August 12, 2024
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College
The 2024 Olympic Games concluded on Sunday in Paris, France. For international wrestlers, it's the sport's most prestigious event and one that helps define many wrestling careers. The Olympic wrestling competition took place over the final seven days of the Paris Olympics, with competition in Greco-Roman, women's wrestling and men's freestyle.
Below are five takeaways from Team USA's performance in wrestling at the Paris Olympics.
If you are an American wrestling fan, surely you know the name Amit Elor. It's only a matter of time until non-wrestling fans begin to recognize her name because of her dominance in women's wrestling. Elor's accomplishments at age 20 would already put her among the greatest American women's wrestlers ever. At the 2024 Olympics, Elor became the youngest American wrestler (man or woman) to win Olympic gold in wrestling. She blitzed the 68-kilogram field in Paris, opening her tournament with a dominant 10-2 victory over 2023 world champion Buse Cavusoglu Tosun of Turkey before winning 8-0 in the quarterfinals and 10-0 in the semifinals. Elor then blanked 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Meerim Zhumanazarova of Kyrgyzstan in the finals, 3-0, scoring all three of her points in the first period off a counter takedown and the shot clock. The Olympic crown was Elor's third senior world-level title in three years. It was her ninth world title overall after winning two U23 world titles, three U20 world titles and one U17 world title. Elor's last defeat came in the semifinals of the 2019 U17 World Championships to Honoka Nakai of Japan. Sponsored by Rudis, Elor's popularity has been growing with each title she wins. In four years, Elor will have an opportunity to become the first two-time Olympic champion in women's wrestling and will be competing in her home state of California at the 2028 LA Olympics. Elor is not only immensely skilled but exudes joy on and off the mat. She could be one of the biggest stars at the LA Games.
Helen Maroulis further cemented her legacy as one of America's most accomplished wrestlers ever by winning her third consecutive Olympic medal, a feat that had never been accomplished by an American women's wrestler. Winning three Olympic medals spanning 12 years is a testament to her consistency and resilience in the sport. But her biggest accomplishment is the impact she has made on American women's wrestling. In 2016, Maroulis broke down a barrier when she became the first American wrestler ever to win gold in women's wrestling. She did so by beating a wrestler many felt was invincible at the time, Japan's Saori Yoshida, a three-time Olympic champion and 13-time world champion. Maroulis won a world title the following year in 2017 before going through some trying times. She suffered multiple concussions that resulted in brain trauma and was later diagnosed with PTSD. She came back to win another Olympic medal, bronze, in Tokyo. Now she has added a third Olympic medal, another bronze. Maroulis has inspired a generation of female wrestlers in the United States. By winning gold at the 2016 Rio Games, Maroulis showed young girls all over the United States that they too can dream big and become Olympic champions in wrestling. It opened the door for Tamyra Mensah-Stock to accomplish the feat in Tokyo. Americans Amit Elor and Sarah Hildebrandt won gold medals in Paris, while fellow 20-year-old Kennedy Blades reached the Olympic finals. The United States has become a world power in women's wrestling, and Helen Maroulis deserves a lot of credit for her impact on American women's wrestling that is being seen now and will be seen for many years to come.
Expectations were sky-high for Team USA's men's freestyle team heading into the Paris Olympics, and rightly so. The U.S. brought a six-man roster to Paris loaded with talent. It included multiple-time world champions and Olympic medalists Kyle Dake and Kyle Snyder, along with past world champion Zain Retherford, as well as young past age group world champions Spencer Lee, Aaron Brooks and Mason Parris. Many believed the U.S. men's freestyle had the potential to win multiple gold medals and contend for a medal in every weight class in Paris, especially with world wrestling power Russia absent from the Games. Unfortunately, the Americans fell short of those sky-high expectations. The U.S. failed to win a gold medal in men's freestyle at the Olympics for the first time since 1968. Lee (57 kilograms) was the lone American freestyle wrestler to reach a gold medal match. Still, the U.S. freestyle team earned medals in 50% of the weight classes -- with Dake and Brooks both winning bronze -- and the team finished third in the team standings. The truth of the matter is the rest of the world is also really good at wrestling. While the U.S. produces world-class wrestlers, there are amazing wrestlers all over the world and the margins at world-level events are slim. American wrestling fans have an inherit bias from following the careers of wrestlers from their home country, which sometimes creates unrealistic expectations. The American men's freestyle program remains a powerhouse despite not bringing home any Olympic gold medals. Iran and Japan just proved, for now, they are a notch above the U.S. in men's freestyle by performing better when it mattered most. Iran had five medalists in six weight classes and Japan had two gold medalists and a silver medalist.
