Kennedy Blades will return to the U.S. as an Olympic medalist.
In her first-ever Olympic Games, Blades, who is just 20 years old, scored a silver medal in women's wrestling.
Blades beat Kyrgyzstan’s Aiperi Medet Kyzy 8-6 to reach the final in the women’s 76 kg class this week, but ultimately fell to Japan’s Yuka Kagami in a battle for gold Saturday.
She now adds to an American medal haul which saw both Sarah Hildebrandt and Amit Elor as women’s gold medalists in Paris.
Hildebrandt (50 kg), an Olympic bronze medalist in Tokyo, said Blades and other young members of Team USA brought a new level of energy and confidence to the team.
“The young’uns on our team are just so cool, calm and collected,” the 30-year-old Hildebrandt said. “I swear, they’re calmer than I am, and they show us cool TikTok dances. So it’s definitely added a lot to the team.”
And Blades was certainly calm before her final match.
“One more sleep, and my body is going to be feeling really good, although it isn’t right now,” she said right before her gold medal competition.
Blades entered the Games with one goal: becoming an Olympic champion.
And now she is -- even if it isn't the gold medal she was hoping for.
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The young wrestler defeated Adeline Gray, one of the most decorated American women's wrestlers, to punch her ticket to Paris in the 76-kilogram category. But even before she was an Olympian, she was dreaming of a medal.
"This whole time I've been thinking about Olympic gold rather than just being an Olympian ... That's why I'm more hungry still to keep training," Blades told NBC Chicago earlier this summer.
Blades' father introduced her and her sister, Karina, to the sport when they were young. The sisters, 10 months apart in age, were quickly drawn to combat sports.
But for Blades, the countdown to 2024 has been ongoing for years.
She did the math: 2024 was going to be the first year she was eligible for the Olympic Games. She recalled doing the calculations and saying, "2024 is the year I can win the Olympics. Perfect, that's my goal."
Now a silver medalist, it's clear Blades is capable of achieving her dreams.
