Welterweight, Greco-Roman (≤66 kg), Men

Iran’s Saeid Abdvali, the reigning World Champion, had not lost a major match in men’s welterweight Greco-Roman wrestling since he was defeated by Hungary’s Tamás Lőrincz at the 2010 World Championships. Abdvali was the overwhelming favorite to win gold at the 2012 Games despite the return of France’s Steeve Guénot, the defending Olympic champion, as Guénot had not reached the podium in the World Championships since his Olympic victory. Abdvali and Guénot met during the quarterfinals, where the Frenchman defeated the Iranian in a controversial match that saw Abdvali lose the first round to penalty fouls after a successful par terre defense and the second after a successful par terre offense that was discounted after it was deemed too low on the body. While the replay showed that Abdvali was indeed too low in the second round, many Iranians felt that the referee and the match judge were unfairly penalizing Abdvali while ignoring fouls committed by Guénot.

Abdvali was denied any chance at a medal when Guénot lost to Kim Hyeon-Wu, a bronze medalist from the 2011 World Championships, in the semi-finals. In the final Kim faced Lőrincz, where Kim was nearly flipped in the first round par terre, although he maintained his defense to take the period. The second par terre was more decisive, and Kim used his top advantage to score two points on the Hungarian and capture the Olympic crown.

The first bronze medal bout was contested by Manuchar Tskhadaia of Georgia, a two-time runner up at the World Championships (2009 and 2011), and Frank Stäbler of Germany, the 2012 European Champion. Tskhadaia successfully defended a first round par terre before taking the second period, and the bronze medal, by scoring on Stäbler early in the round and withstanding the German’s aggressive onslaught for the remainder of the period. For the final podium spot Guénot faced Pedro Mulens of Cuba, a two-time World Championship bronze medalist (2009 and 2011). The Frenchman immediately asserted his dominance with a four-point takedown to win the first round and then maintained a more defensive attitude in the second to bring the period to par terre. Taking advantage of his top position, Guénot lifted the Cuban from the ground and tossed him out of the ring, earning him his second Olympic medal.