InterMat Staff

Friday wasn’t the best from an American perspective, but Saturday was a new day and it saw the final three members of the Olympic wrestling squad hit the mat. Two of them have advanced to the semifinals later today. First-time Olympian Kennedy Blades was the first American to take the mat on Saturday and she made sure her debut at 76 kg in women’s freestyle was memorable. Blades opened up the floodgates early in the opening period as she gained a takedown with a low single. Later in the first, Blades landed a massive double leg, taking her opponent Catalina Axente (Romania) from feet to back for a 6-0 lead at the break. In the second period, Blades abruptly ended the bout with a beautiful five-point backarch suplex. The move forced Axente to land on her neck and she was down on the mat being attended to by medical personnel for a lengthy time before leaving the wrestling area on a stretcher. The quarterfinals saw Blades in a rematch against Cuba’s Milaimys Marin Potrille. The two met a few months ago at the Grand Prix of Spain and Marin Potrille took that bout. The only scoring that took place in the opening period was a shot clock violation on Marin Potrille which put Blades up 1-0. The second period saw the Cuban knot up the score at one with an early step-out point. Undeterred, Blades shot Marin Potrille off the mat for a step out of her own and a 2-1 lead. Blades would extend that lead as she hipped into a double leg attempt from Marin Potrille sending the Cuban to her back for another pair of points. Later in the second period, Blades took a half shot which was countered by Marin Potrille bringing the match score to 4-3. Blades was able to stay out of danger for the rest of the period and took the 4-3 decision and she’ll move into the semifinals. In the semifinals, Blades will have top-seeded Aiperi Medet Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan. Medet Kyzy is a two-time world medalist who was second in the world in 2023. Kyle Snyder’s quest for a second Olympic title and third Olympic medal started in a shaky manner as he gave up a four-point throw to China’s Awusayiman Habila to start off his tournament. Snyder would enter the second period facing a 4-0 deficit. In the second period, Snyder would methodically battle back and chipped away at Habila’s lead. He got on the board early with a snapdown and spin for a takedown, quickly followed by a single leg run out of bounds, which made the score 4-3. Snyder added two more takedowns and surrendered a step-out point which made the final score, 9-5. In a second US vs Cuba quarterfinal Snyder took on Arturo Silot Torres with a spot in the semifinals hanging in the balance. There was little in the way of action in the opening period which led to a shot clock violation on Silot Torres and a point for Snyder. Action picked up in the second period as Silot Torres took a half-hearted shot in Snyder’s direction. The American promptly threw Silot Torres to his back and quickly picked up a fall. The semifinals have a massive matchup in store for Snyder. He’ll have 2023 world champion Akhmed Tazhudinov of Bahrain. The pair met in the 2023 world quarterfinals and Tazhudinov shocked Snyder with an 11-0 tech. The lone American not to advance in the session was Zain Retherford at 65 kg. Retherford drew the #2 seed Rahman Amouzad (Iran) in a battle of past world champions. Retherford was never able to get past the long arms of Amouzad to get a significant offensive attempt. The Iranian took the match 8-0 and continued into this afternoon’s semifinals. Amouzad will face 2023 world champion Iszmail Musukaev (Hungary). Should Amouzad win, Retherford will be pulled back into repechage.

A few hours ago, brackets dropped for day six 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 Saturday, 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. 65 kg Zane Retherford vs Rahman Amouzad (Iran) Since Zain Retherford comes into the tournament unseeded, he got drawn in and has the second seed Rahman Amouzad right off the bat. In a weight with nine past world/Olympic medalists, there were to be some first-round matches like this one. American fans have seen Amouzad against US wrestlers a couple times recently. He defeated Nick Lee in the world quarterfinals last year and, in 2022, he downed Yianni Diakomihalis in the gold medal match. Amouzad is still very young (22 years old). In the year before beating Yianni, Amouzad won a U20 world title, to go along with two at the U17 level. After the 2023 World Championships, Amouzad won the Asian Games. In 2024, he won a gold medal at the 2024 Asian Championships and was a finalist at the Zagreb Open. Should Retherford get by Amouzad, he’d likely face Islam Dudaev (Albania). Though Dudaev won the European Championship this year, he still was unable to qualify through the European qualifier and needed to go to the Last Chance Qualifier to get it done. Also on the bottom half of the bracket is Iszmail Musakaev (Hungary)/Ernazar Akmataliev (Kyrgyzstan) and Austin Gomez (Mexico)/Haji Aliyev (Azerbaijan). Most notable of the bunch is returning world champion, Musakaev; however, any of the four could likely advance. Other notable American collegiate athletes in the bracket are Gomez and Sebastian Rivera (Puerto Rico). Gomez has three-time world champion and two-time Olympic medalist, Aliyev, in the first round. Rivera has a more manageable matchup with Georgii Okorokov (Australia). 97 kg Kyle Snyder vs. Awusayiman Habila (China) Kyle Snyder’s third Olympic tournament will start with a matchup versus China’s Awusayiman Habila. Habila will be making his Olympic debut and has entered the World Championships twice, but has never been close to a medal. Habila qualified for Paris through the final wrestle-off at the Last Chance Qualifier. The quarterfinals could feature either Arturo Silot Torres (Cuba) or Erik Thiele (Germany). Snyder has met and beaten Silot Torres twice within the last year (14-4, 10-5). Thiele is in his first Olympic Games, but has competed at the World Championships four times. In the most recent appearances, Thiele finished top-ten in the world. The semifinals are where things start to get really, real for Snyder. Incredibly enough, the two best wrestlers in the bracket, not named Snyder, meet each other in the opening round. They are Akhmed Tazhudinov (Bahrain) and Amirali Azarpira (Iran). Both are responsible for Snyder’s most recent losses. Tazhudinov shocked Snyder at the 2023 World Championships on his way to a shocking world title. Azarpira wrestled in the World Championships last year at 92 kg, but moved up to 97 kg this year and defeated Snyder in the finals of the Zagreb Open. 76 kg women’s freestyle Kennedy Blades vs. Catalina Axente (Romania) Normally, seeing a 20-year-old first-time Olympian draw the fourth seed might give you some thoughts of a bad draw, but I don’t think that’s the case here. Catalina Axente is also a first-time Olympian who finished fifth in the world last year. Axente lost in the Olympic wrestle-off match at the 2023 World Championships, didn’t medal at the European Championships, and lost in the semifinals at the European Olympic Qualifier. She needed to win at the Last Chance Qualifier to punch her ticket to Paris. Should Blades defeat Axente she would have the winner of Yuliana Yaneva (Bulgaria) and Milaimys Marin Potrille (Cuba). Yaneva was fifth at the World Championships in 2022 and was a two-time age group world medalist. Marin Potrille was also fifth at Worlds, though at last year’s tournament. She was a world champion at the U20 and U23 levels back in 2019. After World’s in 2023, Marin Potrille claimed a gold medal at the Pan-American Games. The most likely semifinalist on Blades’ half of the bracket is top-seeded Aiperi Medet Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan). Medet Kyzy is a two-time world medalist who is fresh off a silver medal performance at the 2023 World Championships. This will be her second Olympic Games - in 2020 Medet Kyzy lost in a bronze medal match. In 2024, Medet Kyzy has been excellent with gold medals at the Asian Championships and the Zagreb Open Ranking Series event.