Four-time world champion Kyle Dake was a heavy favorite to win gold in Paris in men's freestyle at 74 kilograms. Some sportsbooks posted betting odds on him as high as -1000, indicating implied odds of over 90% to win gold. Dake was stunned in the Olympic semifinals by Japan's Daichi Takatani, a wrestler he defeated at last year's World Championships. Takatani wrestled Dake brilliantly in the semifinals, executing on his game plan, neutralizing Dake's strengths and capitalizing in critical moments. Dake rebounded to win his second consecutive Olympic bronze medal, staging a comeback win in the final 30 seconds on the strength of a five-point throw. The 33-year-old Dake has gone through perhaps his most difficult year off the mat. His father Doug, one of his biggest supporters, passed away in April at the age of 62, shortly before the Olympic Team Trials. Dake's training was inconsistent leading up to the Olympics because of the circumstances surrounding his father's death. Dake's performance in Paris just added to his already amazing legacy. After all he has gone through this year, to still finish with an Olympic medal in a field loaded with Olympic medalists and world medalists is just another feather in his cap, even if he didn't win gold. His wrestling resume, which includes four NCAA titles, four world titles and two Olympic bronze medals, puts him among the best American wrestlers ever. Dake's longtime American rival Jordan Burroughs, six-time world and Olympic champion, was on the broadcast team for Peacock during the Olympics and summed it up well: "I consider [Dake] one of the greatest American wrestlers of all-time. Regardless of the color of the medal that he is leaving with this weekend, he is an icon and legend in this sport."
One of the most surprising storylines from the Paris Olympics in men's freestyle was Kyle Snyder falling short of a medal at a world-level event for the first time in his career on the senior level. Snyder, a Maryland native and collegiate wrestling star at Ohio State, burst on the scene at age 19, winning gold at the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas, his first world championship event on the senior level. He followed it up by capturing gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics at the age of 20. Snyder won another world title the following year in 2017, beating Russian legend and fellow Olympic champion Abdulrashid Sadulaev in Paris. He won silver in 2018, bronze in 2019, silver at the Tokyo Olympics and silver at the 2021 World Championships. He added another world title in 2022 before earning a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships. Snyder had gone nine straight years with a world or Olympic medal, which is an American record. He entered the Paris Olympics as one of the top contenders at 97 kilograms. Snyder opened with a 9-5 win over 2023 Asian silver medalist Awusayiman Habila of China before pinning 2021 Pan American Games champion Arturo Silot Torres of Cuba in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Snyder faced a familiar foe in returning world champion, 21-year-old phenom Akhmed Tazhudinov of Bahrain. At last year's World Championships, Tazhudinov won by 10-0 technical superiority over Snyder. This time, in the Olympic semifinals, the match was much more competitive, with Snyder losing 6-4. He then dropped his bronze medal match to Iran's Amarali Azarpira, another wrestler with a previous victory over him. Snyder falling just one single win shy of being a world or Olympic medalist for 10 consecutive years is an incredible achievement. The 28-year-old Snyder is already one of America's most accomplished wrestlers ever. He has indicated that he plans to compete for the foreseeable future so look for him to continue to add to his legacy in the coming years.
