As the Pan American Championships nears its end, a bigger prize beckons wrestlers for later this year. The Olympic Games are only months away and the competition for a spot in the national team is only getting stronger. With Nick Suriano clinching gold in Mexico earlier today, he now sets his eyes on Paris. But his path to the French capital won’t be an easy journey.

Iowa Hawkeyes’ prodigal son Spencer Lee and Nick Suriano will be competing in the same weight class at the Olympic qualifiers scheduled in April. With fans being denied seeing Lee and Suriano taking on each other for a long time, the possible face-off is making wrestling connoisseurs brace up for a massive showdown on the Penn State campus next month.

Olympic team trials make fans hopeful of possible mega-match

In a recent post on X by The Wrestling Room, Suriano’s latest feat in Mexico has been shared with glee. “Suriano wins the 61kg Gold Medal with a Fall in the finals!“, highlights the jubilant post and goes on to remind fans that the wrestler will be competing in the 57kg weight class (same as Lee) for the Olympic Trials. This will undoubtedly spark a lot of speculation among wrestling loyalists.

On top of that, Suriano was recently observed training rigorously to up his game as a last-ditch effort. It is widely speculated that In the Pan American Championships, Suriano chose to compete in the 61kg weight class just to advance to the qualifiers, bypassing Lee in the 57kg weight class. Now, after securing a gold in the event, as he looks to bolster his claim for a spot in Team USA on familiar grounds, the epic clash might finally satiate the waiting fans. But how did the rivalry between the two progress?

A decade-long feud finally to get its verdict?

Suriano and Lee have met each other in several tournaments. The rivalry goes all the way back to 2012 when the duo met at the Super 32 Finals. Suriano walked away as the winner of the match with 4-3. The next year, Super 32 was the ground for Lee to avenge his defeat. And he did that with 3-1. Lee currently boasts the biggest win over Lee (5-1) en route to the national title in 2018.

Interestingly, at last year’s US Open, Lee’s injury gave Suriano a forfeit victory. However, that wasn’t how Suriano wanted to triumph over his foe and now, he might finally have the chance to reaffirm his skills. Last year’s Senior National was another chance for Lee and Suriano to set the records straight, but with the latter pulling out of the competition at the last moment, the fans were denied the opportunity to witness another classic. Lee won the 57kg gold, taking down Nico Megaludis at the tournament.

Read more: Road to Paris 2024: USA Wrestling Champion David Taylor Makes an Open Promise Months Ahead of Olympics

With the US racking in medals at the Pan American Championships on all three days in a stellar fashion, the Olympic qualifiers only seem to get more intensely competitive. Now, it waits to be seen what Pennsylvania has in store for the wrestlers as they vie for their ticket to the European metropolitan.