May 06--Chicago wrestler Joe Rau will miss the Rio Games, after failing to secure an Olympic berth at a last-chance tournament Friday in Istanbul.
Rau, 25, dropped a 8-0 decision to Kevin Mejia Castillo of Honduras in the second round, ending his Olympic quest for this cycle. He needed to finish in the two top to qualify for the Games in Rio de Janeiro later this summer.
A former NCAA Division III champion at Elmhurst College, Rau earned his spot on the U.S. team by winning the Olympic trials last month in Iowa City. The United States, however, did not secure an Olympic berth in the 216-pound weight class at the most recent world championships or Pan American Games, forcing Rau to earn his own spot at the tournament in Turkey.
The competition marked another step in a remarkable 18-year journey for Rau, who never placed in the state tournament when he wrestled for St. Patrick High School on the Northwest side. After graduating from college in 2013, he joined the Minnesota Storm, a renowned club whose facility is one of the regional training sites for world-class wrestlers in the United States.
Though he will not be competing in Rio, the Chicago area will still represented on the wrestling mat there. Lockport native Haley Augello and Daniel Dennis of suburban Ingelside both earned Olympic berths last month.
