Lightweight, Freestyle (≤57 kilograms), Women

Japan’s Risako Kawai was the defending Olympic gold medallist and the 2019 World Champion in this class and had also won the 2018 Worlds at 59 kg and the 2017 Worlds at 60 kg. She was seeded first, followed by Nigerian Odunayo Adekuoroye, a three-time medallist at the World Championships and a Commonwealth Games Champion in 2014 and 2018. Japan’s Kaori Icho, likely the greatest ever female wrestler, had won gold at 58 kg in Rio, following three gold medals at 62 kg in 2004, 2008, and 2012. Since retired, Icho’s absence opened up the class for other wrestlers looking to medal.

The other seeds were Iryna Kurachkina (BLR-3) and Rong Ningning (CHN-4). Kurachkina had two bronze medals from the World Championships while Rong had won the Worlds in this class in 2018 and was runner-up in 2019 to Kawai. Unseeded but also expected to challenge was the United States’ Helen Maroulis, who had won the gold medal at Rio at 53 kg, but had since moved up in class.

The shock of the opening round came when Adekuoroye was taken down by fall by unheralded Moldovan Anastasia Nichita. Rong was also defeated in round one, but she was taken out, 8-0, by Maroulis, not really an upset. Both Kawai and Kurachkina won their opening matches.

The semi-finals saw Kawai meet Maroulis, who she defeated in a defensive struggle, 2-1, and Kurachkina facing Bulgarian Evelina Nikolova, who was no match for the Belarussian, losing 11-0 by technical superiority in 4:42. Kawai and Kurachkina met for the gold medal, with Kawai winning a workman-like victory 5-0. For Kawai, this completed a family wrestling double as two days before, her younger sister, Yukako Kawai, had taken the gold medal at 62 kg, and gave her two consecutive Olympic titles in this event.

The bronze medals went to Maroulis and Nikolova in easy victories, Maroulis winning by technical superiority, 11-0, over Mongolian Boldsaikhan Khongorzul, and Nikolova taking down ROC team member Valeriya Koblova by fall.