Seeds have been released for the 2024 Olympic Games. Here is a breakdown of the potential U.S. women’s freestyle wrestling brackets with an explanation by FloWrestling's Jon Kozak on how seeds are determined.

How Are Olympic Wrestling Seeds Determined?

Understanding how these seeds were set is important because they differ largely from how seeds are determined in the American wrestling system. Rather than seeding by head-to-head matchups and results (like in America), United World Wrestling uses ranking points earned annually by individual wrestlers to determine the top eight Olympic seeds. 

Wrestlers earn these rankings (or seeding) points at the World Championships, Continental Championships, or two different Ranking Series events. Wrestlers at the Olympics are then seeded by their points. This system encourages the best wrestlers to participate in UWW events. 

Any of the seeds can change only if a seeded wrestler does not attend the Olympic Games.

50 Kilograms

Top Eight Seeds
No. 1 Yui Susaki (JPN)
No. 2 Otgonjargal Dolgorjav (MGL)
No. 3 Ziqi Feng (CHN)
No. 4 Evin Demirhan (TUR)
No. 5 Alisson Cardozo Rey (COL)
No. 6 Sarah Hildebrandt (USA)
No. 7 Mariya Stadnik (AZE)
No. 8 Oksana Livach (UKR)

Unseeded
Ibtissem Doudou (ALG)
Yusneylis Guzman Lopez (CUB)
Nada Mohamed (EGY)
Anastasia Blayvas (GER)
Vinesh (IND)
Gabija Dilyte (LTU)
Son Hyang Kim (PRK)
Aktenge Keunimjaeva (UZB)

Sarah Hildebrandt’s Breakdown: Hildebrandt may have the toughest path to the finals of any American — on the women’s freestyle side at least. If the seeds hold and she wins, Hildebrandt will face Feng in the quarterfinals, Dolgorjav in the semis, and Susaki in the finals assuming she wins her opening match. 

Hildebrandt fell to Mongolia’s Dolgorjavyn at back-to-back World Championships before bouncing back for bronze but has a win over her at the 2023 Polyak Imre & Varga Janos Memorial.

Feng won a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships and was ahead of Susaki, 4-2, at the 2024 Asian Championships before falling to the five-time World/Olympic champion, 8-4.

Susaki and Hildebrandt have never faced each other and will only face each other in the finals if the seeds hold. From a U.S. perspective, this is the most highly anticipated matchup of the Olympics. 

53 Kilograms

Top Eight Seeds
No. 1 Lucia Yepez Guzman (ECU)
No. 2 Emma Malmgren (SWE)
No. 3 Akari Fujinami (JPN)
No. 4 Antim (IND)
No. 5 Maria Prevolaraki (GRE)
No. 6 Christianah Ogunsanya (NGR)
No. 7 Qianyu Pang (CHN)
No. 8 Andreea Ana (ROU)

Unseeded
Annika Wendle (GER)
Mia Aquino (GUM)
Mariana Dragutan (MDA)
Khulan Batkhuyag (MGL)
Hyo Gyong Choe (PRK)
Zeynep Yetgil (TUR)
Dominique Parrish (USA)
Betzabeth Aarguello Villegas (VEN)

Dom Parrish’s Breakdown: Parrish isn’t seeded so there’s no telling who she will draw in the first round. The ideal opening-round match would be against the five-seed Prevalarki but there’s a one-in-eight chance that happens. 

Parrish laced and teched top-seeded Guzman during her 2022 World Championship run but the Ecuadorian star has improved significantly over the past two years. Parrish would assume the top seed and have two-time World champion Fujinami on the opposite side of the bracket if she defeated Guzman in the first round. 

Fujinami is the favorite but the rest of the bracket is wide open. Parrish fell to Antim, 3-2, during her first match of the 2023 World Championships but it’s a winnable match and a good match-up. 

57 Kilograms

Top Eight Seeds
No. 1 Tsugumi Sakurai (JPN)
No. 2 Anastasia Nichita (MDA)
No. 3 Odunayo Adekuoroye (NGR)
No. 4 Anhelina Lysak (POL)
No. 5 Helen Maroulis (USA)
No. 6 Kexin Hong (CHN)
No. 7 Giulia Penalber (BRA)
No. 8 Luisa Valverde (ECU)

Unseeded
Chaimaa Aouissi (ALG)
Hannah Taylor (CAN)
Sandra Paruszeswki (GER)
Rckaela Aquino (GUM)
Anshu (IND)
Aurora Russo (ITA)
Khongorzul Boldsaikhan (MGL)
Alina Hriushyna Akobiia (UKR)

Helen Maroulis’s Breakdown: Maroulis enters her third Olympic Games as the five-seed and will face Sakurai in the semifinals if both win their first two matches. The three-time World champion from Japan has defeated the American star at the last two World Championships, 3-0 and 6-0, respectively. Maroulis has had the most recent success in the field other than Sakurai. 

