The excitement for the Paris Olympics 2024 is brewing up as the U.S. Wrestling Olympic Team Trials take centerstage in Penn State on April 18-19. With over 201 wrestlers in contention for the Paris Olympics 2024 seats, there are three divisions, each with six different weight classes, in which the competition will take place. However, wrestlers of only 13 weight classes will secure the automatic qualification for the Paris Olympics 2024.
The qualified weight classes for the Paris Olympics 2024 from U. S are 74 kg, 86 kg, 97 kg and 125 kg for men's freestyle, 87 kg and 97 kg for men's Greco Roman and all women's freestyle categories.
USA is yet to qualify for Men's freestyle 57 and 65 kgs and Greco-Roman 60 kg, 67 kg and 77 kg. The winners of these divisions will head to the World Olympic Games Qualifier next month in Turkey, where they will need a top-three finish in order to book a place in Paris.
Some of the top names in contention during men's freestyle 57 kg will be Daton Fix, Spencer Lee and Zane Richards while Yianni Dialomihalis, Nick Lee and Jesse Mendez will highlight the 65 kg weight class. Greco Romans’ 3 weight classes will be headlined by Kamal Bey, Alejandro Sancho, and Ildar Hafizov.
Paris Olympics 2024: How does a country qualify for a weight class?
There are three broader ways through which a country can qualify a weight class for the Olympic Games. First and foremost, a country needs one of its wrestlers from the given weight class to have secured a top-5 finish at last year's World Championships. However, one must note that it's the wrestler's country getting a place at the Olympics, not the wrestler itself, which is decided at the Olympic trials.
After the world championships, continental tournaments which include Pan American, European, Asian, and African/Oceana events serve as the qualifying criteria for countries. Wrestlers need to be in the top 2 at these events to book a place at the Paris Olympics 2024.
Both World Championships and Continental Tournaments are done, and the U.S. has qualified for the majority of weight classes as well. With 5 categories pending, the Olympic World Qualifier in Turkey next month will be the last chance for team trial's champions to earn qualification for the Paris Olympics 2024.
How have some wrestlers already qualified for Saturday’s best-of-3 championship finals at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Wrestling?
Big names including Kyle Dake and David Taylor among others were directly slotted in the best-of-3 championship finals when the pre-seed brackets of the U. S Wrestling Olympic team trials came out. But why is it so?
Because they were the gold medalists at the 2023 World Championships. If a wrestler wins a gold medal at the World Championships, the country secures qualification for the Paris Olympics 2024, and to reward him, he is seeded directly in the Championship Finals.
A total of 13 wrestlers from 18 weight classes are already in the championship battles at the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials 2024. The names and weight classes of them are:
Men's freestyle
Kyle Dake (74 kg)
David Taylor (86 kg)
Kyle Snyder (97 kg)
Mason Parris (125 kg)
Men's Greco-Roman
Spencer Woods (87 kg)
Alan Vera (97 kg)
Women's freestyle
Cohlton Schultz (130 kg)
Sarah Hildenbrandt (50 kg)
Dominique Parrish (53 kg)
Helen Maroulis (57 kg)
Kayla Miracle (62 kg)
Amit Elor (68 kg)
Adeline Gray (76 kg)
