Snyder and Hildebrandt receive draws for day six of Olympic Games
by Taylor Miller, USA Wrestling
The final two U.S. Olympic wrestlers, men’s freestyler Kyle Snyder (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) at 97 kg and women’s freestyler Sarah Hildebrandt (Colorado Springs, Colo./USOPTC/New York AC) at 50 kg, have received their draws for Olympic Games competition.
Competition begins Friday at 11 a.m. local time (Thursday at 10 p.m. U.S. ET).
2016 Olympic champion and No. 2 seed Kyle Snyder drew Canada’s Jordan Steen, who finished second at the 2020 Pan American Olympic Qualifier.
With Snyder as the 2 seed, the other seeded athlete in his half-bracket is No. 3 seed Alisher Yergali of Kazakhstan, a 2019 Worlds fifth-place finisher.
Competing in the other half-bracket is No. 1 Abdulrashid Sadulaev of Russia, who has an Olympic gold at 86 kg and two World titles at 86 kg (2014, 2015) in addition to his 2018 and 2019 golds at 97 kg. The No. 4 seed is Magomedgadji Nurov from Macedonia, a 2019 World bronze medalist.
Snyder is the reigning Olympic champion at 97 kg and a 2015 and 2017 World champion. He picked up the 2017 gold with a gritty finals win over Sadulaev. In 2018, Sadulaev flipped the result with a pin over Snyder in the finals. At the 2019 Worlds, Snyder finished with bronze, but he and the Russian did not meet in the tournament. Originally from Woodbine, Md., Snyder was a three-time NCAA champion at Ohio State. He currently trains at Penn State.
USA Wrestling preview for 97 kg in men’s freestyle
Representing the women’s freestyle squad is 2018 World silver medalist Sarah Hildebrandt, who won her World medal at 53 kg. She will open her tournament against 2017 World bronze medalist, Evin Demirhan of Turkey punched her ticket for Tokyo by taking a silver at the 2021 European Olympic Qualifier.
Entering the tournament unseeded, Hildebrandt will have the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds in her half bracket, including No. 2 and 2019 World silver medalist Emilia Vuc of Romania and No. 3 and 2018 World bronze medalist Oksana Livach from Ukraine.
Competing in the other half-bracket is No. 1 Maria Stadnik of Azerbaijan, who is a 2016 Olympic silver medalist and 2019 World champion, as well as No. 4 Valentina Islamova Brik of Kazakhstan, who won bronze in 2019.
In 2020, Hildebrandt dropped to 50 kg for her Olympic run, and qualified the USA at the 2020 Pan American Olympic Qualifier right before the pandemic hit. In 2021, she won the Henri Deglane in France and the Pan American Championships along with defeating multiple-time World Team member Victoria Anthony to make the Olympic Team. Originally from Granger, Ind., Hildebrandt was a multiple-time national champion at King University.
USA Wrestling preview for 50 kg in women’s freestyle
U.S. men’s freestyle first round draw
97 kg - Kyle Snyder (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
vs. Jordan Steen (Canada)
U.S. women’s freestyle first round draw
50 kg - Sarah Hildebrandt (Colorado Springs, Colo./USOPTC/New York AC)
vs. Evin Demirhan (Turkey)
Competition schedule for Friday, Aug. 6 (local time in Tokyo)
11 a.m. – Qualification rounds (MFS 65, 97; WFS 50 kg)
11 a.m. – Repechage (MFS 74, 125; WFS 53 kg)
6:15 p.m. – Semifinals (MFS 65, 97; WFS 50 kg)
7:30 p.m.- Finals (MFS 74, 125; WFS 53 kg)
Competition schedule – U.S. Eastern time zone
August 5, 10 p.m. ET – Qualification rounds (MFS 65, 97; WFS 50 kg)
August 5, 10 p.m. ET – Repechage (MFS 74, 125; WFS 53 kg)
August 6, 5:15 a.m. ET – Semifinals (MFS 65, 97; WFS 50 kg)
August 6, 6:30 a.m. ET- Finals (MFS 74, 125; WFS 53 kg)
For additional information, visit:
United World Wrestling Olympics website