By Gary Abbott
USA Wrestling

PARIS, France – All three of the U.S. wrestlers in Group 4, which started action on Thursday morning, have powered into tonight’s semifinals with powerful performances at the Champ-de-Mars Arena.

Qualifying for the semifinals were 2016 Olympic champion and 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Helen Maroulis at 57 kg in women’s freestyle, along with men’s freestylers Spencer Lee at 57 kg and Aaron Brooks at 86 kg.

Maroulis, who is seeded No. 5, opened with a 7-2 win over Anshu of India, a 2022 World silver medalist. Maroulis led 2-0 at the break after scoring a takedown. In the second period, a takedown and turn extended the score to 6-0. Anshu got on the board with a step out and a caution and one for fleeing, to make it 6-2. Add in another step out point for Maroulis to close it out.

In the quarterfinals, Maroulis defeated three-time European champion Alina Hrushyna Akobiia of Ukraine, 7-4.  Maroulis came out in command, scoring two takedowns and a shot clock point to lead 5-0 at the break. An early Maroulis takedown stretched it to 7-0, before Hrushnya made an unsuccessful late run.

Maroulis will face No. 1 seed and three-time World champion Tsugumi Sakurai of Japan in the semifinals. Sakurai won her first World title at 55 kg in 2021, then claimed the next two at 57 kg. Sakurai beat Maroulis in both the 2022 World Championships and the 2023 World Championships.

Maroulis was the first U.S. woman to win Olympic gold (2016), the first to win two Olympic medals (2020 bronze) and the first to make three Olympic teams. She boasts nine World or Olympic medals and beat the legend Saori Yoshida of Japan in the Rio finals. Among her medals are three World titles.

In the preliminaries, Lee scored a 3-2 win over No. 6 seed Wanhao Zou of China. Lee scored all of his points in the first period, with a takedown and a shot clock point. In the second period, Zou forced two step out points at the end but could not score again. Lee beat Zou at the World Olympic Qualifier in Istanbul, 10-9.

In the quarterfinal, Lee dispatched Bekzat Almaz Uulu of Kyrgyzstan. a U23 World bronze medalist, in a 12-2 technical fall. Lee gave up the first takedown then blitzed the opponent, with two takedown-and-turns, plus a big four point takedown.

In the semifinals, Lee will battle No. 7 seed Gulomjon Aduallaev of Uzbekistan. Abdullaev was seventh in the 2020 Olympics and claimed a bronze medal at the 2016 U20 World Championships.

Lee was a three-time NCAA champion for Iowa and won three age-group World titles for the United States.

Brooks defeated the No. 1 seed and a two-time World bronze medalist Azamat Dauletbekov of Kazakhstan, 4-3 in the first round. Dauletbekov opened the scoring with a step out, but Brooks responded with a takedown and 2-1 lead at the break. Brooks added a second period takedown to lead 4-1, A caution and two point penalty against Brooks at the end adjusted the score to 4-3.

Brooks continued his powerful wrestling in the quarterfinals, with an 11-1 technical fall over No. 8 seed Hayato Ishiguro of Japan, a 2018 U20 World champion. The score was tied at 1-1 at the break, but Brooks took over in the second period, with five takedowns in a row.  

Brooks will face No. 5 seed Magomed Ramazanov of Bulgaria in the semifinals. Ramazanov qualified through the World Olympic Qualifier in Istanbul, and just started wrestling for Bulgaria after competing for Russia most of his career.

Brooks, a four-time NCAA champion for Penn State, has won age-group World titles at the U20 and U23 levels, but has limited Senior-level experience.

In Group 3, 2022 World champion Dom Parrish of the USA was defeated in repechage at 53 kg by Khulan Batkhuyag of Mongolia. Parrish jumped to a 3-0 lead, but Batkhuyag powered back to lead 6-4 at the break. In the second period, Batkhuyag added a takedown, then hit a sweet trip to take Parrish to her back for a pin in 4:35. With Parrish knocked out, the USA will not have a competitor in Thursday night’s medal rounds.

The next session begins at 6:15 p.m. local time, which is 12:15 p.m. Eastern time in the USA. That will include the semifinal rounds for Group 4, with Lee, Brooks and Maroulis all in action. The Group 3 finals will follow at 7:30 p.m. This evening will be the completion of the Greco-Roman competition for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

All of the action is broadcast live on Peacock.