There’s a saying in wrestling circles that the emotional roller coaster you ride as a coach or a fan at a wrestling tournament is akin to “weddings and funerals.” One minute you’re shedding tears of joy for an incredible accomplishment you hoped would come together for years, while the next you’re fighting the other sort of tears after watching someone’s dreams shattered in real-time. That saying has been used for wrestling tournaments since as far as I can remember. District tournaments, state tournaments, and national tournaments, alike. Now take those feeling and multiple them by ten as you watch a tournament that only comes around ever four years and features the best wrestlers in the world. Those emotions were in full effect Friday for American wrestling fans. And to be honest, probably more of the bad than good. Or maybe those negative feelings carry more baggage than the good. While there were a couple stomach punches in the morning session (Kayla Miracle and Mason Parris), we saw Kyle Dake cruise to a pair of dominant techs, the second coming over a two-time world medalist. The 33-year-old Dake was finally going to get his Olympic gold medal. Some of his biggest perceived threats were on the opposite half of the bracket and he had an opponent, Daichi Takatani (Japan), who he had beaten at the World Championships in 2023. All is good, right? As the saying goes, “That’s why they don’t wrestle matches on paper.” The heavily favored Dake started off his semifinal bout as most American fans expected with a takedown off of a low single. Takatani fought back with a misdirection low-single that we’d become familiar with throughout the bout. In a sequence we’ve grown accustomed to, Dake locked up a chest wrap and took Takatani across his back for a two-and-two exchange of exposure points. Takatani ended up on top and only trailed 4-3 from his reversal point. Later in the first, Takatani reeled off a similar attack and secured a takedown along with two sets of exposure points to blow the match open at 9-4. After the break, Dake came out fired up and scored with a sweep single, into a trapped-arm gut, which put him down by only a point. From there on out it was Takatani’s show. He continued to get to Dake’s legs and gave up points from the chest wrap while adding them himself. After that sequence, the bout was 15-10 in favor of the Japanese wrestler. Late in the final stanza, the two got into another lengthy scramble, one that seemed difficult to interpret for scoring purposes. After a challenge, the final score was deemed to be 20-12 in favor of Takatani. While there could be some questions regarding how that score came about, you have to give Takatani credit for repeatedly getting to Dake’s legs and putting him in disadvantageous positions. Dake will wrestle for a second Olympic bronze medal tomorrow against the winner of Khetag Tsabolov (Serbia) and Genadry Garzon Caballero (Cuba). Fair or not, the Dake loss seemed to set the tone for the rest of the session. The next American to take the mat was Spencer Lee in his 57 kg gold medal match with Japan’s Rei Higuchi, a 2016 Olympic silver medalist. The first period featured both wrestlers handfighting and avoiding any serious risks. Lee was able to post two points, both of which were a result of shot clock violations. The big flurry of the match saw both wrestlers scrambling and Lee ended up on his back which gave Higuchi two points and the lead since his one score was worth more. From that point forward, Lee pushed hard for another score, driving Higuchi out-of-bounds on two occasions; however, both were deemed to be grounded and no points were awarded. During the final seconds, Lee attempted a last-ditch-throw attempt which ended up with Higuchi on top for a 4-2 final score. Lee would settle for the silver medal in his first Senior World or Olympic event. Also, in his first Senior-level event of this magnitude was Aaron Brooks, who was wrestling for a bronze medal at 86 kg in men’s freestyle. Brooks was looking to bounce back after a heartbreaking loss in the final seconds of Thursday’s semifinals. Like most of his bouts in the tournament, Brooks used the first period to wear his opponent, Javrail Shapiev (Uzbekistan) down. He entered the break with a 1-0 lead on a shot clock violation. In the second, after a step-out point, Brooks firmly seized ahold of the match with a double leg that saw him finish high for a 4-0 lead. Brooks returned to the double leg out of bounds for a 5-0 lead. Shapiev was never able to get any offense going and 5-0 was the final score for Brooks. While he was surely disappointed by a semifinal loss, Brooks finished the tournament in style with a bronze medal less than five months after he wrapped up his storied career at Penn State. It was fitting that the last American to take the mat on Friday was 2016 Olympic Champion Helen Maroulis. Maroulis is already a legend in the United States for her lengthy accomplishments and was looking to add another against Hannah Taylor (Canada) in a bronze medal matchup at 57 kg. On an anxiety-filled day, Maroulis took care of business in a swift, decisive manner. Maroulis took a shot and found Taylor off-balance, which led the American star to trip her neighbor to the north straight to her back, where she never left, for a 24-second fall. The bronze medal makes Maroulis the only American woman with three Olympic medals. Only Bruce Baumgartner has more, with four. The joy on Maroulis’ face, someone who has done it all in the sport, for winning a bronze medal hopefully brought some joy and a tiny bit of perspective to American wrestling fans who ran the gamut of emotions on Friday.

Top-seeded Kyle Dake proved why he was viewed as a sizable favorite over the rest of the 74 kg men’s freestyle field during his first two matches at the 2024 Olympic Games. Taking on fellow Pan-American wrestler Anthony Montero Chirinos (Venezuela), Dake quickly got on the board with a sweep single to a gut wrench for a 4-0 lead. As the opening period started to wind down, Dake continued to attack with a log single, which he converted for a takedown and then into a gut wrench. He took the hold in both directions and got exposure each time for a 160-second 10-0 tech. In his second match, the level of competition increased significantly with two-time world medalist Yones Emami (Iran); however, you’d never notice by watching the on-mat action. Dake jumped out to a 5-1 lead at the break and never looked back. In the second, the former Cornell superstar wowed the crowd with a single into a gut wrench for a 9-1 lead. Dake ended the bout in spectacular fashion with exposure from a Winn-Dixie counter into a figure-four of the head. Though Dake amassed enough points for a tech, he went ahead and secured a fall at the 5:37 mark. Dake’s semifinal opponent will Daichi Takatani of Japan. Takatani has been just as impressive with a 10-0 tech of 2014 world champion Khetag Tsabalov (Serbia) in his quarterfinal win. These two are no strangers as Dake defeated Takatani 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the 2023 World Championships. The other American who registered a win on Friday morning was Kayla Miracle at 62 kg in women’s freestyle. Miracle got down early to two-time U23 world champion Nesrin Bas (Turkey), but roared back for a 12-2 tech. Miracle put an exclamation mark on the victory by attacking with short time left on the clock and using a slick cartwheel finish to put the final pair of points on the board. In the quarterfinals, Miracle took on top-seeded Aisuluu Tynybekova (Kyrgyzstan). The two have met multiple times in the past, with a 7-0 victory by Tynybekova in the 2021 world finals being the most significant match. Miracle led this bout at the halfway point 3-0 after a shot clock violation and a counterattack finished from rear-standing. In the second period, Tynybekova rebounded with a step out and then an arm drag which led to her being in control of a quad-pod situation. Tynybekova returned Miracle to the mat and was awarded four points for the hold. Miracle’s corner challenged the hold, but lost, giving Tynybekova a 6-3 lead - plus the potential criteria advantage of having a four-point move. With under a minute remaining, Miracle pushed hard and managed to get a step-out to cut Tynybekova’s advantage to 6-4. Late in the period, Miracle exposed Tynybekova using a roll-through from a whizzer. The bout ended at 6-6, but Tynybekova had the criteria advantage. Miracle will have to hope Tynybekova returns to the Olympic finals, so she gets pulled back into the repechage. Should that happen, Miracle could have a strong shot at a medal as she looked very impressive in her two matches. She lost on criteria to an opponent who had beaten her by a 7-0 margin earlier this year. Along with Miracle’s loss, another match US fans would like to have back is Mason Parris’ 125 kg men’s freestyle contest against Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur (Mongolia). Though he gave up the first point of the match on a shot clock violation, Parris changed his tactics from shots down the middle to outside attacks to notch a takedown and a 2-1 lead late in the first period. Parris added to the lead in the second when he appeared to have a takedown, but was only awarded one point for a step out. The flurry that followed ended up being the deciding factor in the bout. Munkhtur ended up behind Parris, in rear-standing, after a counter attack. He the American back to the mat at the edge and was awarded four points. Parris’ corner challenged the call, but was denied. That put the score at 6-3 in favor of Munkhtur. Shortly after, the pair got into the rear-standing position and Munkhtur ran Parris out of bounds, which led to a caution and two, extending the lead to 8-3. The five-point deficit forced Parris to get desperate with his offense resulting in the pair exchanging takedowns late in the period. That was all Parris could muster in a 10-5 loss. In the quarterfinals, Munkhtur was blown out by Azerbaijan’s Giorgi Meshvildishvili 12-2, which eliminated Parris from the medal hunt.

