The Iowa Hawkeyes have one more chance at wrestling gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, in a way almost nobody expected.

Kennedy Blades committed to the Hawkeyes in July following a stint with the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club out of high school and attending Arizona State University. She qualified for the Olympics in April by defeating Adeline Gray, a six-time World champion and a 2020 Olympic silver medalist. While Blades lost to Gray at the 2020 Olympic Trials, then at the age of 17, she got her redemption by beating one of the United States’ all-time wrestlers.

Blades, 20, is one of the premier talents of the sport as a Junior World champion in 2021, but had never made a senior-level team until making the Olympic team.

“This was honestly my goal since I was seven. 2024 was definitely my goal,” Blades said. “I’ve never even made a Senior World team, so it’s just amazing to think I made an Olympic team.”

Before she becomes a Hawkeye, she has a dream to realize, so follow along for updates here on her journey throughout the day Saturday.

Quarterfinal matches getting set for Day 6 of wrestling at Olympics

WFS 76 kilograms

• Kyrgyzstan’s Aiperi Medet Kyzy vs. India’s Reetika Reetika
• Team USA’s Kennedy Blades vs. Cuba’s Milaimy De La Caridad Marin Potrille
• Columbia’s Tatiana Renteria vs. Mongolia’s Davaanasan Enkh Amar
• Turkey’s Yasemin Adar Yigit vs. TBD

MFS 65 kilograms

• Armenia’s Vazgen Tevanyan vs. Mongolia’s Tulga Tumur Ochir
• Japan’s Kotaro Kiyooka vs. Puerto Rico’s Sebastian Rivera
• Hungary’s Ismail Musukaev vs. Azerbaijan’s Haji Aliyev
• Albania’s Islam Dudaev vs. Iran’s Rahman Mousa Amouzadkhalili

MFS 97 kilograms

• Azerbaijan’s Magomedkhan Magomedov vs. Poland’s Zbigniew Baranowski
• Georgia’s Givi Matcharashvili vs. Ukraine’s Murazi Mchedlidze
• Team USA’s Kyle Snyder vs. Cuba’s Arturo Silot Torres
• Kazakhstan’s Alisher Yergali vs. Bahrain’s Akhmed Tazhudinov

Future Hawkeye Kennedy Blades puts on show in first round

About all you could do while watching this was gasp at Blades dominance of Catalina Axente.

Blades from the first whistle flashed some of the most entertaining throws and moves we’ve seen from any wrestler all tournament. First going for a slick blast double and nearly into a cradle lock for a pin. When she didn’t get that, she came right back with a four point, feet-to-back throw to lead 6-0 going into the second period.

While Axente largely slowed up the match with front headlocks, Blades still found a way in the second period to line up the move of the Olympics thus far in wrestling, going for a five-point grand amplitude throw to lock up an 11-0 win over Axente. Axente fell onto her neck and had to be stretchered off the mat.

Blades will face Cuba’s Milaimy De La Caridad Marin Potrille next, who dominated Bulgaria’s Yuliana Vasileva Yaneva with seven first period points and held on for a 7-1 victory.

Team USA’s Zain Retherford drops first match to World champion

Retherford couldn’t of asked for a tougher first opponent, drawing Iran’s Rahman Mousa Amouzadkhalili. Amouzadkhalili. He’s a 2023 world champion and a three-time age-group world champion at 22 years old competing in his first Olympics.

Amouzadkhalili’s talent flashed here, getting a 8-0 lead and not conceding from there to defeat Retherford. Now, the American will need his opponent to reach the final to have a chance at bronze.

Team USA’s Kyle Snyder rallies to advance to quarterfinals

Down 4-0 to China’s Awusayiman Habila following a review that flipped points from Snyder to Habila, Snyder went on to outscore Habila 9-1 the rest of the way to advance.

It was a scare for the American, who is a three-time world champion looking for his third Olympic medal, but he eased Team USA’s nerves with a solid finish.

Bronze medal matches getting set for for second session of Day 6

MFS 74 kilograms

• AIN’s  Mahamed Khabib Kadzimahamedau OR Albania’s Chermen Valiev vs. Tajikstan’s Viktor Raddadin
• Team USA’s Kyle Dake vs. Serbia’s Hetik Cabolov

MFS 125 kilograms

• Kyrgyzstan’s Aiaal Lazarev vs. Turkey’s Taha Akgul
• Poland’s Robert Baran vs. Azerbaijan’s Giorgi Meshvildishvil

WFS 62 kilograms

• Mongolia’s Orkhon Purevdorj vs. Kyrgyzstan’s Aisuluu Tynybekova
• Canada’s Ana Gonzalez vs. Norway’s Grace Bullen

Kennedy Blades’ path

Blades will face Romania’s Catalina Axente, who took fifth at the World Championships in 2023 and is the No. 4 seed while Blades is unseeded. Following a win there, Blades would have the winner of Cuba’s Milaimy De La Caridad Marin Potrille or Bulgaria’s Yuliana Vasileva Yaneva. Potrille was a 2019 U23 World champion and a fifth-place winner at the 2023 Senior World Championships, while Yaneva won a 2023 gold medal at the European championships.

The top-seeded wrestler on her side of the bracket is Aiperi Medt Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan. She’s a 25-year-old World silver medalist in 2023 and a World bronze medalist in 2021. She thrashed Gray at the Zagreb Open in Croatia in a 10-0 technical fall. She’s wrestled in six World Championships prior to making this year’s Olympic team.

The 2023 World champion at 76 kilograms, and perhaps the favorite in Paris, is Yuka Kagami of Japan. At age 23, she is a World champion and a World bronze medalist, but remains on the other side of the bracket and could be a finals opponent should Blades get there.

Blades is young, but there is growing confidence as she was the betting favorite (+150) on DraftKings to win gold as of Friday night.

Who is Kyle Dake?

Dake is one of the best wrestlers in the United States at the moment as a four-time world champion and a 2020 Olympic bronze medalist. The former Cornell wrestler, where he won four NCAA titles, is Team USA’s representative at 74 kilograms.

After losing in the semifinal in an offensive showcase with Japan, Dake will face the winner of Cuba’s Geandry Garzo Caballero and Serbia’s Hetik Cabalov.

Who is Zain Retherford?

The former Penn State star, who won three NCAA championships, is hoping to remain on top of the world.

He is the reigning World champion at 70 kilograms, but he’ll be the Team USA representative at 65 kilograms in Paris. He won a World silver in 2022 as well.

Retherford has it tough from round one, facing Iran’s Rahman Mousa Amouzadkhalili. The Iranian beat Cornell superstar Yianni Diakomihalis for 2022 World gold at the age of 20 and is competing in his first Olympics. If Retherford gets through that, we’ll know he means business.

Who is Kyle Snyder?

We’ve had Michigan Wolverines compete, now it’s time for a Buckeye.

The former Ohio State star, who won three NCAA titles, is Team USA’s representative at 97 kilograms. He has won three World Championships, an Olympic gold in 2016 and an Olympic silver in 2020.

He has China’s Awusayiman Habila first. Habila has not finished higher than 26th at the Senior World championships. Snyder is the second-odds on favorite (+110) to win gold, trailing only Iran’s Akhmed Tazhudinov, who was a World champion in 2023.

Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him atEmckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.