Kamal Bey

Kamal Ameer Bey (born January 3, 1998) is an American Greco-Roman wrestler. He holds multiple gold medals in competitions such as the World Championships (junior level), US Nationals, Cerro Pelado and more.

Kamal Bey

Personal information
Full name	Kamal Ameer Bey
National team	United States of America
Born	January 3, 1998 Bellwood, Illinois, U.S.
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	77 kg (170 lb)
Sport
Country	USA
Sport	Wrestling
Weight class	77 kg (170 lb)
Event(s)	Greco-Roman
Club	US OTC Sunkist Kids
Coached by	Herb House
Medal record Men's Greco-Roman wrestling Representing  United States Pan American Championships 2019 Buenos Aires 77 kg US National Championships 2019 Fort Worth 77 kg US Open Championships 2017 Las Vegas 75 kg 2018 Las Vegas 77 kg 2019 Las Vegas 77 kg Junior World Championships 2017 Tampere 74 kg

High School

Bey attended Oak Park and River Forest High School until his junior year, where he was mostly known for his success in Greco-Roman rather than in folkstyle.[1] During his high school years (13'-15'), he was a USAW National Champion (three-time All-American) and a state champion.[2] In August 2015, he opted to drop out of high school while having twelfth grade (15'-16') remaining to focus in Greco-Roman and move to the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado.[1]

Greco-Roman

Cadet & Junior

Since arriving to the OTC in 2016, he became a UWW National Champion and once again placed at the Fargo Nationals.[2] He went on to represent the United States in 2016, 2017 and 2018 at the Junior World Championships, placing eight, first and fifth respectively.[3]

Senior

In 2016 he placed fourth at the Dave Schultz M. International[4] and claimed a Bill Farrell M. International title.[5] In December, he represented USA at the Club World Championships after winning the US Open[6] and helped the team to place eleventh.[7]

In 2017 he won a Dave Schultz M. International title,[8] placed second at the US Open,[9] third at the Zagreb Grand Prix,[10] and twenty first at the U23 World Championships.[11]

In 2018 he claimed championships at the US Open, Cerro Pelado International and Bill Farrell International.[3] He also competed at the Pan American Championships but was forced to pull out of the tournament after he suffered an injury in his first match.[12] He then went on to place seventeenth at the Germany Grand Prix after losing in the first round.[13] In his final competition of the year, Bey competed at the World Championships, where he placed seventh.[14]

In 2019 he claimed his second Dave Schultz M. International championship,[15] his second-straight US Open championship,[16] placed second at the Pan American Championships[17] and made it to Final X, where he fell short.[18] In December, he won the US National Championship and qualified for the Olympic Trials.[19]

In 2020 he placed seventh at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series and he was then scheduled to compete at the 20' US Olympic Team Trials on April 4–5 at State College, Pennsylvania.[20] However, the event was postponed for 2021 along with the Summer Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving all the qualifiers unable to compete.[21]

On October 30, 2020, it was announced by the United States Anti-Doping Agency that Bey had accepted a one-year long suspension, after failing to properly inform and maintain his whereabouts information, missing his opportunity to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[22]

Controversies

On February 9–10 of 2019, Bey competed against Rafael Iunusov in the quarterfinals of the Zagreb Grand Prix. While down 2 points to 6, Bey attacked Iunusov with a right hook to the chin at the end of the match, this led to a disqualification loss.[23] He was not suspended and competed days later at the Hungary Grand Prix.[24]

Greco-Roman record

Awards and honors

• 2019

  • Pan American Championships (77 kg)
  • US Nationals (77 kg)
  • US World Team Trials (77 kg)
  • US Open (77 kg)

  2018

  • US World Team Trials (77 kg)
  • US Open (77 kg)

  2017

  • US U23 World Team Trials (80 kg)
  • US World Team Trials (75 kg)
  • US Open (75 kg)

References

1. "Kamal Bey Leaving OPRF For OTC". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
2. "#TeamUSATuesday: Greco-Roman National Team member Kamal Bey". Team USA. March 26, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
3. "KAMAL BEY". Team USA. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
4. Sachs, John (2016-01-28), 2016 Dave Schultz Greco, retrieved 2020-07-06
5. "Seven U.S. Greco-Roman wrestlers win titles at Bill Farrell Memorial International". Team USA. November 12, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
6. "See the results for the 2016 U.S. Open Greco and Womens wrestling event on FloWrestling.org". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
7. "CLUB WORLD CUP / GRECO-ROMAN (Brackets)" (PDF). United World Wrestling.
8. "Bey and Hancock win U.S. Open finals rematches to capture Dave Schultz Memorial Greco-Roman golds". Team USA. February 1, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
9. "See the results for the 2017 U.S. Open Wrestling Championships wrestling event on FloWrestling.org". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
10. "Grand Prix Zagreb Open (Brackets)" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
11. "Kamal Bey: "Short time is enough time. 40 seconds on the clock, no problem."". Team USA. October 12, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
12. jeandaniel. "Pan-American Championships". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
13. "Grand Prix of Germany 2018 (Brackets)" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
14. jeandaniel. "World Championships". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
15. Staff, 5PM (2019-01-25). "Smith Claims First Schultz Title; Bey & Hancock Also Pull Through". Five Point Move. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
16. "2019 Greco Roman World Team Trials Qualifiers After US Open". Fanatic Wrestling. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
17. jeandaniel. "Pan-American Championships". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
18. Staff, 5PM (2019-06-08). "Smith Downs Bey in Three-Round Classic at Final X: Rutgers". Five Point Move. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
19. "Bey, Sancho, Fuenffinger, Miller, Schultz and Anderson win Senior National titles in Greco-Roman". Team USA. December 21, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
20. Goodwin, Cody. "Wrestling: Iowa's Spencer Lee wins Senior Nationals, qualifies for 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials". Hawk Central. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
21. Goodwin, Cody. "USA Wrestling announces that 2020 Olympic Trials are postponed". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
22. "Wrestling athlete Kamal Bey accepts USADA sanction for Whereabouts Rule Violation". Team USA. October 30, 2020.
23. H, Timothy; s (2019-02-09). "X-Man Makes Finals; US With SIX Athletes Chasing Medals in Zagreb". Five Point Move. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
24. Eric. "World Champion Azizli Headlines Hungarian Grand Prix Entry List". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2020-07-08.

External links

• Kamal Bey at United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee
• Kamal Bey at United World Wrestling