World Olympic Qualifier Wrestling 2024 Istanbul: Exploring the qualification route for Spencer Lee and Zain Retherford for the Paris Olympics

The World Olympic Qualifier Wrestling 2024 is scheduled from May 9 to May 12, in Istanbul, Turkey. The tournament will provide the wrestlers with a final opportunity to book quotas for their nation for the Paris Olympics 2024, scheduled this year from July 26 to August 11.

Since the USA has already achieved Olympic quotas across 74 kg, 86 kg, 97 kg, and 125 kg in the men’s freestyle through the 2023 World Championships and the 2024 Pan American Wrestling Qualification Tournament, the World Olympic Qualifier Wrestling will feature two wrestlers from the nation Spencer Lee in the 57 kg and Zain Retherford in the 65kg.

Lee and Retherford will be in action at the World Qualifying tournament on Saturday, May 11, 2024, in the preliminary rounds of the competition from 10:00 am onwards (Local time). The semi-final of the event, which is also the Paris Olympics Qualification Round, is scheduled for later at 6:00 pm onwards (Local time).

Wrestlers who emerge victorious in the semi-finals will secure a berth for themselves and represent their country at the 2024 Paris Olympics. If they lose in the semis, they will get one more chance on Sunday, 6:00 pm onwards (Local time), in the 3rd vs 3rd match where the winner of the bout earns a slot for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Spencer Lee and Zain Retherford’s path to the World Olympic Qualifier Wrestling Istanbul

Spencer Lee and Thomas Gilman wrestle in the men's freestyle 57-KG division during the US Olympic Wrestling Trials held at the Bryce Jordan Center on April 20, 2024 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

Spencer Lee and Zain Retherford both qualified for the World Olympic Qualifier Wrestling through the 2024 U.S. Wrestling Olympic Trials at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pennsylvania.

Lee, who is the 2024 Pan American Championships gold medalist, defeated the 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Thomas Gilman by 2-0 in the Best-of-Three final to represent the USA in the tournament scheduled in Turkey.

Meanwhile, Zain Retherford, the 2023 World Championships gold medalist in 70 kg, got past the 2024 Pan American champion, Nick Lee by 2-0 in the Best-of-Three Championship series at the trials. With this, he is set to compete for the USA in the World Olympic Games Qualifier.

It is worth noting that Lee and Retherford will be battling at the World Olympic Qualifier Wrestling as the nation hasn’t qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics in these weight classes.