Paris Olympics: Who is Vinesh Phogat’s final opponent, USA wrestler Sarah Hildebrandt?

Vinesh Phogat’s stunning run to the Paris Olympics women’s 50kg wrestling gold medal match grabbed headlines on Tuesday.

Featuring in her third Olympics after twin heartbreaks in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, Vinesh made a phenomenal statement with her opening-round win over Japan’s Yui Susaki, a wrestling legend at 25 who had not tasted defeat in any international contest across a career of 90-plus bouts. Vinesh pulled off a last-gasp win to stun Susaki, the Tokyo Olympics 50kg champion who had won the gold without dropping a single point.

Vinesh then wiped out Ukraina’s Oksana Livach by a 7-5 margin before constricting Cuba’s Yusneylys Gusman by a 5-0 margin in the semi-final last night.

Vinesh, who suffered an ACL tear during her Rio Olympics quarter-final in the 53kg category and bowed out with a defeat in the Tokyo Games quarterfinals, scripted history as she became the first Indian woman to reach a wrestling final at the Olympics. Irrespective of the result in the final, Vinesh would have charted India’s best individual performance at the ongoing Games as yet.

It takes a village – Vinesh PHOGAT 🇮🇳 talking to her mother after becoming the first Indian to reach Olympic final in women’s wrestling#uww #wrestling #wrestleparis #olympics #paris2024 pic.twitter.com/Kh5SDCVR3T

— United World Wrestling (@wrestling) August 6, 2024

The 29-year-old Vinesh will now take on USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt in the bid for a historic gold medal.

Who is Sarah Hildebrandt, Vinesh’s gold-medal match opponent?

Hildebrandt, 30, has a prolific career record in a career that spans over a decade. The wrestler from Indiana has predominantly competed across her three weight classes, trimming down from 55kg to 53 and 50 over the years. Interestingly, Hildebrandt had claimed the 50kg bronze medal at the Tokyo Games where Vinish was still competing in the 53kg category.

Hildebrandt claimed the bronze beating Ukraine’s Livach, Vinesh’s quarter-final opponent in Paris, by an overwhelming 12-1 margin. Hildebrandt is also a seven-time Pan American champion across three weight classes and also has four World Championship medals – two silver and two bronze.

Sarah Hildebrandt reacts after winning the match against Otgonjargal Dolgorjav of Mongolia. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

In her run to the final in Paris, Hildebrandt took down China’s Feng Ziqi in the quarter-final before trouncing Mongolian Dolgorjavyn Otgonjargal 5-0 in the semis.

Vinesh Phogat vs Sarah Hildebrandt head-to-head

Interestingly, Vinesh and Hildebrandt have locked horns twice in the past, both in 2019.

In their first meeting, Hildebrandt was pinned down by Vinesh at the 2019 Dan Kolov and Nicola Petrov event. The American took the bronze as Vinesh claimed the silver in the tournament held in Bulgaria.

Vinesh later met Hildebrandt in the second Repechage round at the 2019 World Championships in Kazakhstan, beating the American on her way to the 53kg bronze medal.

Vinesh will aim to make it three in a row when she faces Hildebrandt in the 50kg gold-medal match in Paris on Wednesday night, scheduled to take place from 9:45 PM IST onwards.

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