Paris Preview: Age-group sensation Blades takes first shot at Senior medal in Paris

The No. 1 seed is 2023 World silver medalist Aiperi Medet Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan. Medet Kyzy broke through with her fifth at the 2020 Olympics and added a World bronze in 2021. She added a 2021 U23 World title. She has won four straight events since the 2023 World finals loss, including her third Asian Championships gold. Her half-bracket will include No. 4 Catalina Axente of Romania, No. 5 Milaimys Marin of Cuba and No. 8 Bernadett Nagy of Hungary.

Axente was fifth in the 2023 Senior Worlds and was a 2020 European bronze medalist. She is also very successful at the Beach World Series. Marin was a 2018 Youth Olympic Games champion, 2019 U23 World champion and 2023 Pan American Games champion. Nagy won two age-group World medals and two Senior European bronze medals.

The No. 2 seed is 2023 World champion Yuka Kagami of Japan. Kagami also claimed a 2022 World bronze medal. She won two U17 World titles, a U20 World title and a U23 World silver medal. She hopes to be Japan’s first woman heavyweight champion. Her half bracket features No. 3 Tatiana Renteria of Colombia, No. 6 Hannah Reuben of Nigeria and No. 7 Justina Di Stasio of Canada.

Renteria, a 2023 World bronze medalist, was a 2023 U23 World champion and 2021 U23 World silver medalist. She was second in the 2023 Pan American Games. Reuben, a 2016 Olympian, was second in the 2022 Commonwealth Games and owns two African Championships gold and an All-African Games title. DiStasio was a 2018 World champion and 2017 World bronze medalist, and also a 2019 Pan American Games champion and 2022 Commonwealth Games champion. This is DiStasio’s first Olympic Games.  

Some top medal hopefuls are unseeded and get drawn into the bracket. Perhaps the biggest name is 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Yasamin Adar Yigit of Turkey, also a 2017 and 2022 World champion. Adar Yigit, who also boasts a 2018 World silver medal and seven European Senior titles, is in her third Olympics. 2021 U20 World champion Kennedy Blades of the USA had to beat 2020 Olympic silver medalist and six-time World champion Adeline Gray to make Team USA. Blades has a 2023 U23 World silver and a 2022 U20 World bronze. Her height, speed and style are difficult to manage.  

The rest of the field has potential to break through into medal rounds. Davaanasan Enkh Amar of Mongolia was a 2023 World silver medalist at 72 kg and two-time Asian bronze medalist. 2023 European champion and 2017 U20 World silver medalist Yuliana Yaneva of Bulgaria has high hopes. Two others reached Senior World medal matches, Juan Wang of China, fifth in the 2018 Worlds and Genesis Reasco Valdez of Ecuador, fifth in the 2022 Worlds. Wang was 2018 World Military champion and Reasco won the 2024 Pan American Championships. Reetika of India was 2023 U23 World champion and 2022 U20 World bronze medalist. 2020 Olympian Zaineb Sghaier of Tunisia is a two-time African champion.

76 kg WFS Seeded Wrestlers

No. 1  Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)

No. 2 Yuka KAGAMI (JPN)

No. 3 Tatiana RENTERIA (COL)

No. 4 Catalina AXENTE (ROU)

No. 5 Milaimys MARIN (CUB)

No. 6 Hannah RUEBEN (NGR)

No. 7 Justina DI STASIO (CAN)

No. 8 Bernadett NAGY (HUN)

76 kg WFS Olympians (to be drawn in)

Yuliana YANEVA (BUL)

Juan WANG (CHN)

Genesis REASCO VALDEZ (ECU)

REETIKA (IND)

Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL)

Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)

Yasemin ADAR YIGIT (TUR)

Kennedy BLADES (USA)

(Local Paris time, six hours ahead of U.S. time zone)

Saturday, August 10, 2024

11:00 a.m. - Repechage Men’s Freestyle 74-125 kg and Women’s Freestyle 62 kg

11:30 a.m. - Round of 16 and Quarterfinals - Men’s Freestyle 65-97 kg and Women’s Freestyle 76 kg

6:15 p.m. - Semifinals - Men’s Freestyle 65-97 kg and Women’s Freestyle 76 kg

7:15 p.m. - Medal Rounds in Men’s Freestyle 74-125 kg and Women’s Freestyle 62 kg

Sunday, August 11, 2024

11:00 a.m. - Repechage Men’s Freestyle 65-97 kg and Women’s Freestyle 76 kg

12:00 noon - Medal Rounds in Men’s Freestyle 65-97 kg and Women’s Freestyle 76 kg