Brackets have been released for the final group to start competition at the 2024 Olympic Games. The 65 and 97 kg weight classes in men's freestyle will be conducted, along with 76 kg in women's freestyle. 65 kg men's freestyle 97 kg men's freestyle 76 kg women's freestyle

After a day in which no one selected more than a single finalist correctly, TheMat.com's annual International Journalist Pick Contest. rebounded as a full flight of leg-grabbers launched. The Day 3 finals saw seventeen correctly pick Japan’s Akari Fujinami at 53kgs, but no one took newly crowned Olympic Champions in Greco, Saeid Esmaeili (67kg/IRI) or Semen Novikov (87kg/BUL). As the first all-freestyle (one Women’s, two Men’s) field began, things looked brighter. Seven prognosticators have finalists in all three weights tomorrow. Six more went two-for-three. Day 4 Finals (Number of Selections) 57kg WFS: Tsugumi Sakurai, JPN (16) vs. Anastasia Nichita, MDA (1) 57kg MFS: Rei Higuchi, JPN (3) vs. Spencer Lee, USA (11) 86kg MFS: Magomed Ramazanov, BUL (0) vs. Hassan Yazdani, IRI (11) The most popular pick to fall before the finals was Aaron Brooks (USA/86kg) who lost on a crotch lift as time expired to Ramazanov, preventing the highly anticipated showdown with Yazdani. Helen Maroulis (USA/57 WFS) and Stevan Micic (SRB/57 MFS) were each selected four times. Maroulis lost to Sakurai in the semifinals and Micic was a pre-tournament scratch due to injury. Current Standings:

A few hours ago, brackets dropped for day five 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 Thursday, 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. Men’s freestyle 74 kg Kyle Dake vs Anthony Montero Chirinos (Venezuela) The first comment when the new set of brackets was released today was how great they looked for Kyle Dake. They do look good and Dake is a clear favorite - but you never know! As you would expect with a Pan-American foe in the opening round, Dake has met Anthony Montero Chirinos before. You don’t have to go back very far to find their most recent meeting. The two clashed in the semifinals of this year's Pan-American Championships. Dake won via technical fall. Dake’s quarterfinal match is likely the winner of the pig-tail match between Frank Chamizo (Italy) and Yones Emami (Iran). Of course, Chamizo is a five-time world medalist and Olympic bronze medalist, but he generally hasn’t been in gold medal contention for a few years. Emami has won a pair of world bronze medals, one at 74 kg (and the other at 70 kg). In 2022, Dake defeated Emami in the world semifinals. Dake’s last meeting with Chamizo was at the 2020 Olympics, when he shutout Chamizo for the bronze medal. Most likely to meet Dake in the semifinals would be either Daichi Takatani (Japan) or Khetag Tsabolov (Serbia). Last year, Dake downed Takatani in the world quarterfinals. Back in 2014, Tsabolov was a world champion at 70 kg while representing Russia. Last year, he was a bronze medalist in this weight class wrestling for Serbia - Takatani got the other bronze. There were some questions about whether or not he’d be available due to an injury. Men’s freestyle 125 kg Mason Parris vs Lkhagvagergel Munkhtur (Mongolia) Even though Mason Parris comes into his first Olympic tournament as the third seed, he is far from a pushover in the opening round. Lkhagvagergel Munkhtur just missed out on a bronze medal in Tokyo and has gotten on the medal stand three times at the World Championships. Twice as a bronze medalist and one was silver - in 2022. Parris has yet to meet Munkhtur who is a throwback of a large-bodied plodding heavyweight. Parris is likely to renew acquaintances with Azerbaijan’s Giorgi Meshvildishvili in the quarterfinals. The two tangled at the Zagreb Open earlier this year and Parris prevailed, 5-2. Meshvildishvili was a bronze medalist at the European Championships in 2024 and qualified for the Olympics by blanking a pair of opponents at the European Qualifier. The semis could be the spot for a huge rematch. The second seed in this bracket is the legendary Geno Petriasvhili of Georgia. Last year, Petriashvili sent Parris to the repechage after an 8-6 win in the world semifinals. This spring, Parris only needed :34 seconds to pin an opponent who pinned Petriashvili at the Hungarian Ranking Series event. Parris won gold and the Georgian took bronze. Petriashvili has done just about everything in this sport exchange win an Olympic gold medal. He was on the losing end of Gable Steveson’s remarkable comeback in the 2020 Olympic finals. It was his second Olympic medal - to go along with three world titles and eight total world medals. Women’s freestyle 62 kg Kayla Miracle vs Nesrin Bas (Turkey) Though she holds the eighth seed at 62 kg, Kayla Miracle could have a difficult matchup in the Round of 16 with a young potential superstar in Nesrin Bas. In each of the last two years, Bas has won a U23 World title, both of which came at 68 kg. Earlier this year, Bas entered and won the European Senior Championships at 72 kg. Even after advancing through the Last Chance World OG Qualifier, Bas moved up to 65 kg for two more tournaments. That would lead you to believe that making 62 kg is not ideal for her, so Miracle could wear her down. Should Miracle win, she’d most likely have the top-seed and returning world champion Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan. That world title was Tynybekova’s third to go along with a 2020 Olympic silver medal. Tynybekova’s 2021 gold medal came at the expense of Miracle in the world finals. She triumphed via a 7-0 margin. The two met in the finals of the Hungarian Ranking Series event this year and the score was the exact same, in Tynybekova’s favor. If Miracle could pull the upset, her most likely opponent would be either Iryna Koliadenko (Ukraine), Orkhon Purevdorj (Mongolia), or Bilyana Dudova (Bulgaria). All three are past world medalists - with Dudova and Purevdorj holding world titles.

The United States got off to a blazing start in Thursday’s semifinal round; however, that momentum wasn’t able to carry on throughout the session as the American team went 1 for 3 total. The first wrestler to take the mat for the American squad was Spencer Lee. Lee continues to impress and after a 14-4 tech over Uzbekistan’s Gulomjon Abdullaev. The two got off to a physical start, as you might expect from the heavy-handed Lee. That being said, it didn’t take long for Lee to get to his offense as he scored with a single leg for a 2-0 lead. That lead jumped to 4-0 as Lee slipped out of an underhook attempt and covered Abdullaev for a second takedown. A pair of turns from a gut wrench quickly followed for an 8-0 lead for Lee. The most interesting sequence of the bout occurred soon thereafter as Abdullaev had a whizzer near the edge of the mat and Lee went to throw a cowcatcher. The two flew through the air and Lee was awarded four points, which would have ended the bout. Abdullaev’s corner challenged the ruling and on rewatch it was clear that the Uzbek wrestler had a kick that helped start the action. It was overturned to four points for Abdullaev and two for Lee. That small victory for Abdullaev was short-lived as Lee was able to get a takedown and turn to make the score 14-4, which ended the contest. All of that action and scoring took place in only two minutes and 43 seconds. In tomorrow's final, Lee will take on 2016 Olympic silver medalist and 2022 world champion Rei Higuchi of Japan. Higuchi was just as impressive as Lee and sets up one of the most exciting bouts of the entire tournament. The other two Americans in Thursday’s semifinals did not fare as well. Both Aaron Brooks and Helen Maroulis were defeated and now have to settle for a shot at the bronze tomorrow. Brooks squared off with Bulgaria’s Magomed Ramazanov in the 86 kg semifinals. His match started similar to others where he focused on hand fighting and trying to wear down his opponent before opening things up later. Brooks got on the board first with a shot clock violation point called on Ramazanov. Late in the opening period, Brooks shot a double leg and finished high for a takedown falling out of bounds. The tale of the match was told in two sequences relatively late in the final period. One saw Brooks shoot in and the Bulgarian stuffed his head and spun for a takedown and then immediately went into a bent-leg turk. Brooks showed an incredible amount of restraint and did not go over from the maneuver, but it might have injured him and certainly zapped his energy. With about :15 remaining in the bout, Brooks got in on a low leg attack and placed the leg above his head. He didn’t appear to be concerned about finishing the shot, rather it seemed geared towards milking the clock. Ramazanov knew this and grabbed for a crotch lock and pulled the American towards him over his head, exposing his back with only three seconds remaining on the clock. Brooks will drop down to a bronze medal match waiting for the winner of the repechage bout between Alexander Moore (Canada) and Javrail Shapiev (Uzbekistan) to emerge. Maroulis had a very familiar opponent in three-time world champion Tsugumi Sakuari (Japan). In each of the last two years, Sakurai had defeated Maroulis at the World Championships. Both times, Sakurai held Maroulis scoreless. This meeting was different from the outset as Maroulis caught her opponent for balance and drove through her for a takedown and the 2-0 lead. That lead didn’t end up lasting too long as Sakurai picked a knee from a two-on-one tie. On the broadcast, Jordan Burroughs mentioned that both wrestlers prefer to work from that tie-up. Sakurai was able to strike from that setup first and did so scoring for points, which is how the first period ended. The second period began with a long flurry that ended up in favor of Sakurai who not only scored, but also grabbed a pair of exposures from a leg lace giving her a commanding 8-2. Maroulis would add a second takedown late in the bout, but it wasn’t enough and she fell by a 10-4 score. Maroulis will drop down to a bronze medal match and take on either Hannah Taylor (Canada) or Luisa Valverdes Melendres (Ecuador). Should she win, Maroulis would be the first American woman with three Olympic medals.

