Chicago wrestler Kennedy Blades wins silver medal for US women's wrestling at Olympics

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The daughter of a Chicago Police Department sergeant competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics and won a silver medal for the United States.

Kennedy Blades is an Olympic athlete who competed in women's 76kg freestyle wrestling.

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The United States became the only country other than Japan to win more than one Olympic gold since women's wrestling was added to the Summer Games in 2004.

Fittingly, the last Olympic match featured Blades and Yuka Kagami of Japan. Kagami won the 76 kg final 3-1, but the message already had been sent - Japan is no longer alone at the top level.

The Americans also got women's freestyle golds from Sarah Hildebrandt at 50 kilograms and Amit Elor at 68 kg, and a bronze from Helen Maroulis at 57 kg.

The future looks bright for Team USA, too. Elor became the youngest Olympic wrestling champion in U.S. history at age 20. Blades, also 20, is just a few months older than Elor.

Blades is the daughter of Chicago police 7th District Sergeant Cindy Ramos. The department posted a message on social media Saturday congratulating Blades on her accomplishments ahead of the gold medal match.

Blades had defeated six-time world champion and Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Adeline Gray at the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials in April to qualify for the Paris Games in the 76-kilogram class.

"I felt there's something more that I wanted," Blades said at the time. "And I think I've just manipulated my mind to going for gold, bringing home a gold medal from the Olympics. So that (beating Gray) was just the first step."

Blades, who dominates at nearly 6-feet tall in a sport that often favors stockier athletes, could be the next great star for a country where girls wrestling is the fastest-growing high school sport.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.