Iowa wrestling's Kennedy Blades reaches gold-medal match at 2024 Paris Olympics
In the Olympic semifinal at 76 kilograms, Blades took on Aiperi Medt Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan, a 25-year-old World silver medalist in 2023 and a World bronze medalist in 2021 (she also represented her country in the Tokyo Olympics). The two wrestled in a UWW rankings series match in February 2023, where Blades won by technical superiority (12-1).