Thursday marked the first day of men’s freestyle competition at the 2024 Olympic Games and another day in women’s freestyle. In a week with some excellent moments already, this was the best individual session, thus far, from Team USA. All three of the wrestlers who began their tournaments this morning have advanced to this afternoon’s semifinals. The much-anticipated debut of Spencer Lee at the Olympic Games lived up to the wait. Lee took on Wanhao Zou of China in his Round of 16 match, the same opponent he defeated 10-9 at the Last Chance OG Qualifier. Once again, it was a tight match. Lee’s first-period takedown, while Zou was on the shot clock, accounted for all of his points. Late in the bout, Zou was able to get a pair of step-out points to make the final score 3-2. In Lee’s quarterfinal match, the world got a glimpse of the wrestler that we’ve seen while wrestling at the University of Iowa. Kyrgyzstan’s Bekzat Almaz Uulu got on the board first when he used a nifty reshot to score a takedown on Lee. That was the extent of the highlights for Almaz Uulu. Lee quickly responded with a single leg takedown to a leg lace for a 4-2. Never content, Lee was back to his offense with a high-c to a double leg and a leg lace. Lee put an abrupt end to the match when he snapped Almaz Uulu and spun to the quadpod position. Instead of working for a takedown, he locked a trapped-arm gut and threw Almaz Uulu for four points. The two wins for Lee put him in the 57 kg semifinals opposite Gulomjon Abdullaev of Uzbekistan. Abdullaev advanced to the semis after a surprisingly convincing win over three-time world bronze medalist Arsen Harutyunyan (Armenia). Also making his Olympic debut in men’s freestyle was Aaron Brooks at 86 kg. Brooks immediately faced a contender with top-seeded Azamat Dauletbekov (Kazakhstan). After giving up a step-out point in the opening period, Brooks battled back with a takedown off of a low-leg attack to lead 2-2 at the break. In the second period, Brooks struck again with a single leg and a 4-1 lead. That was the score for most of the final stanza; however, a caution and two at the edge against Brooks made the final score appear a bit closer at 4-3. In the quarterfinals, Brooks started off slowly against Japan’s Hayato Ishiguro. The pair had met in the 2018 Junior World Finals and Ishiguro got the gold medal. This contest was tied after the first three minutes. The second period was a different story as Brooks was able to compile five takedowns to dominate his opponent and move on to the semis. For a spot in the Olympic finals, Brooks must go through Bulgaria’s Magomed Ramazanov. In Ramazanov’s quarterfinal, he used a headlock to pin fourth-seeded Javrail Shapiev (Uzbekistan). The third wrestler starting their tournament, Helen Maroulis, was not in her Olympic debut. The 2016 Olympic champion and two-time medalist, looked very sharp in both of her bouts. Maroulis’s Round of 16 match saw her pitted against her 2022 World finals opponent Anshu Malik of India. Maroulis took a 2-0 lead into the break courtesy of an inside trip. The second period saw Maroulis extend her lead with a takedown followed by a turn. Malik’s only scoring came via a caution and two called against Maroulis for stepping out. The American would get one of those points back via a step out of her own making the final score 7-2. In the quarterfinals, against Ukraine’s Alina Hrushyna, Maroulis started out hot with two takedowns in the opening period. She never gave Hrushyna a chance to get her offense going and cruised to a 7-0 victory. Waiting in the semifinals for Maroulis is three-time world champion Tsugumi Sakurai of Japan. Sakurai has beaten Maroulis in each of the last two world championships. Maroulis is looking to make history by becoming the first American woman to earn three medals in wrestling. Also in the semifinals is former Michigan star Myles Amine who wrestles for San Marino. Amine survived perhaps the most entertaining match of the week thus far when he outlasted Osman Nurmagomedov of Azerbaijan, 16-12. Amine will face 2016 Olympic champion and two-time Olympic finalist Hassan Yazdani (Iran). Before these weights hit the match American Dom Parrish took part in the 53 kg women’s freestyle repechage. Parrish had an early lead on her 2022 world finals opponent, Khulan Batkhuyag (Mongolia), but ended up losing via fall in the second period.

Brackets have been released for day five at the 2024 Olympic Games. The 74 and 125 kg weight classes in men's freestyle will be conducted, along with 62 kg in women's freestyle. 74 kg men's freestyle 125 kg men's freestyle 62 kg women's freestyle

It was a rough day at the office for the twenty-one entries in TheMat.com’s annual International Journalist Pick Contest. After the first set of finals saw four journalists select all three champions correct, with nine others correctly selecting two of three, no one on Day 2 could muster more than a single correct pick. Five of twenty-one got Nao Kusaka (JPN) right as he cruised to the title at 77kg in Greco. The most popular pick at that weight was Akzohl Makhmudov (KGZ), who finished Bronze. At 97kg in Greco, seventeen correctly picked a finalist but only four had champion Mohammad Saravi (IRI) as he edged Artur Aleksanyan (ARM) with a late takedown. One of the most overwhelming number of picks came at 50kg in Women’s Freestyle with eighteen selections for Yui Susaki (JPN). But Susaki suffered her first career international loss in the opening round and Sarah Hildebrandt (USA) cruised through the tournament and was picked just twice. The flight to set up Thursday’s finals didn’t perform much better for the journalists. No one correctly picked finalists in all three weights and just eight got two of three right. The most popular correct pick, with seventeen selections, was Japan’s Akari Fujinami at 53kgs. She’ll face Ecuador’s Lucia Yepez-Guzman, who garnered two picks. It is a rematch from last year’s World quarterfinal won by Fujinami in a tech. Not a single journalist had a correct finalist at 67kg Greco where reigning World Champ Luis Orta (CUB), who was selected twelve times, lost in the opening round to Iran’s Saeid Esmaeili. He’ll face Ukraine’s Nasibov in the finals. And it wasn’t much better at 87. Just two have a finalist remaining in David Losonczi (HUN). Current Standings:

Three years ago, Sarah Hildebrandt was in the 50 kg women’s freestyle semifinals at the Olympic Games and was thrown to her back on a desperation move while less than :20 seconds away from a berth in the gold medal match. Fast forward to Tuesday evening in Paris. She was in a similar position, against Otgonjargal Dolgorjav, in the Olympic semifinals against an opponent that had beaten her in each of the last two years. Holding a 5-0 against a desperate, dangerous foe like Dolgorjav, Hildebrandt drastically changed her tactics. No, not some special secret move. It was her attitude towards the competition. As the final seconds ticked off the clock Hildebrandt let out a huge smile. In her post-match interview with NBC, Hildebrandt said, “Wrestlers in particular, we make this sport so serious, it can be miserable sometimes, it’s already such a hard sport, but I love this sport, I said I’m going to enjoy every second of it, I’m going to smile and take in every moment in this week. And I think I did that.” It was all smiles Wednesday evening as Hildebrandt finished the job and won an Olympic gold medal with a 3-0 shutout of Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez. Not only did Hildebrandt do the customary lap with the Stars and Stripes, but she also did a lap around the walkway of the Champ de Mars Arena to find her family and friends. Gigantic hugs and tears ensued. But it didn’t take long for her smile to return during the NBC interview. About a month and a half away from her 31st birthday, Sarah Hildebrandt was an Olympic champion. Wrestling is a sport that continually evolves with the younger generation getting better and better and pushing the established stars for a spot in the limelight. Just over 24 hours ago, Amit Elor became the youngest American to win an Olympic gold medal in wrestling. She won’t turn 21 until New Year’s Day. One of the legendary figures of American wrestling, six-time world champion Adeline Gray was beaten in the Olympic Trials finals by 20-year-old Kennedy Blades. There’s a feeling around the sport that if you don’t win it all by a certain point, you’ll never do so. After the 2020 Olympics, in 2021, Hildebrandt may have been at a crossroads. By that point, she had an Olympic bronze medal and a world silver medal. That’s an excellent career. Maybe it's the right time to walk away, especially after a crushing loss in the Olympic semifinals. Looking at the rest of the 50 kg weight class, maybe that world or Olympic title would never come. 22-year-old Yui Susaki (Japan) had just captured Olympic gold, which was already her third World/Olympic title. Again, it didn’t appear as if any sort of gold medal was in the cards. If Hildebrandt had serious reservations about her career path in 2021, she didn’t take long to make the decision to continue on her journey through this crazy wrestling world. Later that year, she picked up a silver medal at the 2021 World Championships. A pair of bronze medals followed at the next two - leading into the Olympic year. It may have been difficult for outsiders to see or believe, but as she was approaching her 30th birthday, Hildebrandt was still improving. That was on full display over the last two days in Paris. She had to get by a pair of wrestlers with world-level credentials in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Each win was incredible and impressive in its own way. Hildebrandt’s short offense has always been strong. It was a huge factor in both matches. At 50 kgs, her long frame presented problems for the opposition. She appeared to use that length advantage better than ever and kept some high-quality women from getting close to scoring. In the gold medal match, Hildebrandt showed off some early defense, stuffing a Guzman Lopez double-leg attempt. Later in the period, she hit a sweep single, one that most opponents probably know is coming, but can’t stop. Guzman Lopez was no exception. The final match wasn’t necessarily an offensive display, but it didn’t need to be. Hildebrandt did what she needed to do to establish a lead and kept Guzman Lopez at bay. With just over :30 seconds left in the bout, the Cuban finally got to Hildebrandt’s leg; however, Hildebrandt calmly fought it off and never really was in any danger. After that flurry, it was “milk the clock” time as Hildebrandt circled, kept position, and probably tried not to let out a smile too, too early. After the final whistle sounded, it was the entire American wrestling community who was smiling along with Hildebrandt. A day earlier, we had saluted her young teammate through yet another gold medal-winning performance. It’s fun cheering for someone who hasn’t lost in five years. Still, it brings out a different sort of smile when you see a veteran who has done everything but climb to the top of the podium, finally do so, and do it in the biggest possible moment, while showing the very best version of herself.

