A few thoughts on the Olympics before we move on to a new season of Iowa Wrestling.
The Hawks were well represented with Olympic silver medals from Spencer Lee and Kennedy Blades.
This was the first time that Spencer Lee has ever competed in an elite international competition with the best wrestlers in the world and he came in a close second. I believe we need to let it sink in that Spencer Lee just started his international career in the senior division. He will get better. Much better and he just won an Olympic silver.
Unless there is a medical reason I would be shocked if Lee were to retire. I expect him to get right back at it and get not just better, but much better.
I hope to see Lee compete in elite tournaments around the world this season. I am going off of memory on this. In January of 1993 in their first year out of college I believe Tom Brands placed third and Terry Brands was second at Tbilisi. Recognized as the toughest wrestling tournament in the world. Arguably even tougher than the Worlds and Olympics because there were several Soviets at each weight, less than ideal conditions, and questionable officiating.
In the summer of 1993 Tom and Terry Brands became world champions. Do they win the World Championships without that experience of competing at Tbilisi?
I would love to see Lee and all of Team USA compete in elite international tournaments like they used to in the past. It used to be Tbilis, now it is The Yarygin in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.
The 2025 World Championships are in Zagreb, Croatia from September 13-21. I look for Spencer Lee to take the mat at 57kg and chase down a world title.
2024 Olympics – 57kg
Round of 16: Spencer Lee (USA) VPO1 Wanhoe Zou (China) 3-2
Quarterfinals: Spencer Lee (USA) VSO1 Bekzat Almaz (Kyrgyzstan) 12-2
Semifinals: Spencer Lee (USA) VSO1 Gulomjon Abdullaev (Uzbekistan) 14-4
Finals: Rei Higuchi (Japan) VPO1 Spencer Lee (USA) 4-2
Kennedy Blades had a great Olympic tournament and won the silver at 76kg. This was also the first Olympic or World tournament at the senior level for Kennedy.
In the Round of 16 Blades hit a great 5-point throw on her way to an 11-0 tech fall over Catalina Axente of Romania. You will be seeing that picture for years.
In the quarterfinals Blades defeated #5 seed Milaimy Marin of Cuba, 4-3. Marin defeated Blades 13-4 last month at the Grand Prix of Spain. That is catching your competition in a hurry.
Blades dropped the Olympic gold medal match to 22 year old Yuka Kagami of Japan by a 3-1 decision. Kagami was the first Japanese wrestler to win an Olympic gold medal at the heaviest weight of 76kg.
At least a good chance that we will see Blades vs. Kagami in the Olympic finals in 2028 and in battles before that.
At just 20 years old Blades has a great future in wrestling. She announced on July 23 that she signed a Letter of Intent to compete at Iowa. She will join the defending national champion Iowa team as the biggest name in college wrestling.
2024 Olympics – 76kg
Round of 16: Kennedy Blades (USA) VSU Catalina Axente (Romania) 11-0
Quarterfinals: Kennedy Blades (USA) VPO1 Milaimy Marin (Cuba) 4-3
Semifinals: Kennedy Blades (USA) VPO1 Aiperi Medet (Kyrgyzstan) 8-6
Finals:Kennedy Blades (USA) vs. Yuka Kagami (Japan) VPO1 Kennedy Blades (USA) 3-1
Watching Lee’s Olympic finals match I was reminded of what Dan Gable told me twenty-four years ago. Lincoln McIlravy was in the Iowa Wrestling room for the first time since he returned from winning a bronze at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. His lifelong goal of being an Olympic gold medalist had not been realized.
McIlravy lost a heartbreaker to Daniel Ingali of Canada in the Olympic semifinals. Ingali had defeated McIlravy in a close match in the finals of the 1999 World Championships. They were the two best wrestlers in the world at 69kg.
Gable told me that McIlravy didn’t do anything wrong. He had closely evaluated the match and there wasn’t anything that you could second guess.
I asked Gable if there was anything for me to learn from that. Gable responded that it was a reminder of how incredibly close the top two wrestlers in the world can be.
Right now Spencer Lee and Rei Higuchi are very close. The same can be said for Kennedy Blades and Yuka Kagami.
Will Spencer Lee and Kennedy Blades improve in the next year to become a 2025 World champion?
The countdown to the 2025 World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia on September 13-21 and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics on July 14-28 has begun for Lee, Blades, and wrestlers all around the world.
The clock is ticking.
Let’s get ‘em in the middle.
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!
