One of the most prominent names in female freestyle wrestling is Japan’s Nanami Irie. Despite a relatively low public profile, her reputation as a fearsome contender in the 53 and 55kg categories is assured. A world-beater from the age of 15, her most recent success was a silver medal at the 2019 World Championships in Kazakhstan. She will undoubtedly be a favourite to qualify for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Irie has been actively wrestling since the age of six. She had her first international success at the age of 15 when she won gold in the cadet tournament of the 2010 Asian Championships, an incredible feat in her first major tournament. Irie dispelled any notion that her win was a fluke when she won the same tournament the following year. In 2012, she took things to the next level by winning cadet gold at the World Championships. In 2013, aged 18, Irie immediately began competing as a senior. Her first win at such a tournament came the following year when she won the World Cup in Tokyo.

Still eligible to compete as a junior, Irie entered the World Championships as such in 2014 and 2015, taking bronze and then gold. In the ensuing years, she has won several tournaments including the Poland Open and Klippan Lady Open. Her first appearance at the World Championships as a senior was her 2019 silver medal win. Still only in her mid-twenties, Irie has already achieved incredible success in the international arena and looks set to keep on winning.