Pictured: Team USA's Kyle Snyder and Sarah Hildebrandt. Graphic courtesy of USA wrestling.
As a new day begins at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Games inside the Makuhari Messe Hall, our last three weights are starting their respective tournaments. On day 6 (session 11), we will see men's and women's freestyle continue with 65 kg (No Team USA entrant) and 97 kg (Kyle Snyder), plus 50 kg (Sarah Hildebrandt) in women's freestyle.
Also, Kyle Dake (74 kg) and Jacarra Winchester (63 kg) will be back on the mat for one match each in repechage, too.
Team USA ended day five (session ten) on a high note. Some have called it the single-best round in U.S. wrestling history. Americans were "four-for-four," if you will, collecting three medals (one gold - David Taylor, two bronze Thomas Gilman and Helen Maroulis), and putting one athlete in the Olympic finals (Gable Steveson). That round also saw the USA advanced two athletes into the repechage to contend for bronze medals (Kyle Dake and Jacarra Winchester).
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Team USA carried its momentum session 10 into session 11. Dake stormed to the first-period tech of Cuba's Jeandry Garzon in the repechage. An early takedown-to- gut led to an 8-0 lead in the first minute. Then, another takedown on the edge sealed it with a second remaining in the first period.
Winchester followed Dake's lead, picking up a 5-0 shutout in her repechage over Cuba's Laura Herin Avila. A takedown and a step-out gave the American a 3-0 at the break. She extended the lead with another takedown in the second.
Both Dake and Winchester earned the right to wrestling bronze tomorrow.
Kyle Snyder and Sarah Hildebrandt finally got to begin their respect tournaments in session 11, and they were certainly worth the wait. The duo came out firing on all cylinders in their Round of 16 and quarterfinal bouts.
First, Hildebrandt faced 2017 World bronze medalist, Evin Demirhan (Turkey). The American went up 1-0 over via step-out, then added a takedown to lead 3-0. Hildebrandt finished it off by dropping down to a leg lance and rolling it through to an 11-0 tech to make the quarterfinals.
In the quarters, Hildebrandt took down 2020 European champion and three-time age group World medalist Selishka (Bulgaria). A takedown gave Hildebrandt a for a 2-0 lead before again using the leg lace to turn the Bulgarian five times for a 12-0 technical superiority. Hildebrandt will face China's former World champion Sun Yanan in the semifinals. It will likely be the American's biggest test of the tournament thus far.
In Snyder's case, in the opener, he fell behind 2-0 to Jordan Steen (Canada) before rattling off 12 points in a row with six consecutive takedowns. Then, in the quarterfinals, Snyder delivered a methodical 6-0 decision over Abraham Conyedo Ruano of Italy. Snyder got a step-out point and a passivity point before adding two takedowns to seal the deal. The 2016 Rio gold medalist faces Turkey's Suleyman Karadeniz in the morning.
Statistically speaking, the Team USA freestylers are on a roll. Per the Des Moines Register's Cody Goodwin, the USA's men's and women's freestyle teams are currently 27-6 overall. The squads have now combined to win 10 in a row, starting with Gable's semifinal victory. Furthermore, the men are a combined 13-2 while the women are a combined 14-4.
https://twitter.com/codygoodwin/status/1423498952503070720
Team USA official release - Men's Freestyle.
Team USA official release - Women's Freestyle.
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