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One of biggest ever American Lowney scores huge upset over world champPosted: Sunday September 24, 2000 12:00 AMUpdated: Tuesday November 14, 2000 11:54 AM
SYDNEY, Australia (CNNSI.com) -- Garrett Lowney upset five-time world champin Gogui Koguachvili 8-3 on Sunday. The 20-year-old American, competing in his first major international tournament, scored one of America's biggest upsets ever in Greco-Roman wrestling Lowney, in danger of losing in overtime on two passivity warnings after squandering a 3-0 lead, stunned Koguachvili with a five-point throw at 7:50 of the match to advance to the quarterfinals. Lowney, accompanied to Sydney by a vocal, 50-member group of friends and family from the Minneapolis area, had earlier beaten Marek Svec of the Czech Republic 2-0 at 2133/4 pounds. By defeating both wrestlers in his three-man pool, Lowney advances and eliminates Koguachvili, who cannot get a medal. Koguachvili and three-time Olympic super heavyweight champion Alexander Karelin of Russia were the biggest favorites in the eight weight classes.
The United States hasn't won a gold medal in Greco-Roman since the boycotted Los Angeles Games in 1984 and came away from the Atlanta Games in 1996 with only three silver medals. Matt Lindland, the former Nebraska wrestler whose legal appeal to make the team went all the way to the Supreme Court, also won his first two matches. Koguachvili was the world champion in 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998 and 1999. Losing to Lowney is wrestling's equivalent of a major-league team losing to a Single-A farm club in the World Series. Lowney, who already had surprised Koguachvili by taking the match into overtime, was looking to score a decisive one-point takedown. Instead, he saw an opening and surprised the Russian by ducking behind him and throwing him in the air and to the mat. A five-point high-amplitude throw is the biggest scoring move in a sport where matches often are decided by low scores. "This doesn't mean the gold medal, but he's the best wrestler in this weight class," said Lowney, who had the Olympic rings and a Minnesota "M" tattooed onto his right shoulder a few weeks ago. Lowney was angry since he lost the 3-0 lead partly because he was penalized two points for using his legs. Holds below the waist are barred in Greco-Roman, and a wrestler cannot use his legs or attack an opponent's legs. "I knew they would make it tough for me and I wouldn't get any breaks," Lowney said. "He got one point and that's all he earned. The other two points were a gift." Only a month ago, Lowney worked out with Koguachvili in Moscow, and Lowney got the feeling the Russian had no idea he might lose to him. "He was not real happy," Lowney said. Lindland, saying he wasn't fatigued from his summer-long legal battle, won 3-0 over Tarieli Melelashvili of Georgia and by injury default over Algeria's Kader Slila, who trailed 6-0 late in the match when he apparently sprained an ankle. Lindland has one of the toughest draws of the eight American Greco-Roman wrestlers in Sydney. He is in a pool of four that he must win to advance to the semifinals. The pairings were done by blind draw, meaning some of the toughest bouts - such as Lowney's against Koguachvili - may come in the earliest matches. "I didn't get tired at all," Lindland said. Lindland reversed his U.S. trials loss to Sieracki by arguing successfully through two rounds of arbitration and a variety of courts that Sieracki used a hold below the waist, a move not permitted in Greco-Roman. Lindland was glad to finally be on the mat again after spending most of the summer fighting for the opportunity to get there. "This is the fun part," said Lindland, who took an early 3-0 lead and held it throughout the match as Melelashvili showed little aggressiveness. 'This is what all the work was for. "I never stopped working out, so my preparation was the same as it would have been if (if he had won at the trials). I never stopped training," he said. Kevin Bracken of Colorado Springs, Colo., split his first two matches in a three-man pool at 1383/4 pounds. That pool winner will advance to the quarterfinals. Bracken was an easy 12-5 winner over Choi Sang Sun of South Korea, but couldn't hold a 2-0 lead over Riccardo Magni of Italy in overtime and lost on a referee's decision after the two tied 2-2 after eight minutes. Steven Mays of Pensacola, Fla., lost his three matches at 119 pounds and is out of the Olympics. He lost 10-0 to Uran Kalilov of Kyrgyzstan, 11-0 to Andriy Kalashikov of the Ukraine and 5-3 to Mohamed Abou Elela of Egypt. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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