When it comes to Olympic wrestling, few nations can match the legacy that the USA has etched for itself over the years. As the Paris Olympics approach, Team USA will once again be aiming to maintain its legacy of dominance. At April’s US Olympic Team Trials, the country’s top wrestlers displayed their prowess on the mat emphatically, and Michigan Wolverine’s Mason Parris appears to have gained just the right kind of momentum to carry the red, blue, and white flag high in Paris.

Not many fans doubted Parris’ chances of making the team as part of the USA’s delegation to the 2024 Olympics. Subduing Hayden Zillmer in two straight matches at the Team Trials, Parris lived up to the high expectations. Last month, he once again showed why the claim for his maiden Olympic gold should not go unnoticed.

Mason Parris getting a taste of the things to come, in style

In an article by AP News from last month, Parris talked about why he believes Paris will be the stage where he finally transcends collegiate wrestling and enters the domain of the world’s most elite wrestlers. The article came just days after Mason’s triumph at the 2024 UWW Ranking Series: Polyak Imre and Varga Janos Memorial in Budapest, Hungary, where he won the gold medal in the 125kg weight class. Noting how it was the perfect opportunity for him to test the waters ahead of the big showdown in Paris, Mason reiterated how he couldn’t let the occasion slide.

“It was just an opportunity for me to kind of tune myself up two months out from Paris and just kind of figure it out and figure out the stuff that I wanted to work on,” said Mason about what went down in Budapest. Trouncing Kazakhstan’s Yusup Batirmurzaev, the 2023 NCAA D1 champ added another feather to his decorated cap and sent out a determined message to his international peers who await their chance to meet him at the French capital.

“…luckily for me, it was a really great confidence boost for me and helps me bring a lot of momentum to Paris and know that I’m training and doing the right things,” added the 2023 World Championships bronze medalist. While the ranking event was undoubtedly a trailer of what he will be facing up to at the quadrennial event, his task still won’t be an easy one.

True giants bide their time to greet Parris in Paris

The heavyweight bracket in the Paris Games will be highly contested. True behemoths from all four corners of the world will collide on the banks of the Seine in a bid to bring honor and glory to their respective countries. Among them, the Iranian giant Amir Zare, who won gold at the 2023 World Championships and boasts an Olympic medal, Georgia’s Geno Petriashvili, Turkey’s Taha Akgul, and old foe Batirmurzaev pose the biggest threats to Mason’s hopes of securing his first Olympic podium finish.

However, given Mason’s impressive 33-0 record as a Michigan senior, fans would be right to believe he won’t easily concede ground. Moreover, Parris is currently the third-ranked wrestler in his weight bracket and should not be discounted when it comes to pulling off an upset victory over higher-ranked peers.

But will Mason’s inexperience on the grandest stage prove to be the decisive factor when he takes to the mat in a month? Only time will tell.