Unfortunately, Jordan Oliver did not make the cut for the Tokyo Olympics.
J. Oliver Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Although Jordan Oliver won the Olympic Trials in April, he will not be participating in the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer.
To secure his trip to Japan, Oliver needed to win the World Olympic Qualifier on Thursday. Unfortunately, he was eliminated in the semi-finals by Magomedmurad Gadzhiev of Poland.
The Oklahoma State student made a valiant comeback attempt in the last minutes of the match after getting down, 3-0, early on. Gadzhiev eventually won the game 3-2, securing Poland’s spot in the playoffs.
The United States will not have a wrestler in the 65 kilos class for men’s freestyle in Tokyo since Oliver will not be making the trip.
Jesse Porter and Adam Coon are two more American wrestlers who must win their weight class to go to Tokyo. The Greco-Roman wrestling matches between Porter (77 kg) and Coon (130 kg) are set for this coming Saturday.
When it Comes to Weight, Jordan Oliver just didn’t make the Cut for the Olympics.
When it came to the 65-kilogram weight class in freestyle wrestling, Jordan Oliver was the United States’ only hope. So, he entered the event in Sofia, Bulgaria, but he didn’t quite win.
With three challenging bouts on the day, Oliver gave it his all in preparation for the semi-finals. This means the United States will be without a competitor in the weight class at the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021.
Last month, Oliver competed in and won the Team Trials, besting Joey McKenna in a battle for a starting position. Oliver’s last chance to represent his country at the international level and qualify the weight class for the Olympic Games was at the competition in Bulgaria.
This is the first time in four Olympic Games that the United States has not qualified in at least one weight class.
Tournament-wise, Jordan Oliver wasn’t terrible. He started off his professional career with a 6-2 victory over Bulgaria’s Ruhan Rasim. When Oliver faced Junsik Yun in the quarterfinals, he came out on top, 5-4. It was a little more challenging in the semis.
Hor Ohannesian pushed Jordan Oliver to the limit, but Oliver ultimately prevailed 3–3 on criteria.
Unfortunately for Oliver, the guy who stood between him and a finals berth was Magomedmurad Gadzhiev, a Pole of Dagestani descent. Although the score was close, Oliver ultimately lost 3-2.
We have to get rid of Jordan Oliver and his 65 kg; who’s in?
Even though this has never happened before, Team USA will nonetheless enter the 2021 Tokyo Olympics with a formidable squad. However, the United States will have one fewer medal opportunity because Jordan Oliver did not make the cut.
In any case, the following men will make up the freestyle squad for the men’s team:
- Thomas Gilman weighs in at 57 kg.
- Kyle Dake weighs in at a stout 74 kg.
- David Taylor, at 86 kilos
- Kyle Snyder weighs in at 97 kg.
- Gable Stevenson, weighing in at 125 pounds
Of course, Kyle Dake got his first Olympic berth by beating off the former gold medallist, Jordan Burroughs.
Only Kyle Snyder will be competing in the Olympics again this year. In addition to Dake, first-timers on Team USA for freestyle wrestling include Thomas Gilman, David Taylor, and Gable Stevenson.
