A roadmap to follow for the wrestling competition at the Paris Olympics:
—Hassan Yazdani, Iran: Nicknamed “The Greatest,” Yazdani was a gold medalist at 74 kilograms in 2016. He lost to David Taylor in the gold medal match in the 86-kilogram division in Tokyo. Taylor isn’t competing in Paris, possibly clearing a way for Yazdani to return to the top.
—Taha Akgul, Turkey: A 2016 gold medalist, Akgul was among those who lost to American Gable Steveson at the Tokyo Games. He beat Georgia’s Geno Petriashvili, the silver medalist in Tokyo, at the European Championships earlier this year. With Steveson not returning, Akgul could emerge victorious in the 125-kilogram class.
—Kennedy Blades, United States. The dynamic 20-year-old beat Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Adeline Gray at the U.S. trials and is competing in the women's 76-kilogram freestyle division.
—Helen Maroulis, United States. She is aiming to become the first American women’s wrestler to win three Olympic medals. She won gold in 2016 and bronze in Tokyo and is competing in the 57-kilogram division in Paris.
—Mijain Lopez, Cuba. At age 41, he seeks a record fifth gold medal as a heavyweight in Greco-Roman. He became the first wrestler to win four gold medals when he dominated in Tokyo.
—Who will be the men’s heavyweight champion in freestyle? Steveson won at age 21, then left for pro wrestling and didn't participate in the U.S. Olympic Trials. That leaves the class wide open.
—New faces: None of the three U.S. gold medalists from Tokyo return. Taylor lost to Aaron Brooks in the trials; Tamyra Mensah-Stock and Steveson did not attempt to qualify.
—Zhan Beleniuk, a member of Ukraine’s Parliament, won gold in Tokyo and is aiming to win again.
Competition starts Aug. 5 and gold medal matches are scheduled from Aug. 7-11.
Men’s Freestyle
57 kg: Zaur Uguev, Russia.
65 kg: Takuto Otoguro, Japan.
74 kg: Zaurbek Sidakov, Russia.
86 kg: David Taylor, United States.
97 kg: Abdulrashid Sadulaev, Russia.
125 kg: Gable Steveson, United States.
Men’s Greco-Roman
60 kg: Luis Orta, Cuba.
67 kg: Mohammad Reza Geraei, Iran.
77 kg: Tamas Lorincz, Hungary.
87 kg: Zhan Beleniuk, Ukraine.
97 kg: Musa Evloev, Russia.
130 kg: Mijain Lopez, Cuba.
Women’s freestyle
50 kg: Yui Susaki, Japan.
53 kg: Mayu Mukaida, Japan.
57 kg: Risako Kawai, Japan.
62 kg: Yukako Kawai, Japan.
68 kg: Tamyra Mensah-Stock, United States.
76 kg: Aline Rotter-Focken, Germany.
AP Olympics https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
Iranian wrestler Iman Mahdavi, 28, poses at the Lotta Club Seggiano gym, in Pioltello, northern Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. Mahdavi fled his home country in fear of his life in October 2020. Now, he will compete in Paris as part of the Refugee Olympic Team. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
WASHINGTON (AP) — As they filed into the front pews at Washington National Cathedral, wearing dark suits and mostly solemn faces, five current and former presidents came together for Jimmy Carter's funeral. During a service that stretched more than an hour, the feuding, grievances and enmity that had marked their rival campaigns and divergent politics gave way to a reverential moment for one of their own.
Barack Obama and Donald Trump, the first two of the group to take their seats Thursday, shook hands and chatted at length. Trump, the former president who will retake the Oval Office in 11 days, leaned in and listened intently to his predecessor, notwithstanding the political chasm between them. At times, the two flashed smiles.
Trump later returned to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida Thursday night to meet with Republican governors and refused to say what he and Obama discussed, but joked, “It did look very friendly, I must say.”
“I didn’t realize how friendly it looked. I said, 'Boy they look like two people who like each other and we probably do," he said. "We have little different philosophies, right, but we probably do."
The president-elect added, “I don’t know. We just got along. But I got along with just about everybody.”
