2024 Olympian Kennedy Blades signs with Iowa
Well, the incredible news just keeps on coming for the University of Iowa women’s wrestling program.
Around lunchtime this afternoon (in the US) Iowa officially announced the addition of its latest (and perhaps greatest) recruit yet – one who just so happens to currently be stationed over in Paris, France as she prepares for the 2024 Olympic Games.
Yeah, Kennedy Blades is now a Hawkeye.
The 20-year-old Chicago native has been a well-known phenom in the world of women’s wrestling ever since reaching the Olympic Trials final at 68 kilograms back in 2021 at the age of 17.
Blades would lose that best-of-three series (12-4 and 8-1) to eventual Olympic gold medalist Tamyra Mensah-Stock, and her career has only taken off from there.
Following the trials experience, she’d go on to win an Under-20 World title (72kg) that same fall.
Two years later (2023) she’d nab another pair of World medals – earning bronze at U20’s and silver at U23’s (both competing at 76kg).
After falling just short in two previous attempts to make a senior national team for the United States – runner-up finishes to now-teammate Kylie Welker (2021) and American wrestling legend Adeline Gray (2023) – Blades finally broke through this past April at the Olympic Trials, sweeping a pair of matches over the 10-time World/Olympic medalist Gray to earn a spot on Team USA.
**Blades will compete in Paris at 76 kilograms on August 10-11, TV/streaming info found HERE.**
She also doesn’t lack previous Hawkeye connections.
Back in high school, Blades attended Wyoming Seminary (PA) alongside a pair of soon-to-be (reunited) teammates, 2024 NCWWC individual champions Ava Bayless (109 pounds) and Reese Larramendy (143 pounds) – the latter of whom will serve as Blades’ personal training partner in Paris as she prepares to make a run at gold.
Not only that, but she won’t be a total stranger to Iowa City upon her post-Olympics arrival either.
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Blades and her younger sister Korina visited campus together in early 2022, back when Clarissa Chun was quite literally just a month or so on the job as Iowa’s head coach and trying to put together her inaugural recruiting class.
At the time, the elder Blades sister was considered the #3 pound-for-pound recruit in the country behind Welker and fellow 2024 Olympian – two-time reigning World champion Amit Elor.
(Korina was ranked ninth overall.)
Ultimately, the sisters would opt to attend Arizona State University, where they could pursue a college degree while training locally out of the prestigious Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club – led at the time by Iowa alum Mark Perry, a two-time NCAA champion (2007-08) for the Hawkeyes.
A little more than two years after that initial decision, (Kennedy) Blades has found her way back to Iowa City after all – where she’ll presumably have three years of eligibility remaining to compete in a Black & Gold singlet.
Alongside Welker and recently signed 2023 World silver medalist (65kg) Macey Kilty, Blades gives Coach Chun arguably the top three collegiate wrestlers in the country entering the 2024-25 season.
And while they’ve previously competed in the same weight class internationally (76 kilograms/167.6 pounds), Welker recently made the drop to 72kg (~158.7 pounds) where she’ll contend for a U23 World title in late October.
72 kilograms aligns closely with the newly established collegiate weight class of 160 pounds, meaning Welker could step into the lineup there with Blades to follow up at 180 pounds.
If we’re being honest, none of that minutia is really all that important right now though.
Kennedy Blades is an Iowa Hawkeye.
Combine this news with other recent, major transfer additions, the program’s undefeated inaugural collegiate season capped by national team/dual titles, as well as a seemingly insatiable thirst to improve/add new talent wherever possible and Iowa City has arguably become the central hub of women’s wrestling in the United States just two years into the advent of the Hawkeye women’s program.
And somehow this still feels like only the beginning…
