Kings Mountain’s Dremiel Byers was a very unhappy man after his unsatisfactory Olympic debut in Greco-Roman wrestling early Thursday morning (Eastern time).
Byers won his first two matches -- I took this picture of him beating a gargantuan Chinese wrestler in the second round -- but then he was upset by Sweden’s Jalmar Sjoberg in the quarterfinals. The defeat ended up knocking Byers out of medal contention. I don't think he would have won the gold anyway -- a Cuban and a Russian were the class of the heavyweight field -- but bronze would have definitely been in his sights.
But Byers couldn't get by the Swede. He was disconsolate afterward. “I could have brought a whole lot bigger fight,” Byers said. “I’m kicking myself for that. "
Byers did beat a Ukrainian wrestler in the first round and a Chinese wrestler in the second round to advance to the quarters. At age 33, he said he hopes to wrestle again in the Olympics -- in 2012 in London. That is iffy, though -- the U.S. only gets to send one wrestler per weight class, which means Byers will first have to fend off all challengers on U.S. soil.
Byers won his first two matches -- I took this picture of him beating a gargantuan Chinese wrestler in the second round -- but then he was upset by Sweden’s Jalmar Sjoberg in the quarterfinals. The defeat ended up knocking Byers out of medal contention. I don't think he would have won the gold anyway -- a Cuban and a Russian were the class of the heavyweight field -- but bronze would have definitely been in his sights.
But Byers couldn't get by the Swede. He was disconsolate afterward. “I could have brought a whole lot bigger fight,” Byers said. “I’m kicking myself for that. "
Byers did beat a Ukrainian wrestler in the first round and a Chinese wrestler in the second round to advance to the quarters. At age 33, he said he hopes to wrestle again in the Olympics -- in 2012 in London. That is iffy, though -- the U.S. only gets to send one wrestler per weight class, which means Byers will first have to fend off all challengers on U.S. soil.
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1 comment:
yeah, that's very sad that he lost and didn't advance to other rounds up the ladder, oh well, can't win everything. But it was very peculiar to hear of somebody from Kings mountain to wrestle in these Olimpycs. Especially "x" wrestler myself. i miss alex karelin matches from past games from the heavy weight - "the russian mountain".
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