American wrestler Gable Steveson won a gold medal in the 125kg wrestling event at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday.
American Gable Steveson won the gold medal in wrestling at the Tokyo Olympics. He is now one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history.
CHIBA, JAPAN (Kyodo News) — Gable Steveson was three points down in the greatest wrestling bout of his life with ten seconds to go.
He was an Olympic gold medallist when the clock struck zero.
With time running out, Steveson was down 8-5 against Georgia’s Geno Petriashvili. On Friday night, the 21-year-old American stayed calm and seized control of his more experienced opponent, scoring a spin-behind takedown with 10 seconds left and another with less than a second left to win the men’s freestyle 125-kilogram class final 10-8.
After the play, Steveson put up two fingers for two points, but even he couldn’t believe what had occurred.
Steveson stated, “I glanced at the clock and it was like 0.3.” “‘Ain’t no way,’ I said. And it was as though my brain was flooded with everything. And I thought to myself, ‘Wow.’”
Georgia made a last-ditch effort to win the game, but it was in vain. Steveson earned a point for completing the task in under ten seconds, giving him a total of five points.
Steveson, who aspires to join WWE, next performed for the small audience. He went around the mat with the American flag draped over his shoulders, then wowed the crowd with a backflip that he reserves for his greatest wins.
He replied, “You know, I put up a nice show.” “The name Gable Steveson is going to stick with people.”
Steveson seemed to be in for another easy day. In the first three rounds, he outscored his opponents 23-0, and in the quarterfinals, he defeated 2016 Olympic gold winner Taha Akgul 8-0.
In the final, the competition became more difficult. The No. 1 seed, Petriashvili, is a three-time world champion and 2016 Olympic bronze winner.
Steveson had a 5-2 lead in the final until Petriashvili went up 8-5 with a single leg takedown and two gut wrenches.
With the pressure mounting, Steveson devised a strategy to get the points he need. He was named after American Dan Gable, the 1972 Olympic gold winner and a former lengthy collegiate coach, so it’s no surprise he came through.
Steveson’s next move is now being anticipated by the wrestling world.
He may return to school for his senior year and take advantage of the new NCAA regulations on name, image, and likeness. This past season, Steveson was the heavyweight champion at the University of Minnesota, and he shared the Dan Hodge Trophy for the finest collegiate wrestler in the country. He’s already made some arrangements.
He has shown interest in joining WWE. Gable has known WWE manager Paul Heyman since junior high, and he was pictured with Heyman and pro wrestler Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. Brock Lesnar, a former pro wrestler and mixed martial arts champion, is one of his mentors.
Steveson says he’s “living in the present” and isn’t ready to look forward. He plans to return to Minnesota and relax before making any choices, he added.
“With this gold medal, there are a lot of opportunities for me,” he added. “Winning a national championship opened a lot of doors for me, and now that I’ve won an Olympic gold medal, the entire globe is open for me to view.”
Steveson received a cash prize of $250,000 after winning the gold medal.
“I’ll probably go out to dinner with my family,” he added. “Back at home, we all got to eat steaks. Probably purchase a Louis Vuitton bag for my mother. She is deserving of it.”
In a bronze medal match at 125kg, Akgul beat Mongolia’s Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur 5-0.
“I came here after Rio expecting to win back-to-back gold medals, but I had to settle for bronze,” he added. “I gave it my all, and I believe I got fortunate in the quarterfinals, but anything can happen. A medal from the Olympics is still significant and valued.”
In the second bronze medal match, Iran’s Amir Dare beat China’s Zhiwei Deng 5-0.
More gold may be on the way for the US. On Saturday, American Kyle Snyder, the defending Olympic gold winner in the men’s 97kg freestyle, will compete for the title.
Snyder beat Suleyman Karadeniz of Turkey 5-0 in the semifinals. In the final, he will face Abdulrashid Sadulaev of the Russian Olympic Committee. Sadualev, the No. 1 seed in this class, is a four-time world champion who won gold at 86kg in 2016.
Zaurbek Sidakov of the Russian Olympic Committee won the men’s freestyle 74kg event by defeating Mahamedkhabib Kadzimahamedau of Belarus 7-0.
Kyle Dake of the United States won bronze by defeating Frank Chamizo of Italy 5-0. Chamizo was seeded first, and they are both two-time world champions. At the Olympic Trials, Dake defeated 2012 Olympic gold champion Jordan Burroughs to secure a place on the squad.
“I’m in very good shape,” Dake said. “It was a lot of different fights, and a little bit of a gut check to go earn a medal,” he says.
Bekzod Abdurakhmonov of Uzbekistan won the second bronze medal at 74 kg, defeating Daniyar Kaisanov of Kazakhstan 13-2.
Mayu Mukaida of Japan fought to defeat China’s Qianyu Pang 5-4 in the women’s freestyle 53kg final. In women’s wrestling, it was Japan’s third gold medal.
Bronze went to Mongolia’s Bolortuya Bat Ochir and Belarus’ Vanesa Kaladzinskaya.
In the 53kg freestyle event, Jacarra Winchester of the United States lost her bronze medal match 4-0 to Vanesa Kaladzinskaya of Russia.
In the women’s 50kg freestyle semifinal, Sarah Hildebrandt of the United States led Yanan Sun of China 7-1 at halftime, but Sun rallied in the closing seconds to win 10-7. On Saturday, Hildebrandt will compete for bronze.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many gold medals has the US won in wrestling?
Who did Gable Steveson beat?
Gable Steveson beat his own high score.
Who won the gold medal in wrestling?
The gold medal in wrestling was won by the United States.