Russians Almost Made It
The Russians almost made it to the Avista Corp. XXVII World Cup of Wrestling after all. They just needed about six more hours and a flexible flight schedule.
Because of NATO’s military action in Kosovo and the Russian government’s opposition, the United States embassy in Moscow - following an armed assault by protestors - was shut down Tuesday. Three of the Russian wrestlers’ passports and visas were locked inside the building.
According to Rich Bender, USA Wrestling director of marketing, the embassy reopened on Thursday at 10 a.m. The athletes could have gotten everything squared away, but the last flight that would have gotten the team here in time took off around 11 a.m.
“We were on pins and needles all week,” tournament organizer Toby Steward said. “We did everything we could.”
Everything included alternative plans. Plan B was to try and get the three wrestlers’ visas issued in Minsk. That didn’t work because the paperwork and passports were locked in the Moscow embassy. Another plan was to bring three alternate wrestlers. That attempt failed because there was not enough time to iron out the details.
Weathering one storm
All along, the Canadians said they weren’t expecting miracles at the World Cup. And by the looks of the scores, our neighbors to the north knew what they were talking about.
Canada lost to Iran in its opening match 22-7. Cuba drilled the Canadians in the night session 22-4.
There were bright spots, however, with 153-pounder Daniel Igali and super heavyweight Wayne Weathers providing some thrills.
Igali, a fourth-place finisher at the 1998 World Championships, finished 2-0 on the day. Weathers, who hasn’t had much international experience, beat his Iranian opponent in dramatic fashion. More noticeable was that his final move pumped some emotion into the subdued Friday afternoon crowd.
Leading 2-1, Weathers scored two more points on Ebrahim Mehraban on a takedown in the final seconds. Had the score stayed at 2-1, the match would have gone into overtime. The international rule states the winner must score at least three points.
In the night session, Weathers, small for a super heavyweight at 240, was convincingly beaten by defending World champ Alexis Rodriguez of Cuba, 4-0.
Weathers, an alternate at the Atlanta Games, said he’s working toward next summer’s Olympics. But if it doesn’t work out, there’s always football.
The University of Manitoba graduate plays outside linebacker for the CFL Winnipeg Blue Bloomers.
“I’ll give the 2000 Olympcis a shot and that will be it for wrestling,” he said. “It’s a lot of hard work. It makes football look easy.”
Ed the educator
Ed Aliverti, the silvery-smooth voice of wrestling, is back in Spokane after a three-year absence. Aliverti’s last trip here was in 1996 when he called the U.S. wrestling trials. Since then, he’s worked his fourth Olympics, NCAA national tournaments and his annual gig at the Mat Classic in Tacoma.
Aliverti, dean emeritus at Edmunds Community College, said he’s here to educate the fans about international wrestling.
The two biggest differences: 1. A pin is scored the moment a wrestler’s shoulders touch the mat. 2. Two points are rewarded when a wrestler gets his opponent to break the 90-degree angle.
Aliverti’s love for wrestling runs deep. But don’t talk World Wrestling Federation to the traditionalist.
“Not on your life would I work the WWF,” he said.
From the grandstands
Most of the cheers from Iranian fans are chants of the wrestlers’ names. However our interpreter clued us in on the loose definitions of other chants such as, “You’re scared of Iran,” and “Give the ref a Pepsi.” (Or bribe the ref with something sweet.)
Mat-ters of fact
Close to 100 media credentials were distributed for the two-day event, which includes about 25 of the Iranian press corps, many of whom live in the United States… . The day session’s attendance was 3,983. The night session drew 3,978. Today’s big attraction is the United States vs. Iran match at approximately 8 p.m.