Maroulis matches up with Lysak in the quarterfinals — an opponent she defeated in the quarters at the 2022 Worlds and for bronze in 2023.

Adekuoroye, who teched Mauroulis at the Poland Open before the 2020 Olympics, is on the opposite side of the bracket. 

62 Kilograms

Top Eight Seeds
No. 1 Aisuluu Tynybekova (KGZ)
No. 2 Sakura Motoki (JPN)
No. 3 Grace Bullen (NOR)
No. 4 Iryna Koliadenko (UKR)
No. 5 Bilyana Dudova (BUL)
No. 6 Luisa Niemesch (GER)
No. 7 Ana Godinez (CAN)
No. 8 Kayla Miracle (USA)

Unseeded
Ameline Douarre (FRA)
Orkhon Purevdorj (MGL)
Esther Kolawole (NGR)
Hyon Gyong Mun (PRK)
Kriszta Incze (ROU)
Johanna Lindbog (SWE)
Siwar Bouseta (TUN)
Nesrin Bas (TUR)

Kayla Miracle’s Breakdown: Miracle is as good as anyone, and her potential quarterfinal match against Tynybekova will prove it. Tynybekova won World titles in 2019, 2021, and 2023 alongside a 2020 Olympic silver medal. She posted a 7-0 win over Miracle in the 2021 World Finals but Miracle won 9-3 at the 2022 World Cup. 

Miracle will have either Koliadenki or Dudova in the semifinals if she gets past Tynybekova. Japan’s Motoki and Norway’s Bullen are on the opposite side of the bracket. Bullen and Miracle were teammates together for a year at Campbellsville with Kayla’s father, Lee, as the head coach. 

68 Kilograms

Top Eight Seeds
No. 1 Buse Cavusoglu Tosun (TUR)
No. 2 Delgermaa Enkhsaikhan (MGL)
No. 3 Koumba Larroque  (FRA)
No. 4 Irina Ringaci (MDA)
No. 5 Tetiana Sova Rizhko (UKR)
No. 6 Blessing Oborududu (NGR)
No. 7 Soleymi Caraballo Hernandez (VEN)
No. 8 Feng Zhou (CHN)

Unseeded
Linda Morais (CAN)
Nisha (IND)
Nonoka Ozaki (JPN)
Meerim Zhumanazrorza (KGZ)
Tayla Ford (NZL)
Wiktoria Choluj (POL)
Sol Gum Pak (PRK)
Amit Elor (USA)

Amit Elor’s Breakdown: Elor enters unseeded but she’s the best wrestler in the field. She is a two-time World champion at 72 kg who dropped down to 68 kg. Elor will face one of the top eight seeds and is the ultimate bad draw for the field.

Japan’s Ozaki is the second-best wrestler in the field and is also unseeded. This adds a layer of intrigue since it’s possible that Ozaki and Elor could meet in the quarterfinals, semifinals, or finals depending on the draws. 

The accolades of the non-seeds are better than the seeds at this weight. 

76 Kilograms

Top Eight Seeds
No. 1 Aiperi Medt Kyzy (KGZ)
No. 2 Yuka Kagami (JPN)
No. 3 Tatiana Renteria (COL)
No. 4 Catalina Axente (ROU)
No. 5 Milaimys Marin (CUB)
No. 6 Hannah Rueben (NGR)
No. 7 Justina Di Stasio (CAN)
No. 8 Bernadett Nagy (HUN)

Unseeded
Yuliana Yaneva (BUL)
Juan Wang (CHN)
Genesis Reasco Valdez (ECU)
Reetika (IND)
Davaanasan Enkh Amar (MGL)
Zaineb Sghaier (TUN)
Yasemin Adar Yigit (TUR)
Kennedy Blades (USA)

Kennedy Blades’s Breakdown: Blades is unseeded and will have a tough opening match regardless of who she faces. She fell to Cuba’s Marin, 13-4, at the Grand Prix of Spain and could potentially draw her in the first round. We could also see a USA vs Canada match-up since returning World champion Di Stasio is seeded seventh. 

This bracket will be particularly intriguing since Blades hasn't faced many of the top international stars.