Kennedy Blades might not have won the gold, but she surely has won the heart of Kurt Angle. Blades, who represents the Iowa Hawkeye at the NCAA level, has created history in Paris. Winning the silver medal in the women’s 76 kg freestyle division, Blades is now the very first female wrestler from Hawkeye to win an Olympic medal. After Blades stormed into the finals, there was a glimmer of hope that she might go all the way and clinch the gold. Unfortunately, she couldn’t hold up and lost her final bout 3-1 to settle for second place. 

However, it was only the silver medal that made Kennedy Blades special. Neither was it her getting etched into the wrestling history books of Iowa. It was a specific move that Blades performed during one of her bouts that paved the way for her worldwide recognition. The 20-year-old wrestler delivered a picture-perfect suplex that caught not only the world’s but also WWE legend Kurt Angle’s attention. 

Kurt Angle is all praises for Kennedy Blades

Competing in the Round of 16 match against Romanian wrestler, Catalina Axente, Kennedy Blades went God mode. While she dominated her opponent thoroughly, Blades delivered one of the thunderous suplexes to her Axente. For the uninitiated, a suplex is a popular move in wrestling where a wrestler holds and lifts up an opponent and follows it by either bridging or rolling to slam them on their backs. Reflecting on her viral move, Kennedy Blades stated that it was a very much conscious move on her part. Blades said, “My goal was to hit a suplex on the biggest stage and thankfully I did.” 

And while her moment was captured in its full glory, WWE legend Kurt Angle could not help but marvel at the move. Angle, who was a popular name in the Vince McMahon-led WWE(World Wrestling Federation) in the 2000s is also a US Olympic gold medalist. 

Back in 1996, Kurt Angle astonishingly clinched the gold medal despite having a broken neck. Thus, it is quite evident that Angle is always marveling at young and talented wrestlers. Taking to his X account, Kurt Angle praised Blades as he wrote, “Now THIS is wrestling. @kennedyblades with a picture perfect suplex on her way to winning the silver medal in the 2024 Olympic Games. Congrats Kennedy. Well done! #usa #wrestling #suplex”

After her historic win, Kennedy Blades has been spotted enjoying her victory to the fullest. Her Instagram story had a snap of her with the silver medal as well as the viral suplex displayed in full glory. Having already tasted success at the highest level, Blades is now looking to build on the solid foundation and has thus, signed a national letter of intent. 

Kennedy Blades commits to Iowa for future glory 

The 20-year-old signed a national letter of intent to join the women’s wrestling program at the University of Iowa. This was a calculated move from Blades. She wanted to sharpen her skills further before the Olympics under the expert guidance of Iowa head coach, Clarissa Chun. Well, it beats to say that her move paid off really well and now Kennedy Blades is one of the prominent names in the US wrestling fraternity. 

But the Olympic silver is not the only medal she has in her possession. Born in Chicago, the 20-year-old had previously won a gold and a bronze medal at the 2021 and 2023 U20 worlds. Competing in the U23 World Championships in 2023, Blades displayed her immaculate skills to clinch the silver medal. Adding to her shining list of accolades, Blades remains the first female to clinch an Illinois State Championship title. 

Competing in the US Olympic trials, Kennedy Blades shocked everyone as she got the better of Adeline Gray, who was the Tokyo medalist, to qualify for Paris. Thus, having already conquered so much, the future for Kennedy Blades only looks brighter. Come LA28, it remains to be seen what viral moment the then Blades has to offer to her fans.