Super-Heavyweight, Freestyle (≤125 kg), Men

Despite being the double reigning World champion (2014, 2015) and 2013 bronze medalist, Turkey’s Taha Akgül, did not enter the 2016 Rio Games world-ranked number one. That honor was left for Georgia’s Geno Petriashvili, the twice World bronze medalist (2013, 2015) who had beaten Akgül at the European Championships earlier in the season. But it was Russia’s Bilyal Makhov who probably had the strongest resumé coming into Rio, having won Olympic bronze (2012) as well as three freestyle golds (2007, 2009, 2010) and two Greco-Roman bronzes (2014, 2015) in World Championship events.

Akgül beat Mongolia’s Jargalsaikhany Chuluunbat, and Ibragim Saidov of Belarus en route to the final, while Komeil Ghasemi, the other 2012 Olympic bronze medalist, earned a decision win over the American Tervel Dlagnev to wrestle Akgül again for gold. In a repeat gold medal match-up of the 2014 World Championships, Akgül needed only an Olympic gold medal to add to his career, having already captured World and European titles and in the Olympic final, Akgül won Turkey’s only gold medal in wrestling, defeating Ghasemi.

Petriashvili beat Dlagnev in just 30 seconds to capture one bronze medal, with the other going to Ibragim Saidov of Belarus, who won by decision against Armenia’s Levan Berianidze.