Japan’s Sakura Motoki reacts after winning the gold medal in the women’s 62-kilogram class in wrestling in Paris on Saturday.
14:56 JST, August 11, 2024
PARIS — Japan’s Sakura Motoki won her first Olympic gold medal in her first appearance at the Games, defeating her Ukrainian opponent in the final of the women’s 62-kilogram wrestling event at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.
“I am so happy to win the gold medal after so many people supported me for my wrestling,” Motoki said after the match.
Motoki’s victory brings Japan’s gold medal tally to a record six at the Paris Olympics, surpassing the five Japanese wrestlers won at the 2021 Tokyo Games.
Motoki won three matches on Friday and qualified for the final. On Saturday she defeated Ukrainian Iryna Koliadenko at the start of the battle for the gold medal.
Originally from Saitama Prefecture, Motoki finished third in the 59-kilogram class at the 2022 World Championships. He won silver in the 62-kilogram class at the 2023 World Championships.
Motoki’s father Yasutoshi represented Japan at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the men’s 63 kilogram Greco-Roman wrestling class.
