The Olympic events are yet to be more than 6 months away, scheduled in Paris. So, the tussling for achieving the qualification is already going on. In the USA, while multiple sports like airgun shooting have already concluded their trial part, the swimming section’s trial is still months away. Meanwhile, USA Wrestling is on the mark of finalizing the trial names.
Last year saw a plethora of qualifying rounds or contests where the wrestling body imposed rules to take out wrestlers for the Olympics trial. However, there are still a few contests left to provide a selection chance for the same.
Olympics trial berth is still on the play for the USA wrestlers
In its latest X-post, USA Wrestling informed about the ongoing chances to seal a place in the Olympics wrestling trial, which is just months away. The post further revealed, “There are 181 athletes who have qualified to compete in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, set for Penn State, April 19-20.
There are only a few more opportunities for athletes to earn their spot in the Trials.” The number of qualified wrestlers seemed huge. Certain reasons worked behind that. As the prior reason, the US Senior Nationals, organized last month in Texas, sent the most number of wrestlers into the trial participation. The second reason could be the rule set by USA Wrestling.
There are 181 athletes who have qualified to compete in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, set for Penn State, April 19-20. There are only a few more opportunities for athletes to earn their spot in the Trials.
— USA Wrestling (@USAWrestling) January 16, 2024
The wrestlers found their entry into the Olympics trial list if they solidified their ranks in the top 5 of the selecting tournaments. By that virtue, a horde of wrestlers sneaked into the roster bound to Penn State. Moreover, there are still chances for the unqualified ones, as the 2024 Pan Am Championship and 2024 NCAA Division 1 championship are still on the calendar.
For the women’s category, the 2024 NCWWC national championship will bring an additional chance en route to the Olympics trial. For the non-Olympic weight categories as well, certain wrestlers cut into the trial list. The rules remained different in that case.
The non-Olympic weight categories
The world medal winners of 2023 saw themselves on the Olympics trial list made by USA Wrestling. In such cases, the organizing body brought their names into contention after availing them to fight for a weight class that is near to the Olympics. Based on such a rule, the U17 and U20 world spearheads from both categories reached the final trial berth. Moreover, World Team members from certain years qualify for this rule.
Months after forfeiting out of the US Open, Spencer Lee returns to the mat for a spot in
2024 Olympic Qualifiers
As of now, the 2024 Final Olympics Trials Qualification Championship is ready to go. That would inflict a busy run among the American wrestlers, opting for an Olympic berth.
