The United States is coming off one of its best-ever showings in Olympic wrestling, and more history could be on the way.
At the Tokyo Games three years ago, the U.S. led all nations with nine wrestling medals. It was also the most medals the U.S. had won in wrestling since the 1984 Games that were boycotted by the Soviet Union and several other nations.
After qualifying 16 athletes for the Paris Olympics — more than any other nation — the U.S. will hope to at least match, if not exceed, that total.
The roster includes a full freestyle team of six men and six women. Nine of those 12 freestyle wrestlers have already won medals at recent world championships, and the other three members look to have medal potential despite their limited experience at major international tournaments.
Meet the 2024 U.S. Olympic wrestling team below.
Spencer Lee (Men's Freestyle 57kg)
A former U17 and U20 world champion, Spencer Lee made a name for himself at the collegiate level by winning three NCAA titles at the University of Iowa. Now age 25, Lee recently returned to the international stage for the first time in seven years. An electric performance at the Olympic qualifying tournament in May — he defeated three of his four opponents by technical fall in less than a minute — could portend success for his Olympic debut at Paris 2024.
Zain Retherford (Men's Freestyle 65kg)
A three-time NCAA champion (2016-2018) at Penn State University, Zain Retherford has broken through on the international scene in recent years. After back-to-back world championship medals (silver in 2022, gold in 2023) wrestling at 70kg, the 30-year-old moved down to 65kg for an Olympic run this year. That decision wasn't taken lightly though — after considering retirement, Retherford decided in January to give his Olympic dream one more shot.
Kyle Dake (Men's Freestyle 74kg)
Kyle Dake has more world titles (four) than any other member of the U.S. wrestling team headed to Paris, but he's still in search of his first Olympic gold medal. Dake, 33, scored a bronze medal at the Tokyo Games, and it wasn't until last year that he suffered his first-ever defeat at a world championships (a loss to Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Zaurbek Sidakov in the final).
Aaron Brooks (Men's Freestyle 86kg)
In one of the biggest surprises at U.S. Olympic Trials, 23-year-old Aaron Brooks upset reigning world and Olympic champion David Taylor to clinch a spot on his first Olympic team. Fresh off winning his fourth consecutive NCAA title at Penn State University, Brooks will be an exciting name to watch in Paris. He has limited international experience at the senior level but won a U23 world title last year.
Kyle Snyder (Men's Freestyle 97kg)
Kyle Snyder has become the linchpin of the U.S. men's freestyle team. He won his first world title at age 19 and then his first Olympic gold medal one year later. Now 28, Snyder heads to Paris as a two-time Olympic medalist (gold at Rio 2016, silver at Tokyo 2020), a three-time world champion, and a seven-time world championship medalist. He also competes in what's arguably the most exciting weight class in wrestling. Even with Russian rival Abdulrashid Sadulaev's eligibility status in question, the rise of Bahrain's Akhmed Tazhudinov at the last world championships will continue to make 97kg a must-watch weight class.
Mason Parris (Men's Freestyle 125kg)
After Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson pulled out of last year's world championships, Mason Parris had the opportunity to take his place, and he took full advantage of it. Parris, a 2023 NCAA champion for the University of Michigan, ended up earning a bronze medal at that competition. With a last name befitting of these upcoming Olympic Games, the 24-year-old now heads to Paris as a strong medal contender after making his first Olympic team.
Sarah Hildebrandt (Women's Freestyle 50kg)
Paris 2024 will be the second Olympic Games for Sarah Hildebrandt. The 30-year-old already has a bronze medal from the Tokyo Games three years ago and is also a four-time medalist at the world championships. That total includes a medal at every world championships since Tokyo, as she scored silver in 2021 and then bronze each of the last two years.
Dominique Parrish (Women's Freestyle 53kg)
Dominique Parrish, 27, will be competing at her first Olympics. She's been the U.S. representative at 53kg at each of the last two world championships but has experienced mixed results. Her world title in 2022 was followed by a first-match loss in 2023.
Helen Maroulis (Women's Freestyle 57kg)
Helen Maroulis made history at the 2016 Rio Games by upsetting Saori Yoshida, Japan's legendary 13-time reigning world champion, to become the first U.S. woman to win Olympic wrestling gold. The Maryland native followed that up with a bronze medal five years later at the Tokyo Games. Now 32, Maroulis is set to make more history by becoming the oldest U.S. female wrestler to compete at the Olympics, as well as the first to wrestle at three Olympic Games.
Kayla Miracle (Women's Freestyle 62kg)
After competing at the Tokyo Games — she lost in the Round of 16 — Kayla Miracle, 28, returns for her second Olympic appearance. After Tokyo, she won back-to-back silver medals at the 2021 and 2022 World Championships, making her a medal threat in Paris. According to Outsports, Miracle was the first publicly out LGBTQ wrestler to compete at an Olympic Games.
Amit Elor (Women's Freestyle 68kg)
Amit Elor, 20, is the youngest woman to ever make a U.S. Olympic wrestling team and has the potential to be a star for years to come. A wrestler who excels at hand fighting, she's won a total of eight world titles across various age groups. Elor won the last two senior world titles at 72kg, a non-Olympic weight class, in dominant fashion but has dropped down to 68kg for this Olympic run. Despite the shift, she has to be considered one of Team USA's top gold medal contenders in Paris.
Kennedy Blades (Women's Freestyle 76kg)
After defeating U.S. wrestling legend Adeline Gray at Olympic Trials in April, Kennedy Blades is ready to hit the world stage. At just 20 years of age, Blades currently has limited international experience at the senior level, but she did earn bronze at the U20 World Championships and silver at the U23 World Championships last year. She also has a previous U20 world title from 2021.
Kamal Bey (Greco-Roman 77kg)
Kamal Bey, 26, was a late addition to the Olympic roster, earning his place in late June after several quota spots were reallocated by United World Wrestling. The 2017 junior world champion and 2023 Pan American Games champion will make his Olympic debut in Paris.
Payton Jacobson (Greco-Roman 87kg)
Payton Jacobson is headed to his first Olympic Games after a breakthrough performance at Trials. Entering the tournament as the No. 7 seed (out of just nine wrestlers), Jacobson stunned the field en route to winning the tournament and claiming his spot in Paris. Jacobson, 21, was named for NFL legend Walter Payton and currently wrestles at Northern Michigan University.
Joe Rau (Greco-Roman 97kg)
At age 33, Joe Rau finally has made his first Olympic team after years of near misses. In 2016, he won Olympic Trials but didn't qualify the weight class afterward. In 2021, he qualified the weight class but then controversially lost the Trials final and left his shoes on the mat to indicate retirement. This year, the three-time Pan American champion came through the challenge tournament to secure his Olympic Trials victory and a spot in Paris.
Adam Coon (Greco-Roman 130kg)
Like the other two members of the U.S. Greco-Roman team, Adam Coon will also be competing at his first Olympics. Coon, 29, was previously a three-time NCAA All-American and one of Kyle Snyder's biggest rivals while wrestling at the University of Michigan. After missing out on the Tokyo Games, he spent some time on the training camp roster of the NFL's Tennessee Titans as an offensive lineman in 2021.
