When is Spencer Lee competing at the Paris Olympics 2024? Everything about the American wrestler's schedule

Spencer Lee is one of the top prospects for the USA at the Paris Olympics 2024. He is competing in the men's 57kg freestyle wrestling at the Olympic Games, where he is expected to pose a tough challenge to the other wrestlers.

Lee’s campaign at the Paris Olympics starts on Aug 8 with the qualification rounds, beginning at 11:30 am Paris time / 5:30 am ET. The semi-finals are also scheduled for Aug 8, and will start from 06:15 pm Paris time/ 12:15 pm ET.

If Spencer Lee is defeated by a wrestler who eventually reaches the final, he would have another shot at a medal through the repechage round in his weight category. The repechage round will take place the next day on Aug 9, beginning from 11:00 am Paris time/ 5:00 AM ET.

If the 2024 Pan American champion advances to the men’s 57kg final on Aug 8, he would feature in the gold-medal match on Aug 9, slated to start at 07:30 pm Paris time/ 01:30 pm ET.

Notably, Spencer Lee is one of the unseeded wrestlers in the 57kg weight category as he couldn't get enough ranking points for the Paris Olympics. The ranking points decided the seedings of the wrestlers. These points were determined through the athletes’ performance at the World Championships, Continental Championships, and the various Ranking Series events.

Lee’s campaign at the Paris Olympics is expected to feature a challenging path as he will likely face the world’s top wrestlers in the weight class. Some of the big names competing are Stevan Micic, Rei Higuchi, Zelimkhan Abakarov, Aman Sehrawat, Meirambek Kartbay, and Gulomjon Abdullaev, among others.

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How did Spencer Lee qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024?

Spencer Richard Lee with the olympic ticket in the 57kg Men's Freestyle Wrestling 1/2 Final. (Photo via Getty Images)

Spencer Lee’s road to qualifying for the Paris Olympics wasn’t an easy one. He competed at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials, where he battled against top wrestlers from the country to win in the 57kg category. After defeating Nico Megaludis and Zane Richards, he qualified to the Best-of-Three final series, where he got past 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Thomas Gilman to secure his spot in the USA team.

However, since the United States hadn’t obtained a quota during the previous Wrestling Olympic Qualification tournaments, this meant that the three-time NCAA champion had to feature at the World Qualification Tournament in Turkey to guarantee his participation. He then qualified for the Paris Olympics by winning all his bouts to ensure his participation in the men’s 57kg.