As with any epic sporting event, there were surprises galore. Some heart-wrenching, some heart-warming ... and a couple that were jaw-dropping for the wrong reasons, such as the Mongolian wrestling coaches who stripped off most of their clothes while on the mat to protest an official's call.
One pleasant surprise may well have been how smoothly the 2016 Olympics went overall.
A year ago, there were serious concerns about the Summer Games to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ... summed up by an InterMat article in April 2016 titled "Is Rio ready for wrestlers?" that outlined a long list of pre-event fears: a murderous crime rate, the Zika virus, political instability, a crashing economy, and the classic issue of "will the Olympic Village and sports facilities be ready for the athletes?" There was even talk of relocating the 2016 Olympics back to London (host of the 2012 Games) or Tokyo (which was reportedly already ready for the 2020 Games).
Ahead of the 2016 Olympics, some American wrestling fans may have been concerned that the U.S. was sending its smallest number of wrestlers to the Olympics in over six decades, having failed to qualify wrestlers in a total of five classes for the Rio Games. Despite having the fewest number of wrestlers at any Olympics since 1952, Sports Illustrated remained optimistic, predicting Team USA would claim a total of six medals, including gold for Adeline Gray and Jordan Burroughs.
The magazine was right about the number of U.S. gold medals in wrestling ... but was wrong about the recipients. Gray and Burroughs experienced heartbreak in Rio, having their dreams of gold -- or any Olympic medal -- dashed. Instead, the two US wrestlers to earn gold medals in Rio were Helen Maroulis and Kyle Snyder... ... while J'den Cox earned a bronze medal. Final tally: two men's freestyle medals, one for the women's freestyle team, and none for U.S. Greco-Roman wrestlers.
Helen Maroulis stunned Saori Yoshida in Rio (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Helen Maroulis made history by becoming the first Team USA women's freestyle wrestler to win an Olympic gold medal since women's competition first took place at the 2004 Olympics ... and she did it by defeating one of the all-time greats in Saori Yoshida of Japan who was going for her fourth consecutive Olympic championship.
Like a true champion, the 24-year-old Maryland native expressed awe and respect for her legendary rival in the gold medal match at 53 kilograms/116.5 pounds.
"I've been dreaming about wrestling Saori for so long," Maroulis, a first-time Olympian, said.
"She's a hero. She's the most decorated wrestler in the sport. It's such an honor to wrestle her."
"When you watch that much video of an opponent, you want to think of that person as the enemy," said Maroulis. "But with Yoshida, I didn't feel that way. You could see the love she felt for wrestling pour out of her. You could see how much she put into the sport. I felt in awe of her. It's hard to explain ... I felt inspired by her."
Kyle Snyder with the American flag after winning gold (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Kyle Snyder earned his place in the history books in a number of ways.
The 20-year-old Snyder is now the youngest U.S. man to win Olympic gold in wrestling. (Henry Cejudo earned his gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games at age 21.) What's more, Snyder became the 50th U.S. men's wrestler to have earned an Olympic gold medal. He was the first Ohio State wrestler to compete at an Olympics since 1992, and the first Olympic wrestling champion for the Buckeyes since Harry Steel brought home gold from the 1924 Olympics in Paris.
Winning the gold medal at 97 kilograms/213 pounds at the 2016 Rio Olympics capped off an incredible 12 months for Snyder. In that time frame, the Marylander earned a World Championships title last fall in Las Vegas ... then, in March, he won an NCAA title, defeating the defending heavyweight champ, Nick Gwaizdowski of North Carolina State, thus snapping the Wolfpack big man's 88-match win streak.
In fact, the last U.S. wrestler to rack up World, Olympic and national collegiate titles in the same amount of time was John Smith, six-time World and Olympic champion, who is now head coach at Oklahoma State.
"Every time the national anthem is played, I think about the sacrifices people have had to make before I was even alive for me to compete," Snyder said in an interview with NBC after winning the gold medal. "I think about my family and my friends who have done so much for me. There's no way I could be where I am without them ... I am grateful for everything I