Team USA
After Alit Emor and Sarah Hildebrandt won back-to-back golds in the women’s 68kg and 50kg, respectively, the attention turned towards 2016 Rio Olympics champion (and Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist) Helen Maroulis for a potential women’s wrestling three-peat via the 57kg event.
Japan’s Tsugumi Sakurai squashed those hopes with a 10-4 semifinal victory against the decorated American.
SEE MORE: USA’s Helen Maroulis loses 57kg semi at 2024 Paris Olympics
Though the day started with six consecutive American wins, it ended with two semifinal losses.
While both Maroulis and compatriot Aaron Brooks — who lost an 86kg heartbreaker to Magomed Ramazanov of Bulgaria in the very last seconds of his semifinal — are still in medal contention, they can only secure bronzes through repechage matches.
SEE MORE: Team USA’s Spencer Lee wins 57kg SF, will wrestle for gold
Team USA’s Spencer Lee, in the 57kg freestyle competition, is another story.
The 25-year-old Colorado native squeaked past Zou Wanhao of China in his opener, then trounced Kyrgyzstan’s Bekzat Almaz Uulu and, finally, Uzbekistan’s Gulomjon Abdullaev to secure a spot in the Gold Medal Match, which is set for Friday evening.
SEE MORE: Japan’s Fujinami Akari wins women’s freestyle 53kg gold
Gold Medal Matches
Women’s 53kg freestyle
GOLD: Akari Fujinami (JPN)
SILVER: Lucia Yepez Guzman (ECU)
BRONZE: Pang Quanyu (CHN)
BRONZE: Hyo-Gyong Choe (PRK)
Japan’s Fujinami Akari defeated Ecuador’s Lucia Yepez Guzman in the final, earning Japan back-to-back golds in the 53kg division.
Fujinami, just 20 years old, has a winning streak of 137 matches — dating back to high school, when she competed in senior competitions. She’s since won each match in every tournament she’s ever competed in.
“I don’t pay too much attention to my record,” Fujinami said post-match. “I just want to become stronger.”
She added: “To become an Olympic champion, I have worked so hard. … At the moment, I’m simply happy and overjoyed. I want to enjoy this medal and I’m going to eat a lot of yummy food.”
SEE MORE: Iran’s Saeid Esmaeili wins GR 67kg gold in his Olympic debut
Men’s Greco-Roman 67kg
GOLD: Saeid Esmaeili (IRI)
SILVER: Parviz Nasibov (UKR)
BRONZE: Hasrat Jafarov (AZE)
BRONZE: Luis Alberto Orta (CUB)
The 21-year-old Esmaeili qualified for Paris by defeating the Tokyo gold medalist and fellow Iranian Mohammadreza Geraei in June.
Ukraine’s Nasibov has managed to continue fighting despite a swollen black-and-blue eye from a preliminary bout; the silver was his second in two straight Olympics.
“I dreamed about this when I was a child to one day be an Olympic champion,” the two-time Olympic silver medalist said. “The dream has come.”
SEE MORE: Novikov wins 87kg Greco-Roman wrestling gold for Bulgaria
Men’s Greco-Roman 87kg
GOLD: Semen Novikov (BUL)
SILVER: Alireza Mohmadipiani (IRI)
BRONZE: Zhan Beleniuk (UKR)
BRONZE: Turpal Bisultanov (DEN)
Bulgaria’s Novikov dominated his Iranian opponent, Alireza Mohmadipiani, 7-0 in the final at Champ-de-Mars Arena, earning his country its first medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics — and first wrestling gold since Sydney 2000.
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