Catalina Axente and Kennedy Blades | Photo by PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP via Getty Images
Kennedy Blades landed one of the crazies throws in Olympic history on her run to the gold.
During her opening round match Sunday in the 76g competition against Cătălina Axente from Romania, Blades—a 20-year-old phenom from Chicago, jumped behind her opponent, grabbed a body lock and launched Axente into the air before bringing her crashing back down to the canvas. The five-point suplex earned a huge reaction from the Paris crowd as the throw ended the match with Kennedy winning 11-0 on technical superiority (a 10-point lead in freestyle ends the match).
Kennedy couldn’t celebrate, however, with Axente remaining motionless on the mat following the stunning throw. Medical personnel tended to Axente, who was eventually removed from the floor on a stretcher where she was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Following that win, Blades defeated Milaimys Marin from Cuba in a tight 4-3 score to move onto the semifinals where she defeated Aiperi Medet Kyzy from Kyrgyzstan 8-6 to claim her spot in the gold medal match.
It’s a strong start for Blades, who was the second youngest member of the U.S. Olympic wrestling team behind only 2024 gold medalist Amit Elor, who is just four months younger. Blades is coached by Izzy Martinez, one of the most prominent MMA coaches known for working with numerous fighters including Jon Jones and Holly Holm.
Holm was in attendance on Saturday to show her support as Blades seeks to become the third woman from the U.S. team to win gold following Elor and Sarah Hildebrandt.
Blades faces Yuka Kagami from Japan in the finals on Sunday.
