The Olympic heavyweight freestyle wrestling champion is as surprised as anyone he’s reached the pinnacle of his sport at 21. Will mixed martial arts, the UFC or Hollywood be next?
It’s been more than a week since he conjured one of the indelible moments of the Tokyo Olympics out of nothing and the reality is still no closer to hitting home for Gable Steveson.
It’s not just that Steveson upset the odds to become America’s first heavyweight gold medalist in freestyle wrestling since 1992, defeating three-time world champion Geno Petriashvili of Georgia in the 125kg final. It’s how the 21-year-old Minnesotan did it: trailing by three points with only 10 seconds remaining, then scoring a pair of late takedowns, the second as time expired, to dramatically turn an 8-5 deficit into an 10-8 victory that will go down in Olympic wrestling lore.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED! @GableSteveson grabs the GOLD as time expires. #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/yqMc3wbXsu
