RIO DE JANEIRO — Former University of Iowa All-American Daniel Dennis lost in the opening round of the Rio Olympics on Friday, 10-0, to Bulgaria’s Vladimir Dubov.
Dennis, the United States’ men’s freestyle representative at 57 kg, was making his first Olympic appearance. Dubov is a former silver and bronze medalists at the 2013 and 2015 World Championships. Dubov could have pulled Dennis into the repechage for a shot at bronze, but he was defeated in the semifinals by top-ranked Vladimer Khichegashvili of Georgia.
Khichegashvili won the 57 kg gold medal match, 3-1, over Japan’s Rei Higuchi. Iran’s Hassan Rahimi and Azerbaijan’s Haji Aliyev shared bronze.