Jordan Burroughs has been the face of American wrestling for more than a decade, but his reign of dominance came to an end on Saturday.
There was a historic upset at the U.S. Olympics wrestling trials this weekend, as Burroughs was taken down by Kyle Dake.
Burroughs had been 7-1 against Dake, including wins at the U.S. world trials in 2013, ’15 and ’17. However, Dake was finally able to get the best of Burroughs at this year’s trials. So, Dake is off to the Summer Olympics, while Burroughs will be staying home.
“I just thanked him,” Dake said. “I told him I appreciated him. He’s pushed me to levels that I did know I had in myself. There were a lot of times I wasn’t coming out with the victory and that was tough. He’s a great champion, and my goal is to bring home an Olympic gold medal. Tokyo, here we come.”
End of an era.
Kyle Dake def. Jordan Burroughs, 3-2. Dake is going to Tokyo, Burroughs isn’t.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 4, 2021
Burroughs, 32, is arguably the most-decorated wrestler in U.S. history. He had represented America at the Olympics or world championships every year since 2011.
“It just sets in that a run is over for me,” Burroughs said. “It’s hard. It will be hard for a while. There’s always more things you can do that you reflect on. I’ll lean on my family and God’s grace and move on with confidence and hope the future is bright for me.”
Kyle Dake sweeps Jordan Burroughs two matches to none and makes the U.S. men’s freestyle Olympic team at 74-kg.
KD had one hell of a gameplan and stuck to it for two straight matches. Scored when the opportunities were there.
3-0, 3-2.
Wow.
— Cody Goodwin (@codygoodwin) April 4, 2021
Burroughs won’t be competing in the Olympics, but he said he has no plans to retire. If anyone can bounce back from a devastating loss in the trials, it’s him.
The post Shocking Upset At The U.S. Olympics Wrestling Trials appeared first on The Spun.
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