Lee settles for silver, Maroulis & Brooks add bronze

Photo: Helen Maroulis (lett), Spencer Lee and Aaron Brooks showed many emotions Friday in Paris for the 2024 Olympics, Lee settled for silver, while Maroulis and Brooks grabbed Olympic bronze medals in Paris. (Photos by Justin Hoch)

By Tristan Warner

PARIS – In what became another emotional roller coaster of a day for the American faithful inside Champ de Mars Arena, the United States claimed an Olympic silver medal and two bronze medals in an action-packed day on the mats Friday.

After top-seeded gold-medal favorite Kyle Dake was bounced from the championship bracket by Japan’s Daichi Takatani in the semifinals at 74 kilograms, Spencer Lee battled 2020 Olympic silver medalist Rei Higuchi to the wire but was ultimately upended by his Japanese foe in the gold-medal match at 57 kilograms.

WIN Publisher Bryan Van Kley (left) and Assistant Editor Tristan Warner are in Paris all week covering the Olympics. Click on photo to their daily video recap.

Shortly after, Aaron Brooks and Helen Maroulis went out with a bang for Team USA, securing bronze medals in convincing fashion as Zain Retherford, Kyle Snyder and Kennedy Blades prepare to take the mats on Saturday morning.

Spencer Lee nabs silver medal

Lee, in his Olympic debut, dropped a 4-2 heartbreaker to Japan’s top-seeded Rei Higuchi in the finals on Friday night.

Lee led 2-0 at the break on the strength of two step-out points, as the former three-time NCAA champion was able to control the mat in the early going.

Higuchi claimed his first lead in the match in the second period when the 2023 World silver medalist converted a high crotch to a double and spun Lee to his back for two points.

With just under two minutes remaining, and though the scoreboard read 2-2, Higuchi held the criteria advantage by virtue of scoring a two-point move opposed to Lee’s two one-point scores.

Lee was unable to create a scoring opportunity in the final minutes, and Higuchi converted a last second desperation attempt from Lee to win his first Olympic gold medal, 4-2.

“I’m a guy who believes wins and losses are more about effort, and I don’t think I put a lot of effort into that match,” Lee reflected. “I didn’t deserve to win today, and that’s ok.

“I’ve put a lot of time and energy into getting myself back to a healthy enough state to wrestle, and then I go and I fail. So, I’ve got to figure it out from here. I am competitive, and I want to be the best at what I do.”

Dake suffers loss in high scoring frenzy

Three-time World champion Kyle Dake, the top seed at 74 kg in men’s freestyle for the Americans, suffered an agonizing loss in Friday’s semis to Japanese opponent Daichi Takatani.

Kyle Dake, left, scored 33 points in three bouts in Paris, but gave up 20 in his loss to Japan’s Daichi Takatani in the semifinals at 74 kilograms. (Justin Hoch photo)

In a rematch of the 2023 World semis, won by Dake 5-4, Takatani converted several low singles into takedowns and racked up multiple leg-lace turns to send shockwaves through the Arena and silence the large contingency of American fans.

Trailing 9-4 at the break, Dake scored a takedown right off the whistle and added a turn to narrow the deficit to 9-8. Takatani came charging back, however, with a takedown of his own and two sets of exposures.

A controversial exchange occurred in the final 20 seconds that led to a long official review, but Takatani was awarded four points plus an additional point for the lost challenge to give the Japanese wrestler a 20-12 victory.

I haven’t seen that ever in my life (Kyle giving up 20 points),” US men’s freestyle coach Bill Zadick said. “Kyle’s a great kid. He’s as deserving as anybody. I coach Kyle and know what he does. I’m impressed by him as a human being, as a competitor and as an athlete.”

Dake, a 2021 Olympic bronze medalist, will be back in action during Saturday’s evening session in the bronze-medal match against an opponent to be determined.

