Having already won one Olympic gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling competition four years ago, Russian Roman Vlasov arrived in Rio heavily favored to repeat.
Sunday he did just that, defeating Mark Overgaard Madsen of Denmark on points in the gold medal match of the 75 kg division. The reigning world champion, Vlasov has two gold medals to his credit with his coach, Viktor Kuznetsov, also coaching Alexander Karelin to three Olympic gold medals in Greco-Roman wrestling of his own (1988, 1992 and 1996). Madsen’s silver is the first wrestling medal for Denmark since 1948, and this is his first Olympic medal after failing to reach the stand in either 2008 or 2012.
Bloodied, but not beaten: Roman Vlasov wins 75 kg Greco-Roman gold
Taking the bronze medal matches were South Korea’s Kim Hyeon-woo and Iran’s Saeid Abdvali, with Kim adding a bronze to the gold he won in the 66 kg division in London. As for Abdvali, he was world champion in the 66 kg weight class in 2011, and his bronze is the sixth wrestling medal won by Iran in their Olympic history.
American Andrew Bisek, who lost to Bozo Starcevic of Croatia in the quarterfinals, finished 12th in the competition.