2024 Olympics: 77 kg Greco-Roman 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: 130 kg

Women's Freestyle: 68 kg

Round of 16

Nao Kusaka (Japan) over Abd Ouakali (Algeria)  9-0

Aram Vardanyan (Uzbekistan) over Mahmoud Abdelrahman (Egypt)  9-0

Amin Kaviyaninejad (Iran) over Yosvanys Pena Flores (Cuba)  1-1

Malkhas Amoyan (Armenia) over Jonni Sarkkinen (Finland)  8-0

Akzhol Makhmudov (Kyrgyzstan) over Kamal Bey (USA)  4-1

Demeu Zhadrayev (Kazakhstan) over Jair Cuero Munoz (Colombia)  9-0

Zoltan Levai (Hungary) over Burhan Akbudak (Turkey)  2-1

Sanan Suleymanov (Azerbaijan) over Aik Mnatsakanian (Bulgaria)  2-0
 

Quarterfinals

Nao Kusaka (Japan) over Aram Vardanyan (Uzbekistan)   12-2

Malkhas Amoyan (Armenia) over Amin Kaviyaninejad (Iran)  3-0

Demeu Zhadrayev (Kazakhstan) over Akzhol Makhmudov (Kyrgyzstan)  3-1

Sanan Suleymanov (Azerbaijan) over Zoltan Levai (Hungary)  1-1
 

Semifinals

Nao Kusaka (Japan) over Malkhas Amoyan (Armenia)  3-1

Demeu Zhadrayev (Kazakhstan) over Sanan Suleymanov (Azerbaijan)  6-1
 

Repechage 

Akzhol Makhmudov (Kyrgyzstan) over Jair Cuero Munoz (Colombia)  9-0

Aram Vardanyan (Uzbekistan) over Abd Ouakali (Algeria)  9-0

Bronze Medal Matches

Malkhas Amoyan (Armenia) over Aram Vardanyan (Uzbekistan)  6-5

Akzhol Makhmudov (Kyrgyzstan) over Sanan Suleymanov (Azerbaijan)  6-5
 

Gold Medal Match

Nao Kusaka (Japan) over Demeu Zhadrayev (Kazakhstan)   5-2
 

Notes:

With Fumita already winning a gold medal at 60 kg, Nao Kusaka made it two for Japan in Greco-Roman. The last time Japan had multiple Olympic gold medalists in Greco? How about the Tokyo Games….of 1964. Tsutomu Hanahara (52 kg) and Masamitu Ichiguchi (57 kg) were those gold medalists. 

Kusaka is now a two-time World/Olympic medalist - he was a bronze medalist at World’s in 2023. 

Kusaka’s path to gold featured wins over three past world finalists (Vardanyan, Amoyan, Zhadrayev).

Silver medalist Demeu Zhadrayev got on the medal stand for the second time in his career at a World/Olympic level event. He was a world silver medalist in 2017…..in Paris. 

Zhadrayev’s only loss at the 2020 Olympic Games also came to an opponent from Japan - Shohei Yabiku in the opening round. 

Zhadrayev’s medal is the first for Kazakhstan in Greco at the Olympics since Daniyal Gadzhiyev was a bronze medalist at 84 kg in 2012 in London. 

Bronze medalist Akzhol Makhmudov claimed his second Olympic medal (silver in 2020) to go along with a pair of world titles. 

Makhmudov and Kyrgyzstan’s 97 kg representative, Uzur Dhuzupbekov, both finished with bronze medals. It marks the first time that two Kyrgystani Greco wrestlers have medaled in the same Olympics. Coming into this Olympic Games, Kyrgyzstan had only captured three Olympic medals in Greco in their existence. 

Bronze medalist Malkhas Amoyan earned his first Olympic medal. He now has four World/Olympic medals - a world title in 2021 at 72 kg and back-to-back bronzes at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships.

Expect to see most of the members from the podium in the medal hunt for the future. Kusaka is 23, while Makhmudov and Amoyan are both 25. Zhadrayev is the outlier at 34.

This weight class had two first round matches that pitted past world/Olympic medalist against each other. Zoltan Levai/Burhan Akbudak and Sanan Suleymanov/Aik Mnatsakanian. 

The first-round matchup between Makhmudov and American Kamal Bey was a rematch of the 2017 Junior World final won by Bey. The pair met the following year at the same tournament and Makhmudov returned the favor in a bronze medal match. 

This bracket was relatively green in terms of Olympic experience. There was no one in the group that had more than two Olympic appearances. 10 of the 16 wrestlers were making their Olympic debuts.