Months After Near-Fatal Incident, Ohio State University?s 2xBig10 Wrestling Champion Returns to Mat, Embracing Different Role

Ohio State’s two-time Big Ten wrestling champion’s life was hanging by a thread. The wrestler returned from the verge of death after being shot by a gunman months back. But he seemed to bring his fighting spirits beyond the mats, only to emerge victorious in the battle of life. Once this was won, another battle ensued right after. That was, returning to the mats, healing the scars of the harrowing incident from his body and mind. And he made his mark here as well.

Just after being released from the hospital on September 29, he gave a visit to his training arena. Recently, the daunting wrestler showed up once again in training, alongside his teammates. Undoubtedly, there remains concern whether it is too early for him to return to a physically demanding sport like wrestling. But here is a twist. The wrestling prodigy embraced his sport in a new role while also ensuring no harm was done to his health.

Ohio State Wrestling Star’s Remarkable Return

Sammy Sasso was the victim of a shooting during a carjacking that took place on North High Street. This incident took place on August 18th when he was returning to visit his Buckeyes teammates at the Jennings Family Wrestling Practice Facility. It was an uphill battle as the shooting took a heavy toll on him. Recently, he joined his teammates to train with them, but not as a trainee. But as a coach! WrestlersGrind featured Sasso in an X post captioning, ““Sammy Sasso coached his Ohio State teammates at the Clarion Open @whatsup_jjb.”?Behind this unwavering love for his sport, there is a terrifying story, however.

According to the police investigation, two strangers approached Sasso and instantly pulled a head gun while demanding his car. One suspect shot Sasso and got in the driver’s seat, while the other one chose the passenger’s seat. Sasso’s family chose a GoFundMe page to share his condition with the worried fans. He went through abdominal surgery to reconstruct his colon. The second surgery caused him severe damage, as he had to undergo a process to remove the bullet from his spine.

After a tense 41-day back and forth, he came out of the hospital. As he reached his training facility right after, an elated Ohio State Wrestling posted on X, “41 days in the hospital, we’re grateful to see the champ (Sasso) back in Jennings today.” However, all is not well for the wrestler.

When Sammy Sasso will return with full glory?

Sasso’s coach Ryan said Sasso knows he will ?have to really fight to come back to being the competitor he was” and added that the redshirt senior has a long process ahead to ?move (in) the ways he wants to move.? With Sammy Sasso still recovering from the wound, U23 National Champ Doug Zapf, one of his biggest competitors, will rep the USA at the 70kg spot. However, Sasso has already shown, he is not the one to quit easily. His accolades bear testament to that.

Also read: 2x Big Ten Wrestling Champion Fights Back From a Catastrophic Accident as He Pushes to Wrestle Again

Sasso has finished his incredible season at the Big Ten Championship with 29 wins in 33 bouts. He bagged the title of the top wrestler to enter the 2023?24 season, under the national 149-class. With such remarkable games, he has a number of honors added to his name, such as a two-time and a four-time All-American Big Ten Champion, along with a four-time NCAA tournament qualifier. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that Sasso will soon return to his full glory to do justice to his prestige.

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