Sakura Motoki

Sakura Motoki is a Japanese freestyle wrestler competing in the 62 kg division. She won the gold medal in the women's 62kg event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.

Career

Motoki reached the semi-finals in the women's freestyle 59 kg category at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, by defeating Turkish Ebru Dağbaşı in the first round with a 5–0 lead and Alyona Kolesnik, competing for Azerbaijan, in the quarter-finals with a 6–0 lead. She lost to Anastasia Nichita from Moldova 7–5 in the semi-final. In the bronze medal match, she won the bronze medal by beating China's Zhang Qi with a pin while leading 7–0.
In 2023, Motoki competed in the [2023 2023 World Wrestling Championships|World Wrestling Championships – Women's freestyle 62 kg|women's 62kg] event at the World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia and won the silver medal. As a result, she earned a quota place for Japan for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.
In 2024, she won the silver medal in the women's 62kg event at the Asian Wrestling Championships held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Motoki won the gold medal in the [Wrestling at the 2024 Wrestling at the 2024 Summer Olympics|Summer Olympics – Women's freestyle 62 kg|women's 62kg] event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. She defeated Iryna Koliadenko of Ukraine in her gold medal match.