Kennedy Blades takes silver medal
For the second time in the past few days, a Hawkeye wrestler came achingly close to an Olympic gold medal.
And for the second time in as many days I’m here to tell you what an incredible accomplishment that remains.
Kennedy Blades will join the Iowa women’s program this season as both its most credentialed athlete to date and perhaps its most motivated one – having taken silver this morning with a 3-1 defeat to Japan’s Yuka Kagami at 76 kilograms.
Not only does this mark just the latest step in a skyrocketing upward trajectory for the 20-year-old’s wrestling career, but it also puts a stamp on what has been the single best Olympic performance in the history of Team USA’s women’s freestyle program.
Blades (silver at 76kg) joins fellow Americans Sarah Hildebrandt (gold at 50kg), Helen Maroulis (bronze at 57kg) and Amit Elor (gold at 68kg) in bringing home medals for the Stars & Stripes.
It was just the latest sign yet that the rapid growth of women’s wrestling in the United States is only going to continue bearing incredible athletes, stories and results at all levels of the sport.
As of this morning not only is Kennedy Blades an Olympic silver medalist at just 20 years old, but she achieved the result in what was the very first Senior World/Olympic competition of her young career.
Of course, falling two points short of gold will leave an emptiness and a disappointment that figures to burn inside of the Chicago native until her next opportunity on the big stage.
Nobody should be blind to that.
But even so, it’s difficult to quantify all the positives that will come from it as well.
To now know what it takes to reach the very precipice of a gold medal, to have the experience of maintaining one’s emotions and composure amidst arguably the greatest pressure that exists in sports, to have tested oneself against the very best wrestlers in the world and know that you belong – all of these things can be invaluable to Blades as she turns her focus not only toward being a Hawkeye and the 2024-25 season, but to future international competitions, including the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
Before we completely turn the page toward the future though, let’s break down how today’s match unfolded as Blades got her first look at the reigning World champion from Japan.
Kennedy Blades (USA) vs. #2 Yuka Kagami (Japan)
While Blades’ style is largely defined by her explosiveness and point scoring prowess, Kagami’s is quite the opposite – especially so these past two days in Paris.
The 22-year-old from Japan – who also has a 2022 World bronze medal, U23 World silver (2019) and three other age-level World titles (2017-19) to her name – had only tallied nine total points in the lead up to the final (while allowing just two) compared to the 23 put on the scoreboard by the American.
Blades brings a long, tall frame to the table, while Kagami is much shorter and more compact.
Aside from what was a stake, that contrast made the match even more intriguing to watch.
https://youtu.be/kCITGh9UC0Y?si=qoGnmyxi410zumoV
After a minute or so of relative inaction it was Blades who was hit for passivity first, and shortly thereafter put on the shot clock.
In no hurry to take a bad shot that might open a scoring window for her opponent, the American let the 30-second clock wind away and continued to probe for an opening – now trailing 1-0.
Blades finally found half of one midway through the period, shooting her patented blast double and driving Kagami out of bounds to go ahead 1-1 on criteria.
It was Japan who had the next great chance to score, getting to a deep single leg shot that Blades was able to fend off using her length until the remainder of the first-period clock expired.
The pace would continue to pick up in the second with shots and re-shots coming from both finalists. At one point the American was about a toenail’s length away from adding another step-out point that Kagami somehow managed to Houdini her way out of.
Then, with 1:22 to go Kagami would finally seize her opportunity, forcing Blades to the edge and getting to her legs for a two-point takedown as the pair crashed out of bounds.
Time and score now firmly in her wheelhouse, Kagami was able to hold center and stay stingy as the clocked steadily ticked down to triple zeroes with Blades never really able to generate a clear opening to get the points she needed.
Final score: 3-1, Kagami.
Black & Gold meaning
We’ve touched on the importance of this experience for Blades as well as what it reflects about the broader state/trajectory of women’s wrestling in the United States.
But how about its impact on her next destination – the University of Iowa.
Blades has only been a Hawkeye for two-and-a-half weeks, yet because of her recent signing with the women’s wrestling program she’ll step onto campus as an immediate Hawkeye history maker.
Blades’ silver medal was the first of its kind by any woman in school history, following shortly after fellow 2024 Olympians Eve Stewart (bronze in women’s eight rowing) and Brittany Brown (bronze in the 200 meters) had set marks of their own as the first to ever win a medal (Stewart) and an individual medal (Brown) respectively.
All of it merely continues what has been an incredible run for women’s athletics at the University of Iowa in recent years.
Now, Blades joins Clarissa Chun’s reigning national championship program, and a collection of young women equally motivated to reach the very same heights she just occupied in Paris – if not one final step beyond it.
If you want to find compelling, high-level women’s collegiate sports then the University of Iowa is rapidly becoming one of the places to look.
And if you want to find the absolute hotbed of women’s wrestling in the United States, well then, it’d be a complete mistake to look anywhere other than Iowa City.
Short time
I want to thank everyone for following along with the Olympic wrestling coverage over the last few days.
Through the early wake-up calls, the exhilaration of seeing not one, but two Hawkeyes reach an Olympic final, and even the gut punch of watching that same pair of incredible athletes fall just two points (each) shy of gold it’s been an absolute blast for me to cover it all.
I appreciate everyone’s engagement here on the site, as well as the countless folks whom I’ve learned through social media were up before the crack of dawn just as I was to catch the action live if they possibly could.
None of this would be as fun as it is if not for the athletes who make it all possible, but also the fans whose passion and dedication to the sport make it feel as big and as meaningful as it does.
Oh, and if you thought wrestling coverage was going anywhere, we’re now just 22 days from the start of the U20 World championships in Pontevedra, Spain (September 2-8) where no fewer than seven Hawkeye men/women will be aiming for gold medals of their own.
For now though, this concludes our latest wrestling journey.
Thanks again to all of you for joining me and I’ll be seeing you real soon.
‘Till next time.