A few hours ago, brackets dropped for day four 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 Wednesday, 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. Men’s Freestyle 57 kg Spencer Lee vs Wanhao Zou (China) There isn’t much recent history to go on at the Senior level for Spencer Lee as he didn’t compete much outside of the collegiate season at Iowa. That being said, he has met Wanhao Zou recently. At the Last Chance Olympic Qualifying Event, the two met in a memorable match which Lee took 10-9. In that match, Lee gave up a pair of early takedowns to Zou and had to battle back from a 6-2 deficit. A takedown followed by three turns put Lee in front 10-6 heading into the final period. Zou pushed hard in the second but came up just short. It depends on how you view the matchup with Zou - whether it’s good or not for Lee. Zou has a gas tank and will wrestle hard for the full six minutes. In the quarterfinals, Lee would be slated to take on either Meirambek Kartbay (Kazakhstan) or Bekzat Almaz Uulu (Kyrgyzstan). Kartbay was a quarterfinalist at the World Championships a year ago and lost in the bronze medal match. He did earn bronze this year at the Asian Championships. Almaz Uulu is making his Senior level debut - last year grabbed a bronze medal at the U23 World Championships. On his way to locking up a spot at the Asian Olympic Qualifier, Almaz Uulu edged Zou by a point. The bottom two wrestlers in the bracket seem like the most intriguing potential semifinal matchup for Lee. They are Roman Bravo-Young (Mexico) and Arsen Harutyunyan (Armenia). American fans would love to see the dream matchup between Lee and Bravo-Young. A pair of multi-time national champions from Iowa and Penn State, respectively. Bravo-Young doesn’t have much of a recent track record in freestyle, so he’s a bit of a wild card. Harutyunyan is one of the top contenders here. Since 2019, he’s won three Senior World bronze medals and a pair of U23 world championships. His match with Bravo-Young could be one of the best of the morning session and the winner is likely to advance to the semifinals. Men’s Freestyle 86 kg Aaron Brooks vs. Azamat Dauletbekov (Kazakhstan) We have another American who drew the number one seed, but I wouldn’t get too up in arms about this one. Aaron Brooks unseated David Taylor at the Olympic Trials and now has an opponent that Taylor faced at the 2023 World Championships, Azamat Dauletbekov of Kazakhstan. In their semifinal meeting, Taylor pinned Dauletbekov after a 7-0 lead. Dauletbekov went on to earn a world bronze medal, his second consecutive medal. In 2024, Dauletbekov won the Asian Championships and was a finalist at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series event. The most likely quarterfinal opponent for Brooks would be Japan’s Hayato Ishiguro. Ishiguro has a pair of age-group world medals, but has yet to get on the medal stand at a Senior level event. If the name sounds familiar and you can’t place why, it could be because Ishiguro was the opponent who defeated Brooks at the Junior World Championships in 2018. Both have changed significantly since then, so I’m not sure how relevant it is aside from a confidence booster for the Japanese wrestler. The two other wrestlers to watch on that half of the bracket and potential semifinal candidates are Javrail Shapiev (Uzbekistan) and Vladimeri Gamkrelidze (Georgia). Shapiev was fifth at the last Olympic Games and the 2023 World Championships. After the World Championships, Shapiev was a bronze medalist at the Asian Games, beating Dauletbekov along the way. Gamkrelidze was a world silver medalist last year at the non-Olympic weight 79 kg. He also has a pair of U23 world medals to his name - a gold in 2022 and a bronze in 2023. Women’s Freestyle 57 kg Helen Maroulis vs. Anshu Malik (India) Since Helen Maroulis is seeded fifth, we had some semblance of what her bracket and tournament could look like. Just not her first-round opponent. Now that the draws have been made, Maroulis is set to face her world finals opponent from 2021, Anshu Malik. Maroulis pinned Malik to claim her third world championship. Malik was an age-group sensation winning a U17 world title and two additional bronze medals. Despite being 23 years old, this will be Malik’s second Olympic berth. Maroulis would likely have either Anhelina Lysak (Poland) or Alina Hrushyna Akobiia (Ukraine) in the quarters. Both have won Senior world bronze medals and are U23 world champions. Both are making their Olympic debut, but have a ton of world championship experience at multiple levels. Last year, Maroulis defeated Lysak in the world bronze medal match, 10-6. After seeing the seeds, a couple of weeks before the Olympic Games, we learned that Maroulis would be the fifth seed and three-time world champion Tsugumi Sakurai (Japan) was the top seed. In each of the last two world championship events, Sakurai has been responsible for Maroulis’ loss. Last year it was 6-0 in the semifinals and in 2022 it was 3-0 in the finals. Sakurai has to be considered the favorite; however, we’ve already seen some heavy favorites fall - especially when you remember it’s her first Olympic berth.

Wednesday’s morning session at the 2024 Olympic Games saw Team USA experience a rough round of competition. Two American wrestlers started their tournaments and dropped their initial bout, while another was eliminated in repechage. 97 kg Greco-Roman representative, Joe Rau had the opportunity to participate in repechage after his opponent Mohammadhadi Saravi (Iran) advanced to the Olympic finals. That pitted Rau against Kyrgyzstan's Uzur Dzhuzupbekov. Rau appeared to take the lead early in the contest; however, a potential takedown was called a “slip-throw” by the on-mat official. Shortly after that call, Rau was hit for passivity. In addition to the point for the passive call, Dzhuzupbekov was able to capitalize on the ensuing par terre restart and used a high gut to turn Rau for four points and a huge 5-0 lead. The second period began and the official hit Dzhuzpbekov for passivity and gave Rau the chance to work from par terre. As Rau was looking to work from a head pinch, the official determined that Dzhuzupbekov committed a foul which made the score 5-3. Late in the period, Rau was able to earn another point via step out to pull within one point. As he was pushing for a potential score, Dzhuzupbekov got a throw of his own for four points and that sequence clinched a 9-4 victory - ending Rau’s tournament. 2022 World Champion Dom Parrish was next to take the mat and she had the toughest possible first-round opponent in the women’s 53 kg freestyle bracket, Akari Fujinami of Japan. Fujinami is a two-time world champion who won her most recent title without surrendering a point. The match began favorably for Parrish who was able to fend off the initial offensive surge from Fujinami. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to stop a low leg attack for a takedown and a 2-0 lead for the Japanese star. Fujinami used a similar attack to get a second takedown shortly thereafter. In the action that followed the second takedown, Fujinami was able to catch Parrish on her back and never let her back to her feet before a fall. Fujinami won her quarterfinal bout and has a semifinal contest slated for this afternoon against China’s Qianyu Pang. Should Fujinami win, Parrish will get pulled into tomorrow’s repechage. The final American to hit the mat in Wednesday’s opening session was Payton Jacobson at 82 kg in Greco. Jacobson and Aleksander Komarov (Serbia) engaged in some strong handfighting early in the bout before Komarov locked up a body lock and took Jacobson straight to his back for four points. A After the initial scoring sequence, Jacobson was called for passivity and Komarov got to work from par terre. Komarov locked up a gut wrench and took Jacobson off the mat after two exposures. Initially, only one was called. The Serbian corner then challenged the hold and the second exposure was awarded ending the match with a 9-0 tech in favor of the Serbian wrestler. In his next match, Komarov dropped a 2-2 match to Hungary’s David Losonczi, which eliminated Payton Jacobson from medal contention. The American squad will not be in action again until later this afternoon when Sarah Hildebrandt wrestles for gold at 50 kg in women’s freestyle.

