Thursday, August 09, 2012
MYT 3:45:02 AM
LONDON (Reuters) - Japan's Kaori Icho cruised to her third successive Olympic gold in the 63kg women's freestyle wrestling at the London Olympics on Wednesday.
She easily beat China's Jing Ruixue to complete a hat-trick of golds after success in Beijing in 2008 and Athens in 2004, when women first competed in Olympic wrestling.
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Japan's Kaori Icho reacts after defeating China's Ruixue Jing on the final of the Women's 63Kg Greco-Roman wrestling at the ExCel venue during the London 2012 Olympic Games August 8, 2012. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem |
Icho, wearing a bright red leotard emblazoned with a roaring tiger's head, waved to the hundreds of Japanese supporters in the packed wrestling arena.
A seven-time world champion, Icho had been the clear favourite to retain her title in the second heaviest Olympic weight class.
(Reporting by Peter Griffiths; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)