2024 Olympic Day One Bracket Breakdown

Earlier today, brackets were released for day one of wrestling at the 2024 Olympic Games. Those are posted here. As promised in that posting, we’re breaking down the draws for the American wrestling on day one. Remember, there is no American at 60 kg in Greco-Roman, so we did not mention that bracket here. At first glance, you might think that the pair of Americans taking the mat on Monday got a raw deal in the draws - since both drew the top seed in their respective brackets. That may be the case in one situation and, not so much, in the other. Don’t worry, we’ll explain. Here are the Americans wrestling on Monday, along with background information on their first opponent and a potential path to the finals. Since the gold medal matches are wrestled on the following day, we’ll deal with that half of the bracket when relevant. Greco-Roman 130 kg Adam Coon vs. Amin Mirzazadeh (Iran) photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Right off the bat, Adam Coon draws the defending world champion Amin Mirzazadeh of Iran. Mirzazadeh won his world title with criteria wins in each of his final three matches in Belgrade. The last of which came over five-time world champion Riza Kayaalp of Turkiye. Since winning his first world title, Mirzazadeh has won the Asian Games and the Asian Championships. During the Asian Games, he grinded out a pair of close decisions - one of which was via criteria in the gold medal match. At the 2024 Asian Championships, he was much more dominant. In a weight class with a handful of contenders in their mid-to-late 30’s, Mirzazadeh is younger and closer to his athletic prime at 26. Should Coon pull an upset over the reigning world champion, an even larger hurdle likely awaits in the quarterfinals. Four-time Olympic champion Mijain Lopez of Cuba is his potential opponent. Lopez is looking to add to his already incredible resume with a seemingly unfathomable fifth Olympic gold medal. The Cuban has not entered any major international tournaments since winning the gold in 2021. Realistically, if Coon could find a way to get by both Mirzazadeh and Lopez, I’m not sure it matters who comes through the other quarterfinal. Oddly enough, one of the first-round matches in that quarterfinal features a pair of past Olympic medalists clashing. Heiki Nabi (Estonia) fell in the 2012 London Olympic finals to Lopez, while Sabah Shariati (Azerbaijan) was a bronze medalist four years later. In that tournament, Shariati defeated American Robby Smith in the opening round, 8-2. We mentioned in the 130 kg preview, that if Mirzazadeh and Lopez were on the same side of the bracket it would be massively lopsided. That proved to be the case, plus this half has the past Olympic medalists who could advance to meet one of them in the semis. Women’s freestyle 68 kg Amit Elor vs. Buse Tosun (Turkey) photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com Both of the Americans that will compete on day one have drawn the top seed. In this instance, it’s not as brutal of a draw for Amit Elor. Back in 2022, Elor and Buse Tosun met in the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Championships at 72 kg. Elor prevailed with a fall after jumping out to a 4-0 lead. She ended up winning her first Senior world title and Tosun did not place. Last year, Tosun moved down to 68 kg in preparation for the Olympic Games. She claimed a world title after running through an impressive field. In her opening match, Tosun pinned world champion Irina Ringaci (Moldova). Since then, Tosun has been a bronze medalist at the Zagreb Open and a European champion - both at 68 kg. After disposing of Tosun, Elor would have the winner of Wiktoria Choluj (Poland) and Feng Zhou (China). Zhou is a two-time Olympian and two-time world medalist; however, her most recent world medal came in 2018. Choluj is a three-time age group world medalist, but has yet to get on the medal stand at a Senior-level world event. These two met in 2024 at the Zagreb Open with Zhou getting a narrow 4-3 win. In that same tournament, Zhou defeated American Forrest Molinari, 2-0. Speaking of Americans, Zhou was beaten by Emma Bruntil, 6-3 at the 2023 World Championships. Also in the same half of the bracket is three-time world medalist and 2021 Ringaci. Ringaci has the relatively unknown Sol Gum Pak (North Korea) in the opening round. During the Asian Olympic Qualifier, the 18-year-old Pak defeated Zhou. The final quarterfinal in this bracket pits Nisha Dahiya (India) against Tetiana Sova-Rizhko (Ukraine). Dahiya is making her Olympic debut and has yet to compete in a Senior World event. At the Last Chance World OG Qualifier, Dahiya won three matches to qualify for Paris. Sova-Rizhko has two years' worth of Senior World experience and has earned world bronze medals at the U17 and U20 levels.

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2024 Olympic Day One Bracket Breakdown

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