The top prospect in the high school Class of 2026, Bo Bassett, has vowed to keep fans abreast of his recruiting with daily Wednesday updates. Well, today is Wednesday and true to his word, Bassett has posted an updated graphic which has eliminated three more schools from consideration. In last week's update, Bassett stated that he would be eliminating three schools per week after eliminating seven in previous weeks. Earlier this year, Bassett posted a graphic that contained the logos of approximately 80 schools, most of the DI variety, but some DII’s as well, to signify that he’s totally open in the recruiting process. After more than a month of removing schools from the list, he’s down to 32. These three schools were removed from this week's graphic: Brown, Northern Colorado, Purdue The following schools remain on Bassett’s graphic and therefore in contention for his services: Air Force, American, Arizona State, Bucknell, Clarion, Cornell, Iowa, Iowa State, Lehigh, Little Rock, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, NC State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northern Iowa, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Penn, Penn State, Pitt-Johnstown, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Rutgers, Stanford, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Wyoming. These three schools were removed from this week's graphic: California Baptist, Michigan State, Navy The following schools were removed from the 7/24 graphic: Army West Point, Campbell, Edinboro, Harvard, Illinois, North Dakota State, South Dakota State The following schools were removed from the 7/17 graphic: Cal Poly, Columbia, Indiana, Maryland, Millersville, The Citadel, and West Virginia The following schools were removed from the 7/10 graphic: CSU Bakersfield, George Mason, Hofstra, Northwestern, Rider, UW Parkside, West Liberty The following schools were removed from the 7/3 graphic: Appalachian State, Central Michigan, Cleveland State, Drexel, Kent State, Ohio, and St. Cloud State The following schools were removed from the 6/26 graphic: Binghamton, Bloomsburg, Duke, Gardner-Webb, Northern Illinois, Sacred Heart, SIU Edwardsville As you would expect, most traditional DI power programs are still in the hunt for the two-time Super 32 and Ironman champion. Bassett recently competed at the U20 Pan-American Championships and dominated for a gold medal. In three matches, Bassett posted two falls and a tech. Bassett will also be in action later this year at the U20 World Championships - September 2nd-8th in Pontevedra, Spain. In 2021, Bassett captured gold medals in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at the U17 Pan-American Championships. That same year, at the U17 World Championships, Bassett claimed a gold medal in freestyle and was 12th in Greco. He’ll compete this year just in freestyle.

Brackets have been released for day four at the 2024 Olympic Games. This will be the first day with competition in men's freestyle. The 57 and 86 kg weight classes in men's freestyle will be conducted, along with 57 kg in women's freestyle. 57 kg Women's Freestyle 57 kg Men's Freestyle 86 kg Men's Freestyle

In an unprecedented situation, 50 kg women’s freestyle finalist Vinesh Phogat of India failed to make weight on Wednesday prior to her gold medal match with American Sarah Hildebrandt. United World Wrestling announced that instead of a finals forfeit, which is the normal procedure were this to happen in an American tournament, the opponent that Phogat defeated in the semifinals will be pulled into the finals. That leaves Phogat without a medal and she will finish in 16th place at the weight class. With her 10-0 win over Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, Phogat appeared to be the first Indian woman to make an Olympic final and claim at least a silver medal. Now, she will not medal. Since 2019, Phogat had competed solely at 53 kg; however, she dropped down to 50 kg for the 2024 Olympic run. Phogat looked significantly larger than most of her competition and the weight cut was likely very difficult for her. For the second consecutive day, Phogat has stolen the early morning wrestling headlines. Just over 24 hours ago, she pulled the upset of the tournament by handing 2020 Olympic champion Yui Susaki (Japan) her first international loss.

After the first day of the Olympic Wrestling, four journalists saw all three of their picks reach the finals with nine others going 2-for-3. Well, that success was fun while it lasted as Day 2 started off in the least conceivable way: Japan’s Yui Susaki (50kg), the reigning World Champion suffered her first international defeat of her entire career as Vinesh (IND) stung her at the buzzer to win 2-2. Susaki was selected by eighteen of the twenty-one prognosticators in TheMat.com’s annual International Journalist Pick Contest. Two journalists selected Sarah Hildebrandt (USA) who reached tomorrow’s finals. But Susaki wasn’t the only overwhelming pick that went down. Akzhol Makhmudeov (KGZ), the reigning world champion in Greco at 77kg lost to Kazakhstan's Demeu Zhadrayev in Round 2 erasing the pick of eleven. Only five journalists have a finalist alive at 77, and all five took Japan’s Nao Kusaka who will face Zhadrayev. Selections in Greco at 97 saw much better results for the journalists. Artur Aleksanyan (ARM) and Mohammad Saravi (IRI) will meet in tomorrow’s finals with the two combining for seventeen of the twenty-one picks: Aleksanyan with thirteen and Saravi with four. In the semi’s, Aleksanyan beat Gabriel Rosillo (CUB) in a rematch of last year’s World finals won by Rosillo. Despite being the defending World Champ, Rosillo only garnered two pre-tournament picks here.

He was on the precipice of Olympic history. Not just wrestling history, but the entire Olympic Games. Cuban Greco-Roman heavyweight Mijain Lopez was seconds away from competing for his fifth gold medal match at the 2024 Olympics and he looked as unphased as ever. Should he win, Lopez would elevate himself to an elite class of Olympic athletes that just includes…well, himself. Lopez had the opportunity to become the first Olympic athlete to win gold medals in the same discipline at five different Games. With four gold medals, Lopez was in a deadlock with American Olympic legends like Carl Lewis, Michael Phelps, and Katie Ledecky. Circling back to the wrestling world, a gold medal would make him the oldest wrestler (41 years old) to accomplish the feat. By winning in the semifinals, Lopez had already become only the second Olympic wrestler with five medals. With that type of history on the line, Lopez still looked like he exerted more energy worrying about a choice for a post-match meal rather than stressing over his remarkable feat. In a twist that seemed like it was straight out of Hollywood, standing between Lopez and his fifth gold medal was close friend and former training partner Yasmani Acosta Fernandez. The Cuban-born Acosta Fernandez had previously competed for Cuba; however, he defected to Chile in order to get a shot at events like the World Championships or the Olympics. Could his former understudy spoil his crowning achievement? Again, you couldn’t tell if Lopez cared. The actual gold medal match started like so many of Lopez’s bouts. He moved methodically like a lion or tiger waiting to pounce - occasionally, using his paws to fend off a lesser threat. With Lopez controlling the center of the mat, the official deemed Acosta Fernandez was passive and gave Lopez a point and put the Chilean wrestler down for par terre. As 2012 Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs stated on the broadcast, everyone in the arena was aware that Lopez would lock up a gut wrench, bury his head on the left side, and then take his opponent in that direction. Almost simultaneously, Lopez did just that and extended his lead to 3-0. Even with a commanding lead and a position where he could potentially add to it, Lopez was unphased. He didn’t try to add to the lead. Lopez likely knew that his former training partner wouldn’t be able to put up three points to threaten him. The second period mirrored the first as Acosta Fernandez was called for passivity for a second time. Lopez never seemed concerned about trying for a second turn, content with his 4-0 lead. Later in the bout, a desperate Acosta Fernandez stumbled while trying for something, anything. That led to Lopez semi-reluctantly covering him for another takedown and a 6-0 lead. 6-0 was more than enough and it was the final score for Lopez’s monumental moment. The crowd rose to their feet and saluted Lopez who raised his entire hand symbolizing the number of gold medals soon to be in his possession. If a long ovation from the Olympic wrestling fans wasn’t enough, Lopez continued to capture the attention of the crowd. Without speaking, Lopez answered a question he was likely to get dozens of times this evening and in the coming days. He removed his wrestling shoes, gave them a quick kiss, and left them in the center of the mat signifying his retirement. There will be no gold medal number six. Lopez has always been different. Maybe that’s what separates him from the rest of the greats. After winning his 2020 Olympic gold medal, as a 38-year-old, Lopez didn’t step on the mat for an actual competition until Monday. Maybe he walks away and Tuesday marks the end of a remarkable, unique career. Maybe he does what he did about a year ago and decides he’s back for one more gold medal run. Whatever happens, Lopez’s legacy has been cemented and extends way beyond the wrestling mat. He is one of the greatest Olympians ever to compete at the Games. Maybe the greatest.

