Paris Olympics: Sarah Hildebrandt’s coach hails Vinesh Phogat as ‘a great champion’ ahead of wrestling final

When the draws for the women’s 53kg freestyle wrestling category were drawn on Monday, Terry Steiner, head coach of the USA women’s team, might have expected Japan’s Yui Susaki to come through to the women’s final on the other side of the bracket from his wrestler – Sarah Hildebrandt.

And while he admitted he was surprised at the defeat of Susaki at the hands of Vinesh Phogat, he insisted his athlete was prepared to take on the Indian in Wednesday’s final.

“You never know who’s coming out the other side (of the bracket). You can’t assume if someone else (than what you expected) is coming out, then they will be less of a personal threat to you. I think Sarah’s in a good place, you know, and this is a big day for her to get through that semifinal. We will be ready to work in the final,” he said.

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Like Vinesh, Hildebrandt is competing at her first Olympic final, having previously won a bronze at Tokyo. Like Vinesh, she too was competing in the women’s 53kg division before making the weight cut to 50kg a year later. She won bronze medal in the women’s 50kg category at the 2022 World Championships in Belgrade and subsequently the 2023 Worlds in Belgrade.

While she has plenty of pedigree, Hildebrandt – at 30 and a year older than Vinesh – doesn’t have the best record against the Indian. The two have competed against each other twice. Vinesh pinned Hildebrandt at the 2019 Dan Kolov and Nicola Petrov competition and then beat her 8-2 at the 2019 World Championships, where she also won a bronze medal.

Steiner admitted his wrestler had shown some technical shortcomings previously. “Yeah, we struggled on a couple of leg attacks where we got in on and then Vinesh scored well on the counter offensive. So, that’s something that’s in the back of our mind. Of course, Sarah is a different wrestler than back in 2019. Vinesh is too, of course. It will be hard but I think we will be fine.”

Steiner said both wrestlers have improved from the time they first met. “I think Sarah has improved both physically and technically. She’s physically a lot stronger. Her mentality is a big part of it (her success) as well. She’s improved in a lot of ways but Vinesh is a great champion too. We know that. We know no one is going to give us a bronze medal. You are going to go out and earn it. Sarah is willing to do that,” he said.