2024 Olympic Day Two Bracket Breakdown

A few hours ago, brackets dropped for day two of the wrestling competition at the 2024 Olympic Games (For the full bracket, look here). Like the American wrestlers who started their tournaments this morning, tomorrow’s crop of wrestlers face some imposing opponents right off the bat. Here are the Americans wrestling on Tuesday, 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 77 kg Kamal Bey vs Akzhol Makhmudov (Kyrgyzstan) It’s a familiar face for Kamal Bey in the opening round of his first Olympic tournament. Bey and Akzhol Makhmudov met in the finals of the 2017 Junior World Championships with Bey getting the win and the gold medal. Just a year later, Makhmudov won an Asian Championship at the Senior level and since then he’s amassed two more continental championships. Also that year, Makhmudov got some measure of revenge with a win over Bey in the bronze medal match at Junior Worlds. Makhmudov has grown into one of the best Greco wrestlers in the world, regardless of size. He’s coming off a world title in 2023, which was his second in a row. Makhmudov already has one Olympic medal - a silver from the 2020 Games. While Makhmudov seems like a rough draw and possibly could be, Bey has laid hands on him multiple times and does have the 2017 win to rely on mentally. Awaiting the winner of Bey/Makhmudov is either Jair Cuero (Colombia) or Demeu Zhadrayev (Kazakhstan). Cuero has defeated Bey twice in 2024, once at the Pan-American Championships and another time at the Pan-American Olympic Qualifier. Zhadrayev made the Olympics after making the semifinals of the Asian Qualifier. Of the nine returning world medalists at this weight, six are on Bey’s half of the bracket. Whoever emerges from his quarterfinal will meet a past world medalist in the semifinals. Three of the four possibilities from that quarterfinals have made at least one world final. Greco-Roman 97 kg Joe Rau vs. Mohammadhadi Saravi (Iran) There’s also some history between Joe Rau and his first opponent, Mohammadhadi Saravi. The two met earlier this year at the Hungarian Ranking Series event. Saravi prevailed with a 10-1 tech. The Iranian is a 2021 world champion and has two additional senior world bronze medals to his credit. Saravi is also appearing in his second Olympic event. In the 2020 Games, Saravai came away with a bronze medal in Tokyo. Since losing in the 2023 world semifinals, Saravi has been lights out. He rebounded with a bronze medal and then a gold medal at the 2023 Asian Games. In 2024, Saravi added to his collection with gold medals at the Asian Championships and the Hungarian event. If Rau could get by the third-seeded Saravi, he’d have to face the winner of Uzur Dzhuzupbekov (Kyrgyzstan) and Mindaugas Venckaitis (Lithuania). Neither has won an Olympic or world medal yet; however, Venckaitis wrestled for the bronze last year in Belgrade. This bottom half of the bracket is anchored by the second seed, Abubakr Khaslakhanau who is from Belarus but wrestling under the AIN (Individual Neutral Athlete) label. He was a U20 world champion in 2023 and got a strong seed after placing fifth at the 2023 World Championships and winning the Zagreb Open, before taking the bronze at European’s. Women’s Freestyle 50 kg Sarah Hildebrandt vs. Ibtissem Doudou (Algeria) Finally, an American wrestler who did not draw a world champion in the opening round. Sarah Hildebrandt will start her tournament with Ibtissem Doudou who has never wrestled in a world championship (or Olympic) event at any time in her career. Doudou qualified after a pair of wins at the African Olympic Qualifier. After qualifying, Doudou entered the Hungarian Ranking Series event and fell to Canada’s Madison Parks, 10-0. Should Hildebrandt advance to the quarterfinals, her most likely opponent would be China’s Ziqi Feng. Like Hildebrandt, Feng earned a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships. Earlier that year, the pair met in the gold medal match at the Hungarian Ranking Series event. The American took that match, 4-2. Feng's only other Senior World event was in 2022 when she went 0-1. Two familiar faces could be waiting for Hildebrandt in the semifinals - Mariya Stadnik (Azerbaijan) or Otgonjargal Dolgorjav (Mongolia). Stadnik is one of the legends of women’s wrestling with six world medals and four Olympic medals. The two-time world champion is seeking an elusive Olympic gold medal to make her resume complete. Currently, she has two silvers and two bronzes. Hildebrandt and Stadnik met in the quarterfinals of the 2023 World Championships and Hildebrandt dominated to the tune of 14-3. Dolgorjav and Hildebrandt also have a history, as well. Hildebrandt teched the Mongolian in the early rounds of the 2023 Hungarian Ranking Series event; however, Dolgorjav got the most memorable win as she narrowly defeated Hildebrandt in the semifinals of the 2023 World Championships. It seems difficult to fathom, but at least two of the quartet of Hildebrandt, Feng, Stadnik, and Dolgorjav will not medal in Paris.

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2024 Olympic Day Two Bracket Breakdown

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