Croissant or baguette? Team USA athletes have sparked heated debate
The 2024 Paris Olympics means a heated debate among croissant and baguette lovers. The USA Olympics team has these favorite teams, which is your favorite?
With less than 100 days remaining until the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, it is time for athletes to secure their spots on Team USA.
In many high-level sports, that means stepping away from the challenge of the Olympic Trials.
The first major tryouts of the spring semester are in wrestling, and they are underway this weekend at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pennsylvania, which is home to three-time collegiate champion Penn State.
The two-day event features competition in all 18 Olympic weight classes, including six each in men's freestyle, women's freestyle, and Greco-Roman. Countries are not allowed to field more than one wrestler per weight class at the Olympics, meaning only the champion in each class will get a shot in Paris. The United States still has not secured a share in five of the 18 weight divisions, meaning even those winners may not ultimately compete in the Games.
Here's everything you need to know about the Olympic Wrestling Trials.
When are the Olympic Wrestling Trials?
The U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials are held 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 Championship.
Here is the full schedule:
Friday from 10 am to 3.30 pm: Preliminary qualifiers and quarter-finals for the Challenge Championship
Friday, from 6:30 pm to 10 pm: Challenge tournament semi-finals and finals
Saturday from 10 am to 3 pm: The first round of best-of-three championship series in all styles and weight classes, plus the second round in the five weight classes that have not yet qualified for the Olympics, the Challenger Championship, and third-place matches.
Saturday 6:30 PM to 10 PM: The second and third rounds (if necessary) in a best-of-three tournament 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 top competitors a bye to the semifinals or finals.
This creates a two-level bracket format. There's the Challenger Championship, a traditional bracket format where the winner of each match moves on, and a best-of-three tournament final – usually where the favorite is waiting in the wings. Among those who had a bye to the final were Olympic medalists Kyle Ducky, Adeline Gray, Helen Maroulis, David Taylor and Kyle Snyder.
Live and full brackets can be found for every style and weight class here.
USA Wrestling also posted easy-to-follow brackets on social media earlier this week Men's freestyle swimming, Women's freestyle swimming And Roman Greek.
How to watch the Olympic Wrestling Trials live
Both evening sessions air on USA Network beginning at 6:30 PM on Friday and Saturday. But all sessions (morning and evening) are also broadcast on Peacock, which offers separate broadcasts of individual matches as well as a 'quadruple box' to allow viewers to monitor multiple matches at the same time.
The event is also broadcast on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app.
Names to watch
In men's freestyle, perhaps the biggest spotlight is in the 74kg weight class, where 2012 Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs, 35, will try to reclaim his spot on Team USA in what will be his last Olympics. He previously said he would retire at the end of 2024. If he falls out of the challenger bracket, he will have to face Dak, the Tokyo bronze medalist and four-time world champion who beat him in the 2021 Olympic qualifiers.
Three other 2021 Olympic medalists are in the field, including Snyder (97kg) and Taylor (86kg), who won silver and gold in Tokyo, respectively. Thomas Gilman, ranked No. 2 at 57 kg, will also attempt his second Games.
In women's freestyle, the United States has an Olympic or world medalist in all six weight classes at the Olympic Trials. Gray, who won silver in Tokyo, is aiming for a return trip to the Games after giving birth to twins in 2022. Another rising star to watch is Amit Elor, the 20-year-old who has already won two world titles. At a non-Olympic weight of 72 kg. She will compete at 68kg at the trials.
Greco-Roman is undoubtedly the weakest style on Team USA, although Alan Vera (97kg) and Spencer Woods (87kg) are among the strong favorites in their respective weight classes.
Olympic wrestling weight classes in pounds
Since the United States does not use the metric system, you may be wondering what all these weight categories mean in pounds. Don't worry, we got you.
Below are each Olympic weight category rounded to the nearest pound. The five weights at which Team USA did not earn a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics are marked with an asterisk.
Men's freestyle swimming
- *57 kg: 126 pounds
- *65 kg: 143 pounds
- 74 kg: 163 pounds
- 86 kg: 190 pounds
- 97 kg: 214 pounds
- 125 kg: 276 pounds
Women's freestyle swimming
- 50 kg: 110 pounds
- 53 kg: 117 pounds
- 57 kg: 126 pounds
- 62 kg: 137 pounds
- 68 kg: 150 pounds
- 76 kg: 168 pounds
Roman Greek
- *60 kg: 132 pounds
- *67 kg: 148 pounds
- *77 kg: 170 pounds
- 87 kg: 192 pounds
- 97 kg: 214 pounds
- 130 kg: 287 pounds
Contact Tom Schad at [email protected] or on social media @Tom_Schad.
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