Obama, who attended Carter's funeral without his wife, Michelle, shared a second-row pew with former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, along with their spouses. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrived last and sat in the pew just in front of them.
Members of the exclusive presidents' club were on their best behavior. Bonded by the presidency, they rarely criticize one another or the White House’s current occupant — though Trump has flouted those rules frequently. He has both praised and criticized Carter in recent days, and he complained that flags will still be at half-staff to honor the deceased president during his inauguration.
In one seemingly chilly moment, Trump looked up when Vice President Kamala Harris — whom he defeated in November's hard-fought election — entered the cathedral, but he didn't move to greet her as she and husband Doug Emhoff took seats directly in front of him and Melania Trump. Nor did Harris acknowledge him.
After the service, Emhoff made a point to turn around and shake hands with Trump.
Obama, with Trump on his left, also turned to his right to chat with Bush. Clinton, with wife Hillary, was the last of the ex-presidents to take a seat and got in some chatter with Bush as well.
The White House said the former presidents also met privately before taking their seats. There was no word on what was said then, though Trump said later of its participants, "We all got along very well.”
Funerals are among the few events that bring members of the presidents' club together. In a way, former President Gerald Ford was there, too: Ford's son Steven read a eulogy for Carter that Ford had written before he died in 2006.
Busy with personal pursuits, charitable endeavors and sometimes lucrative speaking gigs, the former leaders don’t mingle often. They all know the protocol of state funerals well — each has been involved in planning his own.
During the 2018 funeral for George H.W. Bush, then-President Trump sat with his predecessors and their spouses, including the Carters, and the interactions were stiff and sometimes awkward.
This time, Trump also didn't appear to interact with Hillary Clinton, whom he defeated in the 2016 election.
Trump was seated in the pew in front of his former vice president, Mike Pence — one of the few times they have coincided at events since Pence refused to overturn the results of the 2020 election after Trump lost to Biden. The two shook hands but didn't speak much beyond that. Pence's wife, Karen, appeared to avoid engaging with the president-elect.
Trump, who largely avoided contact with the former presidents during his first term — and pointedly did not seek their advice — has been critical of Republican former presidents, particularly the Bush family, which made him an uneasy member of the former presidents' club. Carter himself didn't particularly relish being a member of the club, at times criticizing its staid traditions.
Many past presidents have built relationships with their predecessors, including Bill Clinton, who reached out to Richard Nixon for advice on Russian policy, and Harry S. Truman, who sought counsel from Herbert Hoover.
One of the first calls Obama made after U.S. forces killed Osama bin Laden in 2011 was to George W. Bush to spread the word that the mission had been accomplished, said Kate Andersen Brower, author of “Team of Five: The Presidents Club in the Age of Trump.”
“It's the loneliest job in the world, so usually they reach out and rely on each other," said Andersen Brower. "But Trump didn't have that the first term, so this will just be another four years where he doesn't depend on anyone who came before him."
She noted that Carter spent years as a proud Washington outsider and skipped the unveiling of his own portrait to avoid being in the same room with the man who beat him in 1980, President Ronald Reagan.
“Carter and Trump, even though they have the least in common about everything else, are similar," Andersen Brower said, "in just how they approach telling what they actually think.”
Weissert reported from Palm Beach, Florida.
President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Republican governors at Mar-a-Lago, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Republican governors at Mar-a-Lago, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla., as Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry listen (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President-elect Donald Trump shakes hands with former Vice President Mike Pence as Melania Trump watches before the state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
President-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump arrive before the state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
President-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump watch as former President Barack Obama arrives before the state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Former President Barack Obama shakes hands with former Vice President Mike Pence before the state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, as President-elect Donald Trump sits with Melania Trump at right. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden watch as the state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter begins at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, former President Bill Clinton, former first lady Hillary Clinton, former President George W.Bush, former first lady Laura Bush, former President Barack Obama, former President and President-elect Donald Trump, former first lady Melania Trump, former Vice President Al Gore, former Vice President Mike Pence and others, attend the State Funeral for former President Jimmy Carter at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Front row, from left, President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff and second row from left, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President George W. Bush, Laura Bush, former President Barack Obama, President-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump, stand during the state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
