Croissant or baguette? Team USA athletes had a heated debate
The Paris 2024 Olympics means a heated debate between croissant and baguette lovers. Team USA has these favorites, what are yours?
With the 2024 Paris Olympics less than 100 days away, it's time for athletes to secure their spot on Team USA.
And in many high-profile sports, it's coming out of the Olympic Trials.
The first big tryouts of the spring are in wrestling, and they're underway this weekend at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pennsylvania, home of three-time collegiate champion Penn State.
The two-day event features competitions in all 18 Olympic weight divisions, including six each in men's freestyle, women's freestyle and Greco-Roman. Countries aren't allowed to enter more than one wrestler per weight class in the Olympics, meaning only the champion in each bracket has a shot in Paris. The U.S. still hasn't earned a quota place in five of the 18 weights, meaning even those winners won't compete at the Games in the end.
Here's everything you need to know about the Olympic Wrestling Trials.
When are the Olympic Wrestling Trials?
The U.S. Olympic Wrestling Championships are held on Friday and Saturday, with a morning session (starting at 10 a.m.) and an evening session (starting at 6:30 p.m.) each day. They started on Friday morning with the opening rounds of the challenge tournament.
Here is the complete schedule:
Friday, 10 am to 3:30 pm: Preliminaries and quarterfinals of challenge matches
Friday, 6:30 PM to 10 PM: Challenge Match Semi-Finals and Finals
Saturday, 10 am to 3 pm: Round one of the best-of-three championship series in all styles and weight classes, and round two of five weight classes that still do not qualify for the Olympic and Challenge Tournament consolation and third-place matches.
Saturday, 6:30 PM to 10 PM: Rounds two and three (if necessary) of the best-of-three championship series.
Olympic Trials Wrestling Brackets and Format
Unlike the Olympic trials in sports like track and field, where each athlete must work through the entire bracket, wrestling gives its top competitors a bye to the semifinals or finals.
This creates a two-tier bracket design. There's a challenge tournament, a traditional bracket-style format where the winner of each match advances, and a best-of-three championship final – usually where the favorite awaits. Olympic medalists Kyle Dag, Adeline Gray, Helen Maroulis, David Taylor and Kyle Snyder were among those bagged for the finals.
Find live, complete brackets for every style and weight class Here.
USA Wrestling released an easy-to-follow bracket on social media earlier this week Men's Freestyle, Women's Freestyle And Greco-Roman.
How to Watch Olympic Wrestling Trials, Live Stream
Two evening sessions begin on Friday and Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and air on the USA Network. But all sessions (both morning and evening) are streamed on Peacock, which offers separate streams for individual matches and a „quad box” that allows viewers to watch multiple matches simultaneously.
The event will also be streamed on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app.
Names to Watch
In men's freestyle, the bright spotlight will be on the 74-kilogram weight class, where 2012 Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burrows, 35, will try to regain his spot on the U.S. team in his last Olympic cycle. He had previously said he would retire at the end of 2024. If he emerges from the challenge, he will face Tack, the Tokyo bronze medalist and four-time world champion who defeated him at the 2021 Olympic Trials.
Three other 2021 Olympic medalists are in the field, including Snyder (97kg) and Taylor (86kg), who won silver and gold respectively in Tokyo. Thomas Gilman, ranked No. 2 in the 57kg category, will try to make his second appearance.
In women's freestyle, a U.S. Olympic or World medalist in all six weight classes at the Olympic Trials. Gray, who won silver in Tokyo, is looking to return to the Games in 2022 after having twins. A star to watch is Amit Elor, a 20-year-old who has already won two world titles. In non-Olympic weight, 72 kg. He will compete in the trials with a weight of 68 kg.
Although Alan Vera (97 kg) and Spencer Woods (87 kg) are the heavy favorites in their weight divisions, Greco-Roman is undoubtedly Team USA's weakest style.
Olympic wrestling weight classes in pounds
Since the US doesn't use the metric system, you might be wondering what all these weight classes mean in pounds. Don't worry, we've got you covered.
Each Olympic weight class is rounded to the nearest pound. The five weights in which Team USA did not receive a quota place at the 2024 Paris Olympics are marked with an asterisk.
Men's Freestyle
*57 kg: 126 pounds*65 kg: 143 pounds74 kg: 163 pounds86 kg: 190 pounds97 kg: 214 pounds125 kg: 276 pounds
Women's Freestyle
50 kg: 110 pounds53 kg: 117 pounds57 kg: 126 pounds62 kg: 137 pounds68 kg: 150 pounds76 kg: 168 pounds
Greco-Roman
*60 kg: 132 pounds*67 kg: 148 pounds*77 kg: 170 pounds87 kg: 192 pounds97 kg: 214 pounds130 kg: 287 pounds
Contact Tom Schad at [email protected] or on social media @Tom_Schad.
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