Maroulis, Lee, Brooks receive draws for Thursday’s wrestling at the Olympic Games in Paris

PARIS, France - The next three U.S. wrestlers scheduled to compete at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 have received their draws for their preliminary competition on Wednesday.

Thursday will feature the fourth of the six women’s freestyle weight classes, as well as the first two weight classes in men’s freestyle.

Competing on Thursday morning in women’s freestyle is 2016 Olympic champion and 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Helen Maroulis at 57 kg. Also competing are U.S. men’s freestyle stars Spencer Lee at 57 kg and Aaron Brooks at 86 kg.

Maroulis was the first U.S. woman to win Olympic gold (2016), the first to win two Olympic medals (2020 bronze) and the first to make three Olympic teams. She boasts nine World or Olympic medals and beat the legend Saori Yoshida of Japan in the Rio finals. Among her medals are three World titles.

Maroulis, who is seeded No. 5, will open against Anshu of India, a 2022 World silver medalist who lost to Maroulis in the finals. Anshu was a 2020 Olympian and won four age-group World medals.

If Maroulis wins her first match, her quarterfinal opponent would be the winner No 4 seed Anhelina Lysak of Poland and Alina Hrushyna Akobiia of Ukraine. Lysak, a 2022 World bronze medalist, was fifth in the 2023 Worlds and a two-time age-group World medalist. Hryshyna Akobiia has won three Senior European titles.

Should Maroulis make it to the semifinals, the athletes who are in the other quarter bracket that could emerge to face her are No. 1 seed Tsugumi Sakurai of Japan, No. 8 seed Luisa Valverde of Ecuador, Hannah Taylor of Canada and Aurora Russo of Italy.

Sakurai is a three-time World champion. She won her first World title at 55 kg in 2021, then claimed the next two at 57 kg. Sakurai was 20i6 U17 World champion. Valverde was eighth in the 2020 Olympics, was fifth at the 2021 Worlds and a two-time Pan American champion. Taylor won a pair of U23 World bronze medals and was a 2023 Pan American Games silver medalist. Russo was a 2023 U20 World champion.

Both Lee and Brooks, who are competing in their first Olympic Games, were unseeded and were drawn into the bracket.

Lee was a three-time NCAA champion for Iowa, and won three age-group World titles for the United States.

Lee will open against No. 6 seed Wanhao Zou of China. Zou’s best finish at the Senior Worlds was fifth in 2022 and boasts a U23 World bronze. Lee beat Zou at the World Olympic Qualifier in Istanbul, 10-9.

If Lee wins his first match, his quarterfinal opponent would be the winner of No. 3 seed Meirambek Kartbay of Kazakhstan and Bekzat Almaz Uulu of Kyrgyzstan. Kartbay has never won a World medal but was fifth in the 2023 Worlds and consistent in the Ranking Series events. Almaz Uulu won a U23 World bronze medal.

Should Lee make it to the semifinals, the athletes who are in the other quarter bracket that could emerge to face him are No 2 seed Arsen Harutyunyan of Armenia, No. 7 seed Gulomjon Aduallaev of Uzbekistan, Aliababas Rzazade of Azerbaijan and Roman Bravo Young of Mexico.

Harutynyan has been on the podium at the World Championships for three straight years, winning World bronze medals each time. Rzazade has been a U23 World champion. Abdullaev was seventh in the 2020 Olympics and claimed a bronze medal at the 2016 U20 World Championships. Bravo Young won two NCAA titles for Penn State and qualified through the Pan American Olympic Qualifier.

Brooks, a four-time NCAA champion for Penn State, has won age-group World titles at the U20 and U23 levels, but has limited Senior-level experience.

He will open against the No. 1 seed and a two-time World bronze medalist Azamat Dauletbekov of Kazakhstan. Dauletbekov was a 2024 Asian champion and has won three age-group World medals.

If Brooks wins his first match, his quarterfinal opponent would be the winner of No. 8 seed Hayato Ishiguro of Japan and Feteh Benferdjalla of Algeria. Ishiburo was a 2018 U20 World champion and won a 2019 U23 World bronze medal. Benferdjalla was a 2020 Olympian and wrestled in two age-group World meets.

Should Brooks make it to the semifinals, the athletes who are in the other quarter bracket that could emerge to face him are No. 4 seed Javrail Shapiev of Uzbekistan, No. 5 seed Magomed Ramazanov of Bulgaria, Alexander Moore of Canada and Vladimeri Gamkrelidze of Georgia.

Shapiev was fifth in the 2023 World Championships and fifth in the 2000 Olympic Games. He most recently was second in the 2024 Asian Championships. Ramazanov qualified through the World Olympic Qualifier in Istanbul, and just started wrestling for Bulgaria after competing for Russia most of his career. Gamkrelidze was a 2023 World silver medalist at 79 kg, and also a 2022 U23 World champion. Moore has competed in two Senior World meets and five age-group World Championships, with a best finish of fifth at the 2018 U23 Worlds.

Official brackets on UWW Arena

https://arena.uww.org/sport-event/show/1ef379e8-e875-691a-8523-7b7ebc03fc97

All three of these U.S. athletes will compete in the first session on Thursday, which begins at 11:00 a.m. Paris time, after the completion of the repechage from Wednesday’s weight classes (67 kg GR, 87 kg GR, 53 kg WFS). The session will feature the Round of 16 and the quarterfinals in all three weights in Group 4.

Paris is six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time zone, meaning this first session begins at 5:00 a.m. ET. All of the wrestling action is broadcast live on Peacock.

OLYMPIC GAMES PARIS 2024

At Paris, France

U.S. men’s freestyle first round draws for Thursday

57 kg – Spencer Lee, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC)

Vs. No. 6 seed Wanhao Zou (China), 5^th in 2022 Senior Worlds, 2018 U23 World bronze medalist

86 kg – Aaron Brooks, Hagerstown, Md. (Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC)

Vs. No. 1 seed Azamat Dauletbekov (Kazakhstan), 2024 Asian champion, 2022 and 2023 World bronze medalist, Three-time age-group World medalist

U.S. women’s freestyle first round draws for Thursday

57 kg – Helen Maroulis, Rockville, Md. (Sunkist Kids)

Vs. Anshu (India), 2022 World silver medalist, 2020 Olympian, 2021 Asian champion, Four-time age-group World medalist