Winning the Olympic Games is incredibly difficult. Whether you’re young or old or right in the middle of your prime, all the stars need to align for that one special moment. For most, the Olympics are a pipe dream or an unattainable goal. For Amit Elor, it just seems right. Winning a gold medal felt inevitable. That’s odd to say for someone who just became the youngest American wrestler to ever have Olympic gold draped around their neck. What’s even more unusual is that she might have been able to accomplish the feat three years ago at the postponed Olympic Games. The hurdle in 2021 wasn’t an unstoppable opponent or nerves or an inability to make the team. Her roadblock was a calendar. Elor wasn’t able to wrestle on the Senior level because she was too young. Born on January 1st, 2004, Elor was a day too young to participate in the Trials process. For most the whole “being good enough to make the Olympic team” is the stopping point. Not being too young. If Elor sulked or complained about the rule, she didn’t do it publicly and she didn’t do it for long. Instead, she just went out and won world titles. And she hasn’t stopped since. In 2021, Elor captured gold at the U17 and U20 World Championships. A year later, as she aged out of the U17 division, Elor became the first American to win world titles in three age groups - adding titles at the U23 and Senior divisions. She replicated that trifecta in 2023. All of that set the stage for 2024 and the Olympic Games. Elor’s six world titles, over the last two years, have come at a non-Olympic weight (72 kg), so she dropped down to 68 kg for the qualification process earlier in 2024. On Tuesday afternoon (or evening in Paris, France), Elor captured the final piece of the puzzle, an Olympic gold medal. Incredibly enough, as a 20-year-old, an Olympic gold medal was the only significant wrestling prize that was not already in Elor’s possession prior to this week. While Elor has shown the ability to bulldoze opponents, as she did in the semifinals against North Korea’s Sol Gum Pak, racking up a 10-0 tech fall in less than two minutes - this time it was a methodical, systematic dismantling. Kyrgyzstan’s Meerim Zhumanazarova came into the Olympic finals red-hot. She had taken out a trio of opponents that included an Olympic silver medalist, a two-time world champion, and a world finalist. Surely, she’d present a problem for Elor, right? The final score read 3-0, which may lead you to believe that it was a nailbiter, but in reality, Zhumanazarova really never stood a chance. Elor was too fundamentally sound in every position and controlled the ties, the pacing, and the positioning of her opponent for the vast majority of the six minutes. In the opening period, Zhumanazarova was put on the shot clock which led to the only scoring sequence of the gold medal bout. That led to a desperate shot attempt which Elor easily blocked and eventually scored a takedown from. Add in a point for a shot-clock violation and she led, 3-0. But it felt like 30-0. Most of the second period was spent with Elor posted up in the middle of the mat digging an underhook and/or pushing Zhumanazarova’s head down. None of which were conducive to Zhumanazarova setting up an attack, much less scoring. Once the final whistle sounded and her arm was raised by the official, Elor stood in the middle of the mat looking around the arena. For a change, she looked unsure of what to do. Elor had just become the third American woman to win an Olympic gold medal. For a 20-year-old who has won everything there is to win, her greatest opponent may not wear a singlet, her greatest opponent may be the record book itself.

A few hours ago, brackets dropped for day three 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 Wednesday, 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. Remember, 67 kg in Greco-Roman will also be conducted tomorrow, but we do not have a representative at that weight. Greco-Roman 87 kg Payton Jacobson vs. Aleksander Komarov (Serbia) This will be a battle of two relatively young wrestlers with a good amount of experience in various age groups but are still trying to establish themselves at the Senior level. Aleksander Komarov previously competed for Russia and was a stud in multiple age groups. Komarov has won multiple world titles at both the U17 and U20 divisions. In 2021, he was a U23 world champion. To date, his only Senior World appearance came in 2019 when he finished 11th. At that time, Komarov was only 20 years old, so he should be hitting his prime now. In the lead-up to the Olympics, Komarov won a star-studded European Championship bracket and defeated 2020 Olympic gold medalist Zhan Beleniuk (Ukraine) and reigning world champion Ali Cengiz (Turkey) in the process. Later in 2024, Komarov went 3-0 at the European Olympic Qualifier to lock up his spot in Paris. Komarov comes in as the seventh seed. Should Jacobson pull the upset, he’d have one of a pair of studs in the quarterfinals. Both Rafig Huseynov (Azerbaijan) and David Losonczi (Hungary) are returning finalists. Huseynov won his second world title at 82 kg in 2023 and Losonczi fell to Cengiz in the 2023 world finals at this weight. The other quarterfinal on this half of the bracket is much more manageable. The truth is if Jacobson could get past the first two rounds, he should be able to do the same in the semifinals. Women’s freestyle 53 kg Dom Parrish vs. Akari Fujinami (Japan) Here it is! Yet, another American has drawn a world champion in round one. But, at the same time, you can say that Akari Fujinami worked to earn the third seed and has to deal with a world champion, herself in Dom Parrish. Fujinami has won the 53 kg weight class in 2021 and 2023. She entered in 2022, but did not compete and Parrish went on to win her title. In 2023, Fujinami posted four 10-0 techs and a second-period fall in her five matches at the World Championships. Fujinami followed that performance with a fall and two 10-0 techs at the Asian Games. Something to consider in this matchup is the state of the Japanese team. Both women who have wrestled thus far have been victims of upsets. That might just be coincidental; however, it’s a storyline to remember. Despite her dominance last few years, this is Fujinami’s first Olympic Games. Should Parrish advance to the semifinals, she would likely meet a familiar and historically significant opponent, Khulan Batkhuyag of Mongolia. Batkhuyag is the opponent that Parrish defeated by the score of 4-2 in the 2022 world finals. Certainly not a walk-in-the-park, but she’d be riding a high wrestling Batkhuyag shortly after defeating Fujinami. Other notables on that half of the bracket include Emma Malmgren (Sweden) and Qianyu Pang (China). Malmgren has finished fifth at the last two World Championships and Pang is a two-time world bronze medalist and a silver medalist from the 2020 Games.

A year ago, Sarah Hildebrandt was in the world semifinals against Mongolia’s Otgonjargal Dolgorjav. The result didn’t fall her way and Dolgorjav advanced to the world finals after a 7-5 victory. That loss was Hildebrandt’s most recent setback; however, she had a chance to avenge that loss today and move one step closer to wrestling immortality and an Olympic gold medal. Hildebrandt grabbed an early lead after snapping and spinning against Dolgorjav and never looked back. She added to the lead, scoring on a reshot at the edge. Dolgorjav was also docked a caution point for fleeing as Hildebrandt was finishing the scoring sequence which gave her a 5-0 lead. Hildebrandt also got a par terre restart; however, there were only a few seconds remaining in the opening period and not enough time to lock up one of her traditional leg laces. Throughout the contest, Hildebrandt used her superior length to keep the shorter Dolgorjav at bay and herself away from danger. That was evident in the second period, as was Hildebrandt's defense. Dolgorjav got to Hildebrandt’s legs multiple times in the final stanza; however, her rubber knee defense prevented the Mongolian from converting the takedown. Dolgorjav threw the proverbial kitchen sink at Hildebrandt in the final period trying a duckunder and arm spin, all to no avail. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Hildebrandt looked at the camera and showed off her smile - a feature that’s almost as synonymous as her leg lace. Hildebrandt knew she was in no danger and into the Olympic finals. When it was all said and done, the bout ended with a 5-0 score as Dolgorjav was shut out in the second period. That period, and the entire match, was a masterclass in defense. Hildebrandt has already clinched her second Olympic medal - though she’s not content with settling for silver. To win gold, she’ll need to go through the red-hot Vinesh Phogat of India. Early this morning, Phogat sent shockwaves through the wrestling community when she upset the returning Olympic champion Yui Susaki (Japan). Phogat moved on to finals after posting a 5-0 win over Yusneylis Guzman Lopez of Cuba.

