International Journalist Olympic Prediction Contest: Day One Results

The ‘buckle up’ moments occurred early in Paris on the opening day of wrestling at the 2024 Olympic Games. The first flight, which included Women’s Freestyle at 68kg along with 60 and 130kgs in Greco Roman, saw the bulk of their premier matchups take place in the first two rounds of the morning session. 

Two champions from 2023 Worlds collided in the first round with American prodigy Amit Elor leading Turkey’s Buse Tosun from whistle to whistle. 

It was among the most pivotal matches of the day for TheMat.com’s annual International Journalist Pick Contest as nineteen of the twenty-one entries chose one of those two as champion: fifteen selections for Elor, four for Tosun and one each for Nonoka Osaki (JPN) and Koumba Larrouque (FRA). 

One round later came the most intriguing matchup of Greco heavyweights as reigning World Champion Amin Mirzazadeh (IRI) fell to perhaps the greatest practitioner the sport has ever seen in Cuba’s Mijain Lopez. 

Again, nineteen journalists’ picks went to one of the two; Mijain received twelve nods to Mirzazadeh’s seven. 

The third big differentiator in the contest for Day I came at 60kg in Greco in the second session where Japan’s Kenchiro Fumita edged Zholman Sharshenbekov (KGZ), 4-3, in a reversal of last year’s World Championship final. Thirteen entries picked Sharshenbekov giving the seven who selected Fumita a leg up.

Four entries are still alive to go perfect for the first flight, whose Gold Medal finals will take place in tomorrow’s second session. Two of those entries - Intermat’s Earl Smith and FloWrestling Andrew Spey - tied for 3rd in last year’s contest. 

Also notable is that all four still perfect selected Amit Elor, Kenchiro Fumita, and Mijain. No journalist selected any of their finalists opponents: Meerim Zhumanazarova (68/(KGZ), Liguo Cao (60/CHN), or Yasmani Acosta (130/CHI).

Nine of the entries have two of three alive in the finals including Sina Etemadi, the only non-journalist in the field and the winner of the 2023 competition and 2022 Pick Champ Jon Kozak of FloWrestling.

Still Perfect: Earl Smith (Intermat), Richard Mann (Intermat), Andrew Spey (FloWrestling), Willie Saylor (MatScouts)

2-for-3: Gary Abbott (USAWrestling), Jon Kozak (FloWrestling), Sina Etemadi (Fan), Dan Fickel (Wrestling USA), Mark Ostrander (Weighing In), Jack Hurley (The Fight Site), Andy Mason (Hagerstown Herald), Steve Rotstein (Pittsburgh Union), Byamabaa Tsagaanbaatar (Mongolian Federation).