Meet Team USA: Wrestling
Find out who will represent the United States in wrestling at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Qualifying for men's and women's wrestling for the 2016 Rio Olympics is now complete. The United States successfully qualified 14 of 18 weight classes, and the Olympic Trials champions in those weight classes will fill the corresponding spots in Rio.
While this will be the country's smallest Olympic wrestling team since 1952, there is a lot of talent on the roster. The team includes four reigning world champions, one of whom is also a reigning Olympic champion.
Four members of this year's Olympic team previously competed at the 2012 Games, while the other 10 wrestlers are all first-time Olympians.
Daniel Dennis
Men's freestyle 57kg (125.5 lbs)
Three years ago, Dennis had moved out west and was living out of a pickup truck after retiring from wrestling. But in 2015, he decided to make a comeback. Dennis returned to the University of Iowa's Hawkeye Wrestling Club and began training, ultimately winning this year's Olympic Trials to earn his first trip to the Olympics.
Frank Molinaro
Men's freestyle 65kg (143 lbs)
Three days after Olympic qualifying officially concluded, Molinaro became the last member added to the U.S. roster. He had earned bronze at the last chance qualifier, where he needed to finish in the top two, and appeared to be eliminated from Olympic contention. However, United World Wrestling revealed that two 65kg wrestlers had tested positive for meldonium and were having their quota spots stripped. Through a ripple effect, one of those quota spots was transferred the the U.S. and, by extension, Molinaro.
Jordan Burroughs
Men's freestyle 74kg (163 lbs)
Olympic experience: 2012 (gold)
Since winning gold at the London Olympics, Burroughs has become something of a team leader -- not just within USA Wrestling, but also within the ranks of Team USA as a whole. With only two losses in his international career, the three-time world champion and 2012 Olympic champion is considered by many to be the top pound-for-pound freestyle wrestler in the world and will be favored to defend his gold medal in Rio.
J'Den Cox
Men's freestyle 86kg (189.5 lbs)
Cox is a two-time NCAA champion at the University of Missouri. His most recent title came in March, when he won the 197-pound championship as a junior.
Kyle Snyder
Men's freestyle 97kg (214 lbs)
Last year, a 19-year-old Snyder became the youngest American to win a world title. In March, the Ohio State sophomore added an NCAA heavyweight championship to his resume. In April, he defeated 2012 Olympic champion Jake Varner in a best-of-three final at Olympic Trials to secure his spot in Rio. Snyder is a contender for a gold medal in his Olympic debut.
Tervel Dlagnev
Men's freestyle 125kg (275.5 lbs)
Olympic experience: 2012 (5th)
The Bulgarian-born Dlagnev will appear at his second Olympics. At the 2012 Games, he advanced to the semifinal round before losing to three-time Olympic champion Artur Taymazov.
Jesse Thielke
Men's Greco-Roman 59kg (130 lbs)
Thielke defeated two-time Olympian Spenser Mango at Trials, then took silver at an Olympic qualifying tournament in Turkey to book a trip to his first Games.
Andy Bisek
Men's Greco-Roman 75kg (165 lbs)
Bisek has won bronze medals at the world championships in back-to-back years entering this summer's Rio Games. Currently ranked No. 5 in the world at 75kg, the man known for his signature mustache will be making his Olympic debut.
Ben Provisor
Men's Greco-Roman 85kg (187 lbs)
Olympic experience: 2012 (DNP)
Provisor is the only returning member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic team for Greco-Roman wrestling. He advanced to the Round of 16 in his lone Olympic appearance (competing at 74kg).
Robby Smith
Men's Greco-Roman 130kg (286.5 lbs)
After making it to the Bronze Medal Match at the 2015 World Championships, Smith will be competing in Rio at his first Olympics. He is easily identifiable by his big, bushy beard and his American flag socks.
Haley Augello
Women's freestyle 48kg (106 lbs)
Augello currently wrestles at King University, where she won back-to-back Women's College Wrestling Association (WCWA) national championships in 2014 and 2015.
Helen Maroulis
Women's freestyle 53kg (117 lbs)
Maroulis won gold at the 2015 World Championships. Her world title came in the non-Olympic weight class of 55 kg (121 lbs) though, meaning that she needed to drop down to the 53 kg division this year in order to qualify for Rio. It required Maroulis to revamp her training and nutrition programs, but the early returns have been excellent: dominant victories at Olympic Trials and an international Olympic qualifying tournament. Maroulis will be looking for a gold medal in her Olympic debut.
Elena Pirozhkova
Women's freestyle 63kg (139 lbs)
Olympic experience: 2012 (DNP)
2012 world champion Pirozhkova will compete at her second Olympics this summer. The Russian-born wrestler lost her first match at the London Games.
Adeline Gray
Women's freestyle 75kg (165 lbs)
Three-time world champion Adeline Gray is one of the world's most dominant wrestlers. She is ranked No. 1 in the world at 75kg and will be the heavy favorite to earn a gold medal in her Olympic debut this summer.