Japan’s Kaori Icho became the first female wrestler to win four consecutive Olympic gold medals at Rio

RIO DE JANEIRO August 19Japan’s Kaori Icho became the first female wrestler to win four consecutive Olympic gold medals Wednesday as she defeated Russia’s Valeriia Koblova Zholobova in the women’s 58-kilogram freestyle final at the Rio Games.

Sara Dosho completed a Japanese sweep of the day’s freestyle wrestling events, winning the women’s 69-kg final, while Eri Tosaka triumphed in the first gold-medal match of the day in the 48-kg weight class.

It all came down to the wire with Icho and Co., each snatching victory in the dying moments of their respective matches to lift Japan to a treble in front of a packed auditorium at Carioca Arena in Rio de Janeiro’s Barra da Tijuca.

Icho, 32, struggled against Koblova Zholobova, the 23-year-old world silver medalist in 2014, falling behind 2-1 after the Russian tackled her legs in the early going. But with only seconds remaining, the 10-time world champion staved off a tackle and countered to get control of her opponent’s back for a slim 3-2 decision.

“I didn’t wrestle very well. I’m glad I was able to make many people happy like this but I wanted to fight better,” said Icho, who also became the first woman in Olympic history to win the gold in an individual event in four straight Games.

“My opponent came in for a tackle (in the end) so I thought that was my last chance to score. I’m happy it worked.”

Icho, who won her first Olympic gold 12 years ago at Athens, gave a deep bow to the mat after her victory lap and was congratulated from the stands by her older sister Chiharu, an Olympic silver medalist in Athens and Beijing at 48 kg.

“I had been considering Rio as the end of a chapter that began in Athens, so I lowered my head with feelings of appreciation to the mat, to everyone at the venue and to all those cheering from Japan,” she said.

“I’ve had various emotions at each Olympics, but this is my fourth time and I have a lot more on my shoulders. Things have been tough, but I think I was able to win the gold medal thanks to all the encouragement from many people,” she said.

Asked about her tactics when she was behind at the end of the match, Icho said, “I really was trying to attack and I thought this is my last shot. I wasn’t able to get a good hold at first and I needed courage to try that. When she came inside I knew I might lose when I tried throwing her off but I thought if I score here I’ll win it.”

Earlier in the day, Icho saw off Marwa Amri of Tunisia in her first match, booked her ticket to the semifinals when she came from behind to beat Elif Jale Yesilirmak of Turkey and cruised past Yuliya Ratkevich of Azerbaijan for a place in the final.

In the women’s 48-kg category, three-time defending world champion Tosaka set the pace for Japan by winning the gold medal on her Olympic debut with a last-gasp victory over Mariya Stadnik of Azerbaijan—the same woman she rallied to defeat in the final at the 2015 worlds in Las Vegas.

The 22-year-old Tosaka came from behind to defeat London Olympic silver medalist Stadnik with a leg tackle for another slim 3-2 win in the last seconds of the final. And she cut it even closer this time against Stadnik.

“I thought that was my only chance and gave it my all, thinking I would regret it I couldn’t do it then,” Tosaka said. “I didn’t think that she would allow me to fight the same way this time, so I wanted to take control early and aim for a counter when she came for a tackle, but I never thought I would fall behind that quickly. I was actually panicking a little,” she said.

On being the first Japanese wrestler to fight in the day’s finals, she said, “I didn’t feel any pressure in that sense, but there have been cases in the past when I was the only one who couldn’t medal, so I thought I would be able to encourage the others by winning.”

“I think this is the best thing I’ve done for my parents in my life so far,” Tosaka added. “Wrestlers at the Olympics are different than at the world championships. They’re more aggressive and will even head-butt you. Even though I knew this and thought there’s no way I am going to lose it made me a little hesitant,” she said.

She had a bye into her second-round match where she beat Kazakhstan’s Zhuldyz Eshimova, came back against Haley Ruth Augello of the United States in the quarterfinals and rallied to down China’s Sun Yanan, the 2013 world champion at 51 kg, in the semifinals.

In the 69-kg final, Dosho, a 21-year-old Olympic debutant, pulled off another thriller for Japan, tying the score against Russian London Olympic 72-kg gold medalist Natalia Vorobeva in the second period and claiming the win on greater superiority.

Vorobeva, the 2015 world champion at 69 kg, had scored two points on cautions for Dosho’s inactivity, but the Japanese wrestler grappled her opponent’s left leg for the decisive blow near the end.

“I saw how Kaori-san and Eri-san refused to give up until the very last moment, so I was determined not to give up until the end either,” Dosho said.

Dosho, the 2014 world silver medalist and a third-place finisher at last year’s worlds, won four matches, including a victory over eventual bronze medalist Anna Jenny Fransson of Sweden, the 2012 world champion at 72 kg, in the semis to reach the final.

“This gold medal is the coolest of any I’ve ever seen. Even when I was losing I remembered the tackles I was taught by my coach and I was able to come from behind and win the gold medal. I was able to pick up some of these techniques in sparring practice.”

Team leader Kazuhito Sakae could not be happier with the day’s outcome.

“Icho is a type who is able to counter her opponents when she can’t find a way in herself, and Dosho has that type of determination that she will never give up till she can score,” said Sakae.

“They have different ways of fighting but have something about them where they can win. The Japanese wrestlers are superior in that they fight it out over six minutes to win,” he said.