Lee still has to qualify for the U.S. Olympics at 57K weight
Former Hawkeye Spencer Lee defeated former teammate Thomas Gilman to win the U.S. Olympic Trials on Saturday, April 20, 2024 in State College, Pennsylvania. After his win, he ran up to the stands to celebrate with his parents. (Vanessa Miller, The Gazette)
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — After scoring a big takedown in the second period of Saturday's best-of-three championship series match against fellow Hawkeye Thomas Gilman, Spencer Lee had three more back exposures. He pulled out and then pinned Gilman to win the All-American title. The Olympic trials took place in dramatic fashion.
Spencer Lee (left) reacts after defeating Thomas Gilman in a 57 kg match at the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials on Saturday, April 20, 2024 in State College, Pennsylvania. Lee won the match 8-2. (AP Photo/Jackson Ranger)
After raising his arms, and before the referee officially raised his hands, Lee acknowledged with the audience that his Olympic dream was within reach. After shaking hands with the opposing coach, Lee jumped off the stage and into the arms of his mother, who was congratulating him from the stands.
“If it wasn't for the Iowa Hawkeye program and their support of me, I probably would have retired by now,” Lee told reporters, referring to the injuries and challenges he faced at the end of his NCAA career in 2023. did.
Lee's 57-kilogram weight class is one of five weight classes that have not yet qualified for the Olympics, so a win at Saturday's U.S. trials will not automatically earn him a ticket to the Summer Olympics. He needs to qualify for the U.S. team at that weight by finishing in the top three at the World Olympic Trials, which will be held May 9-12 in Istanbul, Turkey.
After winning the first two games of the best-of-three series against Gilman, Lee reminded reporters, “We have work to do.” And he acknowledged that the road to get to where he is today has been “long and arduous.”
Gilman, 29, is four years Lee's senior and won a bronze medal with the U.S. team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
When asked about Gilman after the win, Lee said: People have a wrong image about us. ”
After the game, Lee hugged Gilman and said, “I've always looked up to you.”
Lee said Gilman told him to “put on a show,” nodding to his goal of making the Hawkeyes on the Olympic team.
Lee won the series in two games, eliminating the need for the third and final game of the night, but both games were close. In the first game, fans booed the referee's decisions twice. That included a scoring call that, if reversed, would have tied the game at 5-5 and given Gilman the standard advantage.
In the second, Lee and Gilman were tied 2-2 in the final minute of the game, with Gilman having the advantage based on the criteria, but Lee stopped attacking and ended the game, leaving former Hawkeye teammate Pat Lugo The match ended with a huge round of applause. Video from the sideline.
On the Hawkeye women's team, sophomore Kylie Welker lost badly in the semifinals, but placed fourth and earned a spot on the U.S. national team. Her teammate Felicity Taylor earned the same result, but Hawkeye sophomore Reece Larramendi fell just short in fifth place.
Former Hawkeye Alex Marinelli missed out on varsity action Saturday, dropping the first of two games needed to qualify for the third-place game.
And University of Iowa resident Brandon Marshall came back with two wins on Saturday after losing to the No. 1 seed in the challenge bracket on Friday, but dropped his final match and finished fifth in the bracket. They weren't even close to making it to the national team.
Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.
Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com
