Kōtarō Kiyooka

is a Japanese freestyle wrestler who competes in the 65 kilogram class. He represented Japan at the 2024 Summer Olympics, where he became the reigning Olympic champion. He qualified by reaching the finals at the 2024 Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament and by winning the Olympic national trials, where he defeated World and Olympic champion Takuto Otoguro.

Early life Kiyooka was born in Kōchi Prefecture, where he started wrestling at an early age. He attended Kochi Minami High School. During his teenage years, he won medals at multiple Japan National tournaments in different age-groups.

Career

2018–2020 While still a high school student, Kiyooka placed fifth at the Emperor's Cup in 2018, and third in 2019 in the 57 kilogram class. After graduating, he started attending the Nippon Sport Science University in 2020 and reached fifth place at the Emperor's Cup that year in the 61 kilogram class.

2021–2022 In 2021, Kiyooka reached second place at the Meiji Cup and fifth at the Emperor's Cup. In 2022, he moved up to the 65 kilogram class, reaching third place at the Meiji Cup and the Emperor's Cup.

2023 Competing outside Japan for the first time in his career, Kiyooka won the championship at the Dan Kolov & Nikola Petrov Tournament, defeating returning champion Islam Dudaev, Olympian Agustín Destribats and U23 World finalist Mikyay Naim.

He then qualified for the U23 World Championships by winning the trials, before a seventh-place finish at the Meiji Cup. At the U23 World Championships, Kiyooka reached ninth place.

At the Emperor's Cup, Kiyooka stunned World and returning Olympic champion Takuto Otoguro to reach the finals before claiming the championship, qualifying for the 2024 Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament.

In June, Kiyooka entered the Polyák Imre & Varga János Memorial Tournament, where after a first-round loss to three-time World champion Haji Aliyev, he rebounded with victories over reigning World champion Ismail Musukaev, NCAA finalist and fellow Olympian Austin Gomez, and Abbas Ebrahimzade, winning gold.

In August, Kiyooka made his Olympic debut at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. On the first day, he opened up with a technical fall over Maxim Saculțan from Moldova, followed by hard-fought victories over returning World finalist Sebastian Rivera from Puerto Rico and Asian Games champion Tömör-Ochiryn Tulga from Mongolia, cruising to the finals and securing a medal. In the gold-medal bout, he defeated World champion Rahman Amouzad from Iran, becoming the Olympic champion at the age of 23.

Throughout October and November, Kiyooka competed in the Bundesliga, in Germany, for club KSC Hösbach. He recorded a 4–1 record for them, shifting between the 66, 71 and 75 kilogram weight classes.

Freestyle record

Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event Location Win 42–15

Germany Win 41–15

Win 40–15

Win 39–15

Win 38–15

Loss 37–15

Win 37–14

Paris, France Win 36–14

Win 35–14

Win 34–14

Win 33–14

Budapest, Hungary Win 32–14

Win 31–14

Loss 30–14

Win 30–13

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Win 29–13

Win 28–13

Win 27–13

Tokyo, Japan Win 26–13

Win 25–13

Win 24–13

Win 23–13

Loss 22–13

Tirana, Albania Win 22–12

Loss 21–12

Tokyo, Japan

Win 21–11

Fujimi, Saitama Win 20–11

Win 19–11

Sofia, Bulgaria Win 18–11

Win 17–11

Win 16–11

Win 15–11

Win 14–11

Tokyo, Japan Loss 13–11

Win 13–10

Win 12–10

Tokyo, Japan Win 11–10

Loss 10–10

Win 10–9

Loss 9–9

Tokyo, Japan Loss 9–8

Win 9–7

Loss 8–7

Tokyo, Japan Win 8–6

Win 7–6

Loss 6–6

Tokyo, Japan Loss 6–5

Win 6–4

Tokyo, Japan Loss 5–4

Win 5–3

Win 4–3

Win 3–3

Loss 2–3

Tokyo, Japan

Loss 2–2

Tokyo, Japan Loss 2–1

Win 2–0

Win 1–0