2024 Olympics: 50 kg Women's Freestyle Results and Notes

The 2024 Olympic Games came to an end on Sunday. Since there was so much action going on for the last week you're sure to have missed something along the way. We'll go through each weight class and have a wrap-up for each, which includes results and some notable facts related to the weight.

Past weight classes

Greco-Roman: 60 kg

Greco-Roman: 77 kg

Greco-Roman: 97 kg

Greco-Roman: 130 kg

Women's Freestyle: 68 kg

Round of 16

Vinesh Phogat (India) over Yui Susaki (Japan)  3-2

Oksana Livach (Ukraine) over Aktenge Keunimajeva (Uzbekistan)  10-0

Gabija Dilyte (Lithuania) over Alisson Cardozo Rey (Colombia)  Fall 4:14

Yusneylis Guzman Lopez (Cuba) over Evin Demirhan (Turkiye)  7-6

Ziqi Feng (China) over Nada Mohamed (Egypt)  Fall 4:16

Sarah Hildebrandt (USA) over Ibtissem Doudou (Algeria)  10-0

Mariya Stadnik (Azerbaijan) over Anastasia Blayvas (Germany)  6-2

Otgonjargal Dolgorjav (Mongolia) over Emanuela Liuzzi (Italy)  FFT

Quarterfinals

Vinesh Phogat (India) over Oksana Livach (Ukraine)  7-5

Yusneylis Guzman Lopez (Cuba) over Gabija Dilyte (Lithuania)  10-0

Sarah Hildebrandt (USA) over Ziqi Feng (China)   7-4

Otgonjargal Dolgorjav (Mongolia) over Mariya Stadnik (Azerbaijan)  4-4
 

Semifinals

Vinesh Phogat (India) over Yusneylis Guzman Lopez (Cuba)  5-0

Sarah Hildebrandt (USA) over Otgonjargal Dolgorjav (Mongolia)  5-0

Repechage

Ziqi Feng (China) over Ibtissem Doudou (Algeria)  10-0
 

Bronze Medal Matches

Ziqi Feng (China) over Otgonjargal Dolgorjav (Mongolia)  6-4

Yui Susaki (Japan) over Oksana Livach (Ukraine)  10-0
 

Gold Medal Match

Sarah Hildebrandt (USA) over Yusneylis Guzman Lopez (Cuba)  3-0
 

Notes:

Of course, we had the unusual and unique situation where Vinesh Phogat did not make weight and wasn’t able to claim the silver medal. Based on UWW policies, Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, the opponent Phogat defeated in the semifinals advanced to face Hildebrandt. In previous (and future) weight classes, we’ve looked at some of the unusual happenings related to that respective class. This takes the cake, but we’ll proceed as planned. 

Sarah Hildebrandt’s win made her American’s fourth-ever Olympic gold medalist in women’s freestyle. 

Hildebrandt’s win gave the United States two women’s gold medalists (with Amit Elor) for the first time in one Olympic Games. 

With her gold medal, Hildebrandt is now a two-time Olympic medalist and a six-time World/Olympic medalist. 

Even with six World/Olympic medals, this is the first gold for Hildebrandt. 

The gold medal matchup between Hildebrandt and Guzman Lopez was the first Olympic gold medal between two Pan-American wrestlers since women’s wrestling was introduced in 2004. 

Hildebrandt made the Olympic finals after defeating Otgonjargal Dolgorjav, the opponent who beat her in the semifinals of the last two world tournaments. 

Hildebrandt is the first non-Japanese wrestler to win a gold medal at the lowest women’s weight since Carol Huynh (Canada) won the 48 kg weight class in 2008. 

Each of the semifinals at this weight ended by identical 5-0 scores. 

Guzman Lopez’s medal was the first-ever for Cuba in women’s freestyle. 

Phogat’s first round upset of Susaki was the first blemish on an 82-0 international record for the Japanese star. 

Phogat versus Susaki was the only first round matchup between past World medalists. 

Susaki is now a two-time Olympic medalist and a six-time World/Olympic medal winner. 

This is the first time since 2019 that a wrestler who is not Japanese has won the 50 kg weight class at the Olympics or World Championships. That 2019 champion was Mariya Stadnik of Azerbaijan. 

Susaki and Hildebrandt are the two wrestlers that made the medal stand in 2020 and 2024. 

Stadnik came into this tournament as a four-time Olympic medalist; however, she was unable to make it a fifth time in 2024. 

Had Phogat made weight on day two, she would have become India’s first Olympic finalist and gold/silver medalist in women’s freestyle. 

Three of the eight seeded wrestlers in this bracket were defeated in the first round. #1 Susaki, #4 Evin Demirhan, #5 Alisson Cardozo Rey. 

Three of the four quarterfinal matchups included battles between past world medalists. The only one that didn’t was the bout between Guzman Lopez and Dilyte. 

For the second consecutive Olympic Games, Oksana Livach came up one match shy of earning a medal.

photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com