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| Event type

Lightweight, Freestyle (≤55 kilograms), Women

Date 9 August 2012
StatusOlympic
LocationExCeL, Newham, London (North Arena 2)
Participants19 from 19 countries
FormatSingle elimination tournament. Competitors losing to the finalists entered repechage tournament for bronze medals.

Hitomi Obara and Kaori Icho had lived up to their status as favorites by winning gold in the flyweight and middleweight divisions respectively on the opening day of women’s wrestling at the 2012 Olympics. Japan looked to continue its dominance in the sport on day two, this time with Saori Yoshida in the 55 kg division, a competitor whose record was formidable. She had won the event in every World Championship, Asian Games, and Olympic tournament since 2002 and, as the sport had been introduced at the Olympics only in 2004, this meant she was the only Olympic champion. She met Canada’s Tonya Verbeek in the final, runner-up at the 2004 Olympics and the most recent World Championships and bronze medalist at the 2008 Games and the 2005 and 2009 World Championships. In the final, however, Yoshida was simply the better wrestler, outscoring her opponent 3-0 and 2-0 to claim her third Olympic crown.

The first bronze medal bout was perhaps the most evenly matched of all the medal rounds, pitting Tetiana Lazareva of Ukraine, whose best international finishes were gold at the 2001 and 2002 European Championships and silver at the 2000 and 2008 World Championships, against Jackeline Rentería of Colombia, winner of her nation’s first Olympic wrestling medal with a bronze from 2008 to add to her victory at the 2007 Pan American Games. Lazareva made it to the bronze medal match by defeating Geeta Geeta of India in the repêchage round, whose presence was notable as the first Indian competitor in Olympic women’s wrestling. In the bronze medal match, Lazareva took an early lead by scoring one point in the first round to win it but, in a scoreless second period, was unable to convert her advantage in the par terre to points. The led to a third round where the Colombian was able to score two points in the final ten seconds and clinch the bronze. The final podium spot was all but a foregone conclusion, with 2009 World and 2011 European Champion in the non-Olympic 59 kg class Yuliya Ratkeviç of Azerbaijan facing rookie Valeriya Zholobova of Russia. Ratkeviç was also the runner-up in the lightweight division of the 2010 World Championships and the advantage of her experience was immediately evident as she scored six points on, and nearly pinned, Zholobova before the first round was over. In the second period, each was able to shove the other out of the ring for one point, but the Azerbaijani scored a final point in the last ten seconds and earned her bronze medal.

PosWrestlerNOC
1Saori YoshidaJPNGold
2Tonya VerbeekCANSilver
=3Jackeline RenteríaCOLBronze
=3Yuliya RatkeviçAZEBronze
=5Valeriya ZholobovaRUS
=5Tetiana LazarevaUKR
7Sofia MattssonSWE
8Marwa AmriTUN
9Lissette AntesECU
10Han Kum-OkPRK
11Olga ButkevychGBR
12Joice SilvaBRA
13Geeta PhogatIND
14Eom Ji-EunKOR
15Maria PrevolarakiGRE
16Rabab EidEGY
=17Kelsey CampbellUSA
=17Sündeviin ByambatserenMGL
19Marcia AndradesVEN

Round One (9 August 2012)

Winner of each match advanced to round two. Losers to eventual finalists advanced to repêchage round one.

Match #1 Lissette AntesECU Bye
Match #2 Olga ButkevychGBR Bye
Match #3 Jackeline RenteríaCOL Bye
Match #4 Han Kum-OkPRK Bye
Match #5 Tetiana LazarevaUKR Bye
Match #6 Rabab EidEGY Bye
Match #7 Tonya VerbeekCAN Bye
Match #8 Geeta PhogatIND Bye
Match #9 Saori YoshidaJPN Bye
Match #10 Kelsey CampbellUSA Bye
Match #11 Yuliya RatkeviçAZE Bye
Match #12 Maria PrevolarakiGRE Bye
Match #13 Joice SilvaBRA Bye
Match #14 Valeriya ZholobovaRUS Marcia AndradesVEN Decision by shutout (8 - 0)
Match #15 Sofia MattssonSWE Sündeviin ByambatserenMGL Decision by shutout (7 - 0)
Match #16 Marwa AmriTUN Eom Ji-EunKOR Fall (2:36)

Round Two (9 August 2012)

Winner of each match advanced to quarter-finals. Losers to eventual finalists advanced to repêchage round one.

Match #1 Lissette AntesECU Olga ButkevychGBR Decision (3 - 4)
Match #2 Jackeline RenteríaCOL Han Kum-OkPRK Decision (9 - 10)
Match #3 Tetiana LazarevaUKR Rabab EidEGY Fall (0:48)
Match #4 Tonya VerbeekCAN Geeta PhogatIND Decision (4 - 2)
Match #5 Saori YoshidaJPN Kelsey CampbellUSA Decision by shutout (2 - 0)
Match #6 Yuliya RatkeviçAZE Maria PrevolarakiGRE Decision by shutout (3 - 0)
Match #7 Valeriya ZholobovaRUS Joice SilvaBRA Decision (2 - 2)
Match #8 Sofia MattssonSWE Marwa AmriTUN Decision by shutout (5 - 0)

Quarter-Finals (9 August 2012)

Winner of each match advanced to semi-finals. Losers to eventual finalists advanced to repêchage round two.

Match #1 Jackeline RenteríaCOL Lissette AntesECU Decision (2 - 1)
Match #2 Tonya VerbeekCAN Tetiana LazarevaUKR Decision by shutout (2 - 0)
Match #3 Saori YoshidaJPN Yuliya RatkeviçAZE Decision by shutout (3 - 0)
Match #4 Valeriya ZholobovaRUS Sofia MattssonSWE Decision (4 - 5)

Semi-Finals (9 August 2012)

Winner of each match advanced to final. Losers advanced to repêchage final.

Match #1 Tonya VerbeekCAN Jackeline RenteríaCOL Decision by shutout (2 - 0)
Match #2 Saori YoshidaJPN Valeriya ZholobovaRUS Decision by shutout (3 - 0)

Repêchage Round One (9 August 2012)

Winner of each match advanced to repêchage round two.

Match #1 Geeta PhogatIND Bye
Match #2 Kelsey CampbellUSA Bye

Repêchage Round Two (9 August 2012)

Winner of each match advanced to repêchage final.

Match #1 Tetiana LazarevaUKR Geeta PhogatIND Decision by shutout (9 - 0)
Match #2 Yuliya RatkeviçAZE Kelsey CampbellUSA Decision by shutout (5 - 0)

Repêchage Final (9 August 2012)

Match #1 Jackeline RenteríaCOL Tetiana LazarevaUKR Decision (5 - 1)
Match #2 Yuliya RatkeviçAZE Valeriya ZholobovaRUS Decision (8 - 1)

Final Round (9 August 2012)

Match 1/2 Saori YoshidaJPN Tonya VerbeekCAN Decision by shutout (5 - 0)