Newcomer Brooks claims bronze medal

Aaron Brooks, in his Olympic debut, went out on a positive note with a convincing 5-0 victory over Javrail Shapiev of Uzbekistan in the bronze-medal match at 86 kilograms.

Brooks finished the tournament with a 3-1 record, losing only to eventual champion Magomed Ramazanov of Bulgaria.

“One thing I’ve learned is to never question God,” Brooks stated. “I know I gave it everything I had. It was my first time out here; my first time competing on the Senior level at all, really. I try to never expect anything. Massive expectations can lead to climaxes and drop offs, but a bronze medal certainly feels good.

“My character is that I’m not going to quit or feel sorry for myself. Yesterday didn’t go as I envisioned it, but I just thought about God and thought about being an example. Focusing on the Lord gave me the courage and the peace and the faith to go do what I can do.”

Maroulis becomes first U.S. woman to claim three medals

Helen Maroulis captured the bronze medal at 57 kilograms, becoming the first woman to achieve three Olympic medals in the sport.

“It’s so crazy,” said Maroulis, a 2016 gold medalist and 2021 bronze medalist whose total trails only the four medals (two gold, one silver, one bronze) earned by Bruce Baumgartner between 1984 and 1996. “I’m so grateful. This is like a dream. I look back on my career and it’s like, I never thought as a young girl I could achieve this.”

The Maryland native defeated Canadian Hannah Taylor in the bronze-medal bout Friday evening, capitalizing on a quick fireman’s carry and securing the fall at the 0:24 second mark.

Making history yet again in her illustrious career, Maroulis secured the United States’ third overall medal of the 2024 Olympics, adding to the gold medals captured by Amit Elor and Sarah Hildebrandt earlier this week. Maroulis, who also has three World championships since 2015, admitted to NBC-TV that this may be her final time on a wrestling mat.

“This time was probably the first time I’ve really experienced heartbreak in the semifinals,” said Maroulis, who lost to eventual gold medalist Tsugumi Sakurai of Japan on Thursday.

“I bawled my eyes out while I was cutting weight and I’ve never experienced heartbreak at the Olympics before, which is really a gift. I think it’s also been a gift to experience this because if I’m going to go into coaching, I think I’ll be able to empathize or understand (what other wrestlers are going through.)”

Miracle eliminated after hard-fought criteria setback

Kayla Miracle, competing in her second Olympics, opened her tournament with a bang with a technical fall against Turkey’s Nesrin Bas, 12-2.

Kayla Miracle scored two takedowns against Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan in the quarterfinals, but it was not enough as she lost on criteria. (Justin Hoch photo)

The Indiana native found herself in an extremely close quarterfinal bout with No. 1 seed and 2020 Olympic silver medalist Aisuluu Tynybekova (Kyrgyzstan), a bout that Miracle led 4-2 with two minutes remaining in the match.

However, the Kyrg hit a four-point move late, and a subsequent lost challenge by the Americans led to another point for Tynybekova, who stifled a late near-takedown by Miracle for a 6-6 criteria victory.

“She won that match,” Miracle’s coach Lee Pritts said. “You know, we blew it. We blew it in the corner (by challenged the four-pointer).

“That was the best Kayla Miracle I’ve ever seen. Before the tournament, I told her, no one’s ever seen this Kayla before. From December, maybe January on, she did everything we asked with training. I’m unbelievably proud of her.”

Retherford, Snyder Blades receive draws for Saturday 

Zain Retherford will square off with second-seeded Rahman Amouzadkhali (Iran), a 2022 Senior level World champion who has also won three age-level world championships, in the first round of 65 kg men’s freestyle action.

Kyle Snyder, the 2016 gold medalist and 2021 bronze medalist, is seeded third at 97 kg in his third Olympics. He will face 2023 Asian silver medalist Awusayiman Habila (China) in the round of 16.

Meanwhile, Kennedy Blades, the last of the American women to take the mats in Paris, will wrestle No. 4 seed Catalina Exente (Romania), a fifth-place finisher at the 2023 Worlds.

