Featherweight, Freestyle (≤53 kg), Women

It came as no surprise that Akari Fujinami from Japan and Lucía Yépez from Ecuador met in the final of the featherweight division of the women’s freestyle wrestling. Less than 20-years-of-age, Fujinami had dominated the 2021 and 2023 World championships. Yépez, two years her senior, had claimed the title at the 2021 World U-23 Championships and gold at the 2023 Pan American Games.

In Paris, Fujinami won her three matches relatively easily to advance to the final. It took her only 11½ minutes to win two bouts by fall and one by superiority. Yépez needed little more time to go through the first three rounds. Major resistance only came in round one, from the unknown North Korean Choe Hyo-Gyong, scoring four points against Yépez’s seven. In the final, Yépez was no match for Fujinami. The Japanese claimed gold in a one-sided match, winning by superiority 37 seconds into the second period.

Second seeded Jonna Malmgren from Sweden and #4 seeded Indian Antim Panghal were beaten early and easily, and were not even given a chance for bronze. The bronze medals went to the losing semi-finalist Pang Qianyu from China, and to the Korean Choe Hyo-Gyong after shouldering the German semi-finalist Annika Wendle.