The 2023 World Wrestling Championship held at Belgrade made the perfect platform for ascension for many wrestling talents. An American wrestling sensation clinched the gold medal in the 70kg category after losing in the finals in 2022. However, the stubborn wrestler entered Belgrade a second time with a mission to take nothing but the top prize.

Zain Allen Retherford is a three-time NCAA gold medalist from Penn State who turned 2023 into his year. A video on social media captures the relentless offensive approach utilized by Retherford in Belgrade to claim his 2023 gold. In fact, the video hit social media exactly when United World Wrestling ranked Retherford number one in the 70kg category.

Playing it right from the very beginning

Zain Retherford has made his name as one of the most explosive wrestlers in the world. The 28-year-old goes straight in for an attack as soon as the referee starts the match. Retherford doesn’t allow much breathing room to his opponents with his instantaneous charges in every wrestling bout. United World Wrestling recently unveiled Zain Retherford as the numero uno wrestler in the 70kg category. To add to the celebration, a video on X by FloWrestling displayed the high-voltage takedowns landed by the American in Serbia.

The tweet carried the caption, “Hard to stop the Zain Train.” The caption cleverly incorporated Retherford’s username for his social media handles, ‘@zaintrainusa’. However, the 28-year-old lives up to his moniker as the video showed him executing one brutal takedown after another. The video showcased the American using both peak force and mobility to get into advantageous positions with lightning-fast speed. 

These takedowns enabled Retherford to give America its fourth world championship gold medal this year. Interestingly, several fans of the 28-year-old already knew that Retherford would claim the gold medal in 2023. In fact, Zain Train announced his claim to the top prize exactly after his final round exit in 2022.

Zain Retherford, a man of his words

Zain Retherford was well-prepared for his maiden world championship finals a year ago in the Serbian capital of Belgrade. The US cheered for their 70kg powerhouse who had three back-to-back NCAA gold medals to his name. However, Retherford failed to gain the momentum that always got his hand raised at the end of six minutes. While he was deemed a national star for winning the silver medal, Retherford wasn’t satisfied. Although the 28-year-old made peace with his achievement later on, the fire within him still craved a gold medal. 

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Taking to Instagram, Retherford wrote, “Silver isn’t what I visualize when setting goals, but I am proud of how much I’ve grown this past year. I’ve let go of the feeling that my worth is somehow tied to my performance and I am now competing simply because I WANT TO.” Zain Train wrote these words in September 2022, exactly a year before he claimed the gold medal in 2023. Will Retherford’s golden resolve translate into a gold medal in Paris as well?

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