Day 5 Full Match Notes

Men’s Freestyle

57k – Spencer Lee (Silver Medalist)

Gold-Medal Match – lost to Rei Higuchi (Japan), 4-2 — The former Hawkeye used a pair of stepouts to lead 2-0 at the break before the Japanese wrestler scored the first of two takedowns 40 seconds into the second period. Higuchi added another in the closing seconds, countering a last-gasp throw by Lee.

74k – Kyle Dake (Wrestles for Bronze Saturday)

R16 – won by TF over Anthony Montero Chirinos (Venezuela) — Dake opened this dominating mat with a takedown and gut 20 seconds in the bout, then turned a second takedown off a single into a pair of guts to end the bout with 40 seconds left in the first frame.

Quarterfinal — pinned Yones Emamichoghaei (Iran), 11-1 (5:59) — Dake was very effective with a lifted single-leg attack that resulted in three takedowns, including the third one that led to a gut wrench for exposure points. But it wasn’t until Dake applied a defensive lift that put the Iranian on his back for the fall.

Semifinal — lost to Daichi Takatani (Japan), 20-12 — Unlike last year’s World Championships when Dake prevailed 6-4 against Takatani, the Japanese wrestler solved Dake’s defense by scoring 12 exposure points to go along with three takedowns. Dake used a pair of takedowns to lead 4-3 with 1:22 left before Takatani scored a takedown and added two guts in the final 45 seconds of the first to lead 9-4 at the break. Dake opened the second with a takedown and cut the margin to 9-8 before the Japanese wrestler exploded for eight more exposure points.

Bronze Medal Match – Opponent to be determined for Saturday match.

86k Aaron Brooks (Bronze Medalist)

Bronze Medal Match – dec. Javrail Shapiev (Uzebekistan), 5-0 — The former Penn State national champ captured his first Olympic medal and came back from a last-second semifinal loss. Brooks blanked the former Russian wrestler with three stepouts and a power double for a takedown after Brooks had been placed on theactivity clock.

125k – Mason Parris (did not place)

R16 – lost to Lkhagvagerel Munkhture (Mongolia), 10-5 — Parris was leading 3-1 — from a first-period takedown and pushout 40 seconds in second frame — before the Mongolian scored a four-point takedown on the edge of the mat with 1:47 left. Munkhture added a pushout, caution and another takedown with 1:15 left to lead 10-3. Parris scored a takedown with 38 seconds left to close the scoring. Parris was eliminated from competition when Munkhture lost his next match.

Women’s Freestyle

57k – Helen Maroulis (Bronze Medalist)

Bronze Medal Match – pinned Hannah Taylor (Canada), 2-0, 0:24 — Maroulis took very little time to become the first American wrestler to claim three Olympic medals when she took the Canadian to her back with a fireman’s carry and scored a quick fall. The Maryland native now has one gold (2016) and two bronze medals (the other coming in 2021) in her legendary career.

62k Kayla Miracle (did not place)

R16 — won by TF over Nesrin Bas (Turkey), 12-2 — Miracle gave up an opening takedown to trail 2-0 before regaining the lead, 4-2, at the break before scoring eight more points in the second period.

Quarterfinals – lost to Aisuluu Tynybekova (Kyrgyzstan), 6-6 — The deciding criteria came when the 2021 silver medalist and three-time World champ scored a four-point takedown with 1:45 left in the match. Tynybekova also earned an extra point when USA’s challenge on the four-pointer was rejected which gave Tynybekova a 6-3. Miraclewas able to add a stepout with 28 seconds, left and a takedown with two seconds left but it was not enough. All of this came after a strong first period by Miracle, who earned a passivity point the scored a takedown with 14 seconds left in the first frame. Miracle must now wait to see if Tynybekova reached the finals to see if she cancompete in repechage for a possible bronze medal.