Later today, the first set of medals will be awarded in wrestling at the 2024 Olympic Games. Two of those will be in Greco-Roman weights, while one will be in women’s freestyle. 68 kg in women’s freestyle is the weight class and American Amit Elor is one of the finalists. Elor, a two-time Senior World Champion, will clash with another world champion, Meerim Zhumanazarova of Kyrgyzstan. Though this tournament is young, Zhumanazarova pulled one of the biggest stunners of day one when she knocked off Nonoka Ozaki (Japan) with a late takedown in the quarterfinals. Elor generally steamrolled her way to the gold medal match. So, who is Zhumanazarova and what should we expect from her in her gold medal contest with Elor? I’m glad you asked. There’s plenty of that below. Background: 2021 World Champion, 2x U20 world medalist (2,3), 2016 U17 world bronze medalist, 2021 Asian Champion Finals path: Round of 16: Delgermaa Enkhsaikhan (Mongolia) 8-3 Quarterfinals: Nonoka Ozaki (Japan) 8-6 Semifinals: Blessing Oborududu (Nigeria) 3-1 Common Opponent Since Elor has competed for her entire Senior career, before 2024, at 72 kg there isn’t much in the way of common opponents between these two. Sol Gum Pak (North Korea) - Elor (W) Olympic semifinals: 10-0 - Zhumanazarova (L) Asian Olympic Qualifier: 6-2 Strengths: Before getting into Zhumanazarova’s good positions and abilities, you have to take notice of her intangible qualities. Zhumanazarova is an extremely cool customer. She doesn’t get flustered often and can handle wrestling from behind or in tough situations. In her quarterfinal matchup versus Nonoka Ozaki, Zhumanazarova got out to a 6-0, but then gave up six-straight points. All of the momentum seemed to be tilted in favor of the Japanese woman; however, she was able to fight off that feeling and secure a winning takedown with under ten seconds remaining in the match. Against Ozaki, Zhumanazarova showed off her mat IQ during the first scoring flurry. Ozaki continued to move and refused to let Zhumanazarova spin behind her. Rather than continuing to pursue the takedown or waiting for the official to award two points, Zhuamanazarova went into a gut wrench and scored that way. Zhumanazarova shared a couple of traits with Elor. Both are very patient. They don’t just attack for the sake of it, they’ll both methodically work through their positions and wait for an opening. She is also physically stout, like Elor, and rarely gets muscled around the mat. In the semifinal win over 2020 Olympic silver medalist, Blessing Obodududu, the first period seemed more like a brawl than a wrestling match, at moments. Both were exchanging hard clubs and ties - possibly a head butt or two. Should Elor turn up the physicality it doesn’t look like it would intimidate her. During her opening round win over Mongolia’s Delgermaa Enkhsaikhan, Zhumanazarova changed the course of the entire match with a massive double leg and a series of turns, most of which were improvised rather than picture-esque turns. In multiple matches, Zhumanazrova showed an ability to change levels and get in deep on low-leg attacks. She was never able to convert any of those into takedowns, frankly, they appeared to be more of a vehicle to waste time. Even so, it’s something to keep in mind. Most of Zhumanazarova’s takedowns came after she displayed stout defense. She works well with a whizzer and that’s how she got on the scoreboard first against Ozaki. On multiple occasions, Ozaki tried to attack with a misdirection shot; however, Zhumanazarova was never caught off balance and thwarted those shots rather easily. The matchup with Elor: During her run to the finals, Zhumanazarova gave up some scoring holds and a few of those positions happen to be where Elor is strong. Against Enkhsaikhan, she gave up a takedown after a throw-by from an underhook. Elor likes to work from either that or a two-on-one. To her credit, Zhumanazarova refused to let Enkhsaikhan impose her will from a two-on-one tie. In Ozaki’s second-period rally, she was able to lock up a takedown that originated from a snapdown and a flurry. Elor tends to be stronger and more physical than the majority of her opponents and could do the same. After that takedown, she also gave up a pair of exposure points from a trapped-arm gut. Summary: Thus far, Elor has made this tournament look much easier than it should look. In three matches, she’s outscored her competition 28-2. The only two points she surrendered were in the closing seconds of her opening round match against the defending world champion, Buse Tosun (Turkiye). Based on Zhumanazarova’s tournament, she will not be intimidated and lose composure if she falls behind early. Zhumanazarova has proven herself to be a worthy, capable opponent, but if Elor wrestles like we’ve been accustomed to seeing for the last two (or three or four) years, she should become the youngest Olympic gold medalist in American history later today. Remember, as you may have heard multiple times in the broadcast on Monday, Kyrgyzstan has never had an Olympic gold medalist in any sport….ever. Not only will Zhumanazrova have the pressure of defeating a wrestler of Elor’s caliber, but she also has the hopes of an entire country riding on her every move.

Day two of wrestling at the 2024 Olympic Games started off with a bang - and it had nothing to do with any American wrestlers. In the very first match of the 50 kg weight class, 2020 Olympic champion Yui Susaki (Japan) who is also a three-time world champion, riding an 82-match winning streak was stunned by India’s Vinesh Phogat, 3-2. Phogat hung close to Susaki for the entire match and attacked late in the final period to shock Susaki and the entire wrestling world. It marked the first loss by Susaki to a non-Japanese opponent. Staying in the 50 kg weight class, American Sarah Hildebrandt got her tournament started with a dominant 10-0 tech fall over Algeria’s Ibtissem Doudou. Early in the opening period, Hildebrandt got to Doudou’s legs and earned a takedown. She quickly ended the contest with four of her trademark leg laces. That win set up a quarterfinal clash with fellow 2023 World bronze medalist Ziqi Feng (China). Feng got on the scoreboard first with a double-leg for a takedown. Hildebrandt never gave up and bellied out, rather choosing to wrestle through the position. After deftly avoiding exposure points, Hildebrandt was able to gain a reversal and trailed 2-1. Shortly after a restart, the two found themselves in a position that would come up time and again in this contest. Hildebrandt with a front headlock. In this instance, the American unleashed a beautiful shuck which resulted in a takedown and a 3-2 lead. Later in the period, that position came up again and Hildebrandt tried another shuck. This time, Feng was ready and held strong before getting to Hildebrandt’s legs for a takedown. Near the end of the opening period, Hildebrandt unleashed a picture-esque ankle pick. That shot did not directly lead to a takedown; however, Hildebrandt was able to spin behind her stunned opponent for a takedown and a 5-4 lead heading into the break. For most of the final period, Hildebrandt was able to prevent Feng from getting to an advantageous position. The biggest flurry of the period came with about :45 seconds left in the contest, as the pair ended up in that familiar front headlock position again. Instead of going back to the shuck, Hildebrandt showed her variety of short offense and blocked off an arm and spun for an insurance takedown. That 7-4 lead held up and Hildebrandt advanced to this afternoon’s semifinals. In the semis, Hildebrandt will meet a familiar foe - Mongolia’s Otgonjargal Dolgorjav. The two met in the world semifinals in each of the last two years. In 2022 Dolgorjav was victorious 6-2. Last year, she won 7-5. Sandwiched in between those two matches was a 10-0 win for Hildebrandt at the 2023 Hungarian Ranking Series event. Turning our attention to the men’s Greco-Roman portion of the tournament, the first American to take the mat on Tuesday was Kamal Bey at 77 kg. Bey also had an opponent he’s met multiple times over the years - Akzhol Makhmudov. The two-time world champion and 2020 Olympic silver medalist from Kyrgyzstan lost to Bey in the 2017 Junior World finals. In this meeting, there was little action in the first period which led to a passivity call on Bey. Makhmudov was given plenty of time to work from the par terre position, but couldn’t add to his lead and the match went into period two, 1-0. In the second, Makhmudov turned up the heat on Bey and would not allow him near the center of the mat, garnering back-to-back push-out points and a 3-0 lead. A second passivity call on Bey made the match 4-0. Once again, Makhmudov couldn’t turn Bey from the par terre restart. Late in the contest, Bey was able to get on the board with a push-out of his own; however, it was not enough and he fell 4-1. In his next bout, Makhmudov was shocked by Demeu Zhadrayev (Kazakhstan) late in the second period. Zhadrayev was able to expose Makhmudov from a front head-pinch maneuver which gave him a 3-1 win. The loss from Makhmudov eliminated Bey from medal contention. Also in action was Joe Rau at 97 kg. Like Bey, Rau drew a past world champion in Iran’s Mohammadhadi Saravi. In the opening period, Rau was able to hold his position and drew a passivity on Saravi, resulting in a 1-0 lead for the American. Rau couldn’t add to his lead from par terre and the pair were brought back to their feet. Later in the first, Saravi would push ahead on a step-out. In the second period, the Iranian was able to break open the match after a passivity call on Rau and his opportunity from par terre. Saravi proceeded to turn Rau twice with a gut wrench which led to an insurmountable 6-1 advantage. Soon after, Saravi got a takedown with a duck under and a gut wrench to seal the match at 10-1. Saravi teched his quarterfinal opponent Uzur Dzhuzupbekov (Kyrgyzstan) 8-0 and moved into the semifinals. Should Saravi defeat Egypt’s Mohamed Gabr, Rau will be pulled back into repechage tomorrow. Women’s Freestyle 50 kg Round of 16: Sarah Hildebrandt over Ibtissem Doudou (Algeria) 10-0 Quarterfinals: Sarah Hildebrandt over Ziqi Feng (China) 7-4 Men’s Greco-Roman 77 kg Round of 16: Akzhol Makhmudov (Kyrgyzstan) over Kamal Bey 4-1 97 kg Round of 16: Mohammadhadi Saravi (Iran) over Joe Rau 10-1

Brackets have been released for day three at the 2024 Olympic Games. The 67 and 87 kg weight classes in Greco-Roman will be conducted, along with 53 kg in women's freestyle. Remember, there is no American in the 67 kg Greco bracket. 67 kg Greco-Roman 87 kg Greco-Roman 53 kg Women's Freestyle