Dake earns No. 1 seed at Olympic Games, seven U.S. wrestlers hold seeds for Paris

United World Wrestling announced the top-eight seeds in each weight class for all three disciplines at the 2024 Olympic Games, which are set for August 5-11 at Champ de Mars Arena in Paris, France.

Seven Team USA athletes found a place among the top eight, with 2020 Olympic bronze medalist and four-time World champion Kyle Dake leading the way as the No. 1 seed at 74 kg in men’s freestyle. Dake is the only American to hold the top seed.

The men’s freestyle team has two more Olympic qualifiers seeded. 2016 Olympic champion, two-time Olympic medalist and three-time World champion Kyle Snyder holds the No. 3 seed at 97 kg. Similarly, 2023 World bronze medalist Mason Parris slots in as the No. 3 seed at 125 kg.

On the women’s freestyle side, three Americans have earned a place among the seeded athletes. Helen Maroulis, the first Olympic gold medalist in women’s freestyle wrestling for Team USA, is the highest seeded athlete on the team as the No. 5 seed at 57 kg. 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Sarah Hildebrandt comes in as the No. 6 seed at 50 kg. Two-time World finalist and Tokyo Olympian Kayla Miracle made the cut as the No. 8 seed at 62 kg.

2018 World silver medalist Adam Coon is the lone American to garner a seed in the Greco-Roman tournament. He finds himself as the No. 8 seed at 130 kg.

This year’s event marks the first time brackets will be seeded eight deep at the Olympic Games. Sixteen wrestlers are featured in each weight class, the eight seeded athletes plus eight unseeded participants drawn in at random.

Seeding for the Olympic Games were determined through a series of competitions where each wrestler can accumulate points toward his or her seed in Paris. Seeds are subject to change pending final entries from each country, which are not locked in until 24 hours before the start of the tournament.

For a complete list of all eight seeds per weight class, please visit uww.org.

No. 1 at 74 kg - Kyle Dake (Port Matilda, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) 

No. 3 at 97 kg - Kyle Snyder (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) 

No. 3 at 125 kg - Mason Parris (Lawrenceburg, Ind./Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC) 

No. 5 at 57 kg - Helen Maroulis (Rockville, Md./Sunkist Kids WC) 

No. 6 at 50 kg - Sarah Hildebrandt (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) 

No. 8 at 62 kg - Kayla Miracle (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids WC) 

No. 8 at 130 kg - Adam Coon (Fowlerville, Mich./Cliff Keen WC/New York AC)