PARIS, Aug 11: Bahraini wrestler Akhmed Tazhudinov clinched the gold medal in the 97 kg freestyle wrestling category on the final day of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Tazhudinov's path to victory included three wins on Saturday: a 4-3 triumph over Iran's Amir Ali Azarbera, a 14-2 victory against Kazakhstan's Alisher Yirgali, and a 6-4 win over American Kyle Frederick Snyder. In the final, he secured a 2-0 win against Georgia's Givi Macharashvili. After his victory, Tazhudinov said, "After a year of training, I was very focused." Explaining his points win, he added, "He made a counterattack, and I capitalized on it."

This gold marks Bahrain's second at the Paris Games, following Winfrid Yafi's win in the 3,000m steeplechase. It is also Bahrain's fourth overall medal, adding to the silver medals won by runner Salwa Eid Naser in the 400m and weightlifter Gor Minasian in the +102kg category.

Notably, this is Bahrain's first-ever Olympic medal in wrestling, after Minasian became the first Bahraini athlete to win a medal outside of athletics earlier in the Games.