Kaori Icho of Japan won her third Olympic gold medal in succession against China’s Jing Ruixue on Wednesday with a 3-0 win in the final of the women’s 63 kilogram freestyle wrestling class.
Spurred on by vocal Japanese support at the ExCel Arena, Icho took immediate advantage with a three-point throw in the first minute of the first round, and won the second with two smaller throws to wrap up the win.
Seven-time world champion Icho, 28, remains undefeated at the Olympics after ending Jing’s hopes of a first major title since 2007.
Mongolia’s Battsetseg Suronzonbold and Russia’s Lyubov Volosova wrestled their way to bronze earlier Wednesday.
Suronzonbold won Mongolia’s first wrestling medal since 1980 with a 3-0 victory on points over Canada’s Martine Dugrenier, a three-time world champion who also lost her bronze medal match in Beijing four years ago.
Volosova, three times a world championship losing finalist, defeated Poland’s Monika Ewa Michalik in a clinch at the end of the third period to win 3-1 on points.
