Yui Susaki

Yui Susaki
Personal information
Native name	須崎優衣
Born	30 June 1999 (age 25); Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
Height	153 cm (5 ft 0 in)
Weight	50 kg (110 lb)
Sport
Country	Japan
Sport	Wrestling
Event	Freestyle
College team	Waseda University
Club	Waseda University club
Coached by	Shoko Yoshimura
Medal record
Women's freestyle wrestling
Representing Japan
Olympic Games
World Championships
Asian Championships
Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin
World U23 Championships
World Juniors Championships
World Cadets Championships

Yui Susaki (須崎優衣, Susaki Yui, born 30 June 1999) is a Japanese freestyle wrestler. She won the gold medal in the women's 50 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics without conceding a single point to any opponent. In the 2024 Summer Olympics, she was defeated by Vinesh Phogat, her first ever loss in any international bout. She eventually won a bronze medal through the repechage bout. She is also a four-time World Champion, having won her first title in 2017. She is coached by Shoko Yoshimura.

Career

Susaki made her junior debut in 2010 and won three consecutive world cadet championships from 2014 to 2016.^[2] In 2017, she won the gold medal at her debut World Championships in Paris in 2017 in the 48 kg category. In 2018, she won the gold medal at the 2018 World Wrestling Championships at Budapest in the new 50 kg category.^[3]^[4] Between the world titles, she won the Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin 2017 and the Klippan Lady Open in 2018 in the women's 50 kg event. In Klippan, she beat then top ranked Mariya Stadnik in the final by a 10-1 scoreline.^[5]

She could not defend her World title in the 2019 World Wrestling Championships as she was beaten by Yuki Irie in the national trials. Stadnyk triumphed in the 50kg category at the World Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. Due to Irie's poor performance in Nur-Sultan, she was recalled to the Olympic Team.^[6] On 5 July 2021, she was named flagbearer of the Japanese delegation to the Summer Olympics by the Japanese Olympic Committee, together with basketball player Rui Hachimura.^[7] Although widely regarded as one of the best wrestler in the 50 kg class, she was unseeded going into the Olympics.^[8] She went on to win the gold medal without conceding a point to an opponent in the Games.^[9]^[10] She won the gold medal in the women's 50 kg event at the subsequent 2022 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia.^[11]^[12]

At the 50 kg event at the 2024 Olympics, Susaki lost her first round bout against Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat, which was her first loss in 95 matches against non-Japanese wrestlers.^[13]^[14] In the repechage bout, she overcame Ukrainian Oksana Livach by technical superiority to win the bronze medal.^[15]^[16]

Awards

Wrestling Special Award by Tokyo Sports (2017)^[17]

Achievements

Legend

W – Win; L – Loss;
F – Victory by fall

Summer Olympic Games

Year	Venue	Event	Opponent	Result	Round	Rank
2020	Tokyo	50 kg	Sun Yanan (CHN)	W 10–0	Final	Gold
2024	Paris	50 kg	Oksana Livach (UKR)	W 10-0	Repechage	Bronze

World Championships

Year	Venue	Event	Opponent	Result	Round	Rank
2017	Paris	48 kg	Alina Vuc (ROU)	W 14-4	Final	Gold
2018	Budapest	50 kg	Mariya Stadnik (AZE)	W 10-0	Final	Gold
2022	Belgrade	50 kg	Dolgorjavyn Otgonjargal (MGL)	W 4^F-0	Final	Gold
2023	Belgrade	50 kg	Dolgorjavyn Otgonjargal (MGL)	W 10-0	Final	Gold