For the uninitiated, talk of top wrestlers from Iran, Russia and Cuba might conjure up memories of the Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff and the Cuban Assassin drawing the ire of pro wrestling fans in the 80s. On Monday, however, Greco-Roman wrestlers from those three countries earned very real gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Omid Haji Noroozi of Iran, Alan Kughaev of Russia and Mijain Lopez Nunez of Cuba were the big winners in men's Greco-Roman wrestling on Monday, scoring gold medals in the 60-kilogram, 84-kilogram and 120-kilogram divisions, respectively, at the ExCeL Centre in London.
At 60 kg, Noroozi defeated Georgia's Revaz Lashkhi in the finals to give Iran its second gold medal at these Olympics. He successfully defended himself in the first period to earn one point, then earned another in the second period by getting behind Lashkhi.
At 84 kg, Kughaev earned his medal when he defeated Karam Mohamed Gaber Ebrahim of Egypt. Kughaev scored a point in the first period when he lifted Ebrahim off the mat and threw him down, briefly exposing one of the Egyptian's shoulders to the mat. That was enough to win the match, as Kughaev was able to deny Ebrahim the same success from the top position in the second period, clinching the gold.
Lopez delivered one of the most impressive performances of the day in his win over Estonia's Heiki Nabi. Lopez scored big in the first period against Nabi when he rolled the Estonian over onto his back, exposing both of Nabi's shoulders to the mat to score two points. Nabi was unable to do anything with Lopez after that point, and the Cuban claimed gold.
The men's Greco-Roman competition concludes on Tuesday with the 66-kg and 96-kg divisions.
