PARIS — American wrestler Kennedy Blades’ surprising run at the Paris Olympics ended with a 3-1 loss in the gold medal match Sunday against Japan’s Yuka Kagami, last year’s world champion in the classification.
Blades, a 20-year-old from Chicago in her first Olympics, reached Sunday’s final of the women’s 76 kg freestyle with three victories over higher-seeded wrestlers.
Against Kagami, Blades fell behind 1-0 early after being put on the clock for inactivity, but she got the point back quickly by pushing Kagami out of the area. With 1:22 remaining, Kagami was awarded two points for a takedown and then held on in the final moments.
In winning her first three matches at the Champs de Mars Arena near the Eiffel Tower, the unseeded Blades defeated the No. 4 seed Catalina Axente of Romania (11-0), the No. 5 seed Milaimy Marin Potrille of Cuba (4-3) and top-seeded Aiperi Medet Kyzy of Krygyzstan (8-6).
Her final opponent, Kagami, was seeded second.
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Blades began wrestling at age 7, and reportedly made history by winning a youth title in Illinois against boys. She beat the USA’s Adeline Gray, silver medalist in Tokyo, in the Olympics Trials to make it to the Paris Games.
After attending Arizona State University, Blades is set to transfer to the University of Iowa this fall.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: USA’s Kennedy Blades secures wrestling silver in Paris Olympics
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Publish date : 2024-08-11 01:56:00
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