Rau goes 1-1 at final qualifier, will not wrestle in Rio

Update 9:46am – Jesse Thielke won 17-8 in the semifinals to secure his spot at the Rio Olympics

Joe Rau won his opening match at the last chance Olympic qualifier in Istanbul but fell in the next round against Honduras. Rau gave up an early arm drag takedown that his opponent converted to a trapped arm gut wrench that ended the match quickly via an 8-0 score. Rau would have needed to make the finals at his 98kg weight class to qualify for the Olympic games. As it stands now, he has exhausted his opportunities to qualify and will not compete in Rio this summer.

RaVaughn Perkins also missed out on qualifying at 66kg, while Jesse Thielke will soon compete in the semifinals at 59kg with an Olympic berth on the line. Kelsey Campbell and Tamyra Mensah will compete in women’s freestyle tomorrow, while Frank Molinaro will compete in freestyle on Sunday.

Results:
Round 1 – Joe Rau (USA) 9-0 over Narek Setaghyan (Spain)
Round 2 – Kevin Mejia Castillo (Honduras) 8-0 over Joe Rau (USA)