2018 TEN Weight Class US Team Predictions

[Jaroslav Hasek 2,067]

I don't know... a lot of famous wrestlers went 52kg back in the day: Jimmy Carr, Gene Mills, Ken Chertow, Zeke Jones, Lou Rosselli, ...

 

http://www.teamusa.org/usa-wrestling/team-usa/olympic-team-history

there will be Olympic champs no matter what the weight classes are. doesn't mean they should start at 52kg, or 48kg, etc. 

[wnywrestling 71]

there will be Olympic champs no matter what the weight classes are. doesn't mean they should start at 52kg, or 48kg, etc. 

I don't disagree, though I'd be curious to hear the opinion of some of those guys that wrestled at 52.

[wrestlingnerd 3,011]

Given how scarce weight classes are, I'd hate to waste one for the benefit of the tiny minority of guys who can legitimately make 114.5. 125 is low enough.

[Jaroslav Hasek 2,067]

I don't disagree, though I'd be curious to hear the opinion of some of those guys that wrestled at 52.

it is interesting to think about how Valentin Jordanov might have zero world medals had been born 15 years later. 

[wnywrestling 71]

Worldwide, and even in the US, there are a lot of guys that are 5'4", 5'5".  If they're going to 10 weights, it's at least worth a look to see if there's any demand.  It's easy to look at the NCAAs lowest weight and think that there's not enough wrestlers lighter than 125, but there might be... at NHSCA Senior Nationals, 113 & 120 are pretty full brackets.  Some of those guys are still growing, but still, it seems worth considering.  (BTW, boxing still has a 49kg (108-lb.) class!)

 

EDIT: This is in response to wrestlingnerd who said the lowest should be 125-lbs.  It seems most are saying 55kg should be the lowest, which is 121-lbs. Perhaps if they had 2-day weigh-ins 15 years ago (I don't think they did, did they?), a lot of the 114.5-pounds might have been forced up. In that case, 55kg sounds good to me.

Edited January 31, 2017 by wnywrestling

[wrestlingnerd 3,011]

I'm not saying the lowest must be 125. What I'm saying is there are only 6 weights right now. Do you really want to waste a weight, if we were to get another one, on the midgets of the world?

 

It's an issue of priority for me. Fill the weights that will maximize participation and satisfy the most demand first, such as the mile-wide gap between 163 and 189. Then worry about the midgets.

Edited January 31, 2017 by wrestlingnerd

[bigmik 218]

Given how scarce weight classes are, I'd hate to waste one for the benefit of the tiny minority of guys who can legitimately make 114.5. 125 is low enough.

I agree. The World doesn't need a weight class below 125. The competition level always takes a big hit below the 120s. And the demand for it is low.

[wrestlingnerd 3,011]

it is interesting to think about how Valentin Jordanov might have zero world medals had been born 15 years later. 

 

I honestly believe he would have several world medals at 125. He was big and extremely strong for the weight, so adapting to 57 kg would not have been the end of his career, in my humble opinion.