If it’s not gold, Spencer Lee doesn’t care for it. The Iowa Hawkeyes graduate was one of the favorites to win the ultimate prize at the Paris Olympics in the men’s freestyle 57kg weight bracket. However, the threat posed by Japan’s Rei Higuchi proved to be too much for the three-time NCAA champ. The blow to the guts has been so severe, that it seems like Lee is reluctant to even keep his haul from the City of Love safe.

According to a post by The Wrestling Room’s Pat Mineo on X from just minutes ago, Lee can’t be bothered about keeping an eye on his Olympic silver medal. Moreover, the post shares some startling news about what Spencer might have already done with his prize. “Spencer Lee says he doesn’t know where his Olympic silver medal is, gave it away to a family member,” the post makes a bombastic revelation.

“I don’t think there will ever be perspective where I think it’s (a silver medal) good,” Lee was quoted saying in Mineo’s latest update. In the final match from earlier today, Lee picked up the first couple of points and fans were getting ready to see him go all the way. However, the 2022 World Championships gold medalist Higuchi showed his experience soon as he executed a perfect takedown in the second period of the match to lead his opponent 4-2. The scoreline remain unchanged and Lee didn’t loiter around to celebrate his silver win after the final whistle.

Higuchi was the top seed in the weight class, and his clash against Spencer was highly anticipated given the two have been hyped about crossing paths at the Paris Olympics. Moreover, with the Japanese star taking to social media just hours before their match to claim that it would be an “easy revenge” for him, fans couldn’t wait to see Spencer show the former his place. However, the dream remained unattained, as the three-time Big Ten gold medalist couldn’t subdue the 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist. And yet, considering the mountains that the Iowan has crossed to get here, not everyone would be on board with evaluating the wrestler’s capabilities based on this one snag.

Spencer Lee gained significant momentum in recent months

Spencer forfeited from the 2023 US Open after three straight wins due to a knee injury that impacted his performances heavily. However, he wasn’t one to succumb to the physical ordeal and came back at last year’s Bill Farrell Memorial, where he won gold in his weight class. The 2024 Pan American Championships winner also made it evident with each victory that the Olympic gold is the prize that’s giving him all the motivation to forge through. The lifelong dream of being an Olympic gold medalist was sparked when Lee was still a student at the Franklin Regional. When the school coach  Eric Mausser asked Spencer in 2013 about his dream, the up-and-coming athlete didn’t hesitate to answer, “I want to be an Olympic champion.”

His determination was only underscored again as he battled injury pain to win all matches at the US Olympic Team Trials in April. After defeating Thomas Gilman at the Bryce Jordan Center, Lee said, “I’m still not healthy, but healthy enough to wrestle hard.” Understandably, gold was all that Spencer was hoping for. Furthermore, being unbeaten for a staggering eleven years was also something that assured him that he had what it takes to stand on the top of the Olympic podium. With that not happening, it seems like the wrestler himself isn’t at all satisfied with the result. But will this be the moment that would go on to define Lee in the years to come? Only time will tell.