OLYMPIC GAMES PARIS 2024

At Paris, France

Group 4 semifinal pairings

Men’s Freestyle 57 kg

Rei Higuchi (Japan) vs. Aman Sehrawat (India)

Spencer Lee (United States) vs. Gulomjon Abdullaev (Uzbekistan)

Men’s Freestyle 86 kg

Aaron Brooks (United States) vs. Magomed Ramazanov (Bulgaria)

Myles Amine (San Marino) vs. Hassan Yazdani (Iran)

Women’s Freestyle  57 kg

Tsugumi Sakurai (Japan) vs. Helen Maroulis (United States)

Kexin Hong (China) vs. Anastasia Nichita (Moldova)

Group 4 quarterfinal results

Men’s Freestyle 57 kg

Rei Higuchi (Japan) tech fall Darian Cruz (Puerto Rico) 12-2

Aman Sehrawat (India) tech fall Zelimkhan Abakarov (Albania) 12-0

Spencer Lee (United States) tech fall Bekzat Almaz Uulu (Kyrgyzstan) 12-2

Gulomjon Abdullaev (Uzbekistan) dec. Arsen Harutyunyan (Armenia), 12-5

Women’s freestyle 57 kg

Tsugumi Sakurai (Japan) tech fall Luisa Valverde (Ecuador), 11-0

Helen Maroulis (United States) dec. Alina Hriushyna Akobiia (Ukraine) 7-4

Kexin Hong (China) pin Odunayo Adekuoroye (Nigeria), 5:16

Anastasia Nichita (Moldova) pin Giulia Penalber (Brazil) 2:00

Men’s freestyle 86 kg

Aaron Brooks (United States) tech fall Hayato Ishiguro (Japan) TF 11-1

Magomed Ramazanov (Bulgaria) pin Javrail Shapiev (Uzbekistan) Fall 3:31

Myles Amine (San Marino) dec. Osman Nurmagomedov (Azerbaijan) Dec 16-14

Hassan Yazdani (Iran) dec. Dauren Kurugliev (Greece) Dec 9-4

Group 4 U.S. men’s freestyle results

57 kg – Spencer Lee, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC), in semifinals

WIN Wanhao Zou (China), 3-2

WIN Bekzat Almaz Uulu (Kyrgyzstan), tech fall 12-2

Semifinals – Vs. Gulomjon Abdullaev (Uzbekistan)

86 kg – Aaron Brooks, Hagerstown, Md. (Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC), in semifinals

WIN Azamat Dauletbekov (Kazakhstan), 4-3

WIN Hayato Ishiguro (Japan), tech fall 11-1

Semifinals – Vs. Magomed Ramazanov (Bulgaria)

Group 4 women’s freestyle results

57 kg – Helen Maroulis, Rockville, Md. (Sunkist Kids), in semifinals

WIN Anshu (India), 7-2

WIN Alina Hrushyna Akobiia (Ukraine), 7-4

Semifinals – Vs. Tsugumi Sakurai (Japan)

Group 3 finals pairings

Greco-Roman 67 kg

Gold - Parviz Nasibov (Ukraine) vs. Saeid Esmaeili (Iran)

Bronze – Hasrat Jafarov (Azerbaijan) vs. Amantur Ismailov (Kyrgyzstan)

Bronze - Slavik Galstyan (Armenia) vs. Luis Orta Sanchez (Cuba)

Greco-Roman 87 kg

Gold - Alireza Mohmadipiani (Iran) vs. Semen Novikov (Bulgaria)

Bronze – Zhan Beleniuk (Ukraine) vs. Arkadiusz Kulynycz (Poland)

Bronze - David Losonczi (Hungary) vs. Turpal Bisultanov (Denmark)

Women’s Freestyle 53 kg

Gold - Lucia Yepez Guzman (Ecuador) vs. Akari Fujinami (Japan)

Bronze – Annika Wendle (Germany) vs. Hyogyong Choe (North Korea)

Bronze - Qianyu Pang (China) vs. Khulan Batkhuyag (Mongolia)

Group 3 U.S. women’s freestyle results

53 kg – Dom Parrish, Corvallis, Ore. (Sunkist Kids/Beaver Dam RTC), eliminated

LOSS Akari Fujinami (Japan), pin 2:05

LOSS Khulan Batkhuyag (Mongolia), pin 4:35

Group 3 U.S. Greco-Roman results

87 kg – Payton Jacobson, Elkhorn, Wis. (Sunkist Kids), eliminated LOSS Aleksandr Komarov (Serbia), tech fall, 10-0