Olympics & Paralympics

Kusaka Wins Gold in Men’s Greco-Roman 77-Kg Wrestling, Susaki Snatches Bronze in Women’s Freestyle 50-Kg

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:51 JST, August 8, 2024

PARIS — Nao Kusaka won the gold medal in men’s Greco-Roman wrestling in the 77-kilogram class at the Paris Games on Wednesday.

It was the debut Olympic appearance for Kusaka, 23, as he took the podium’s top spot.

AP
Medalists — from left, Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman, silver, United State’s Sarah Hildebrandt, gold, Japan’s Yui Susaki, China’s Ziqi Feng, bronze — celebrate during the medal ceremony for women’s freestyle 50-kilogram wrestling on Wednesday.

AP photos
**Top:** Japan’s Akari Fujinami, left, and Cnina’s Qianyu Pang compete in their women’s freestyle 53-kilogram semifinal wrestling match on Wednesday. **Above:** Tomokazu Harimoto, center, reacts after losing by Sweden in the men’s teams semifinal table tennis match on Wednesday.

Yui Susaki, 25, a gold medalist at the Tokyo Games in 50-kilogram women’s freestyle wrestling, lost in this year’s semifinals but won her bronze match to add another medal to her collection.

Akari Fujinami, 20, is guaranteed a gold or silver medal in the 53-kilogram class, having won her semifinal match in freestyle wrestling.

In the men’s table tennis team event, Japan succumbed to Sweden, and missed its chance to advance to the finals. Japan will compete for bronze on Friday.

In athletics, Ryuji Miura, 22, finished eighth in the men’s 3,000 meters steeplechase final. He has managed to place in the top eight at two Olympics in a row, having been seventh at the Tokyo Games.

Rachid Muratake became the first Japanese athlete to secure a final spot in the men’s 110-meter hurdles at the Games, thanks to his strong semifinal performance.