Spencer Lee is a force to be reckoned with, and Iowa’s 3x NCAA champion has proved his mettle to the wrestling world time and time again. However, the wrestler has experienced his fair share of highs and lows. But leaving all those aside, the 25-year-old looked forward to clinching his maiden Olympic medal in Paris. Much to his dismay, he missed out on the top step by a whisker. He had to settle for a silver medal instead. 

On September 20th, the 2x Junior World champion answered fan questions on RUDIS’ Unlocked. One wanted to know if he had ever been exhausted during a match. The wrestler momentarily pauses to rack his brain for an answer. “Oh jeez, I can think of at least five, where I was like, I’m going to die,” he stated. The 25-year-old reiterated how both two occasions with Iowa particularly stand out. “I was like actually spitting blood.” What really led to this?

Spencer Lee continued, “I think it was my senior year. I just came off my ACL surgeries. I wasn’t like supposed to wrestle the match, really.” In 2021, the wrestler clinched a national title in the 125-pound category with two torn ACLs. However, Lee decided to get surgeries on both knees together, cutting his 2022 season short. “But then, they were losing, so like, I had to wrestle, and I remember like I was up 12-0, I think? And I think the final score was like 13-5 maybe?” The Olympian doesn’t remember much of what went down. 

All he knew was that he was very tired. It might not look like the Iowa Hawkeye alumni were describing a harrowing experience. But he reiterated just how bad it was. “I remember they’re trying to walk me up the stairs to go back to the room, and I was just like falling over myself,” he stated. “It almost looked like I was faking it. I was so tired, I legitimately thought I was going to die.” The 25-year-old has often believed he could overcome any odds, but this time felt different. 

Spencer Lee added, “My heart was like in my throat.” But things get even more intense. The wrestler recalls just how slow his climb up the stairs was. By the time he got to the top, at least 4 matches had reached their conclusion. But he still found a silver lining amid the gloomy clouds. With a hearty chuckle, Lee admits that despite it all, at least he didn’t lose that match. How did the wrestling prodigy fare in the French capital?

Spencer Lee’s first Olympic berth in the City of Light

The 3x NCAA champion steamrolled through every stage of the 57 kg men’s wrestling freestyle at the Champ-de-Mars Arena. The only thing that stood between his quest for an Olympic gold was Japan’s Rei Higuchi. Lee initially had the upper hand, with the score tied at 2-2. However, seconds away from the end of the finals, Higuchi pulled off a stellar victory, and with two points added to the score, the gold medal slipped through his hands as he lost 4-2.

Spencer Lee initially refused to speak to reporters in the mixed zone. But after the medal ceremony, the wrestler couldn’t hide his frustration. “I don’t think I put a lot of effort in that match, so I didn’t deserve to win today, and that’s OK.” However, the Iowa Hawkeye alumni wished he had been slightly more aggressive. When asked how long it would take to view his performance from a different perspective, the wrestler added that he would never think it was good. 

Unimpressed, the 25-year-old continued, “Twenty years from now, try and name Olympic silver medalists. I bet you can’t. It’s because no one cares.” It was clear that he refused to accept anything apart from gold. In fact, as soon as the medal was placed on him, his first thought was to take it off. However, even if Higuchi hadn’t seized the win last minute, the wrestler would have still won. His two-point takedown in the second period triumphed over Lee’s single points for driving the wrestler out of bounds twice. 

The experience left a bad taste in Spencer Lee’s mouth. After the match, he was still “figuring out whether I want to keep wrestling.” After dealing with intrusive knee injuries, he hoped to knock his maiden Olympic stint out of the park. “A lot of time and effort put into getting back into a healthy enough state to wrestle, and then I go, and I fail,” he stated. We’re not sure if the 25-year-old will step on the mat soon. But coming back from an experience as intense is not an easy feat.