChuhashviliBLR Decision (4 - 1)
Match #7 Johan EurénSWE Mihály Deák-BárdosHUN Decision by shutout (3 - 0)
Match #8 Bashir BabajanzadehIRI Yury PatrikeyevARM Decision (3 - 1)

Quarter-Finals (6 August 2012)

Winner of each match advanced to semi-finals. Losers to eventual finalists advanced to repêchage round two.

Match #1 Mijaín LópezCUB Guram PherselidzeGEO Decision by shutout (4 - 0)
Match #2 Rıza KayaalpTUR Dremiel ByersUSA Decision by shutout (2 - 0)
Match #3 Heiki NabiEST Łukasz BanakPOL Decision by shutout (2 - 0)
Match #4 Johan EurénSWE Bashir BabajanzadehIRI Decision by shutout (4 - 0)

Semi-Finals (6 August 2012)

Winner of each match advanced to final. Losers advanced to repêchage final.

Match #1 Mijaín LópezCUB Rıza KayaalpTUR Decision by shutout (3 - 0)
Match #2 Heiki NabiEST Johan EurénSWE Decision (2 - 1)

Repêchage Round One (6 August 2012)

Winner of each match advanced to repêchage round two.

Match #1 Abdelrahman El-TrabilyEGY Bye
Match #2 Iosif ChuhashviliBLR Bye

Repêchage Round Two (6 August 2012)

Winner of each match advanced to repêchage final.

Match #1 Guram PherselidzeGEO Abdelrahman El-TrabilyEGY Decision (10 - 3)
Match #2 Iosif ChuhashviliBLR Łukasz BanakPOL Decision by shutout (3 - 0)

Repêchage Final (6 August 2012)

Match #1 Rıza KayaalpTUR Guram PherselidzeGEO Decision by shutout (2 - 0)
Match #2 Johan EurénSWE Iosif ChuhashviliBLR Decision (2 - 1)

Final Round (6 August 2012)

Match 1/2 Mijaín LópezCUB Heiki NabiEST Decision by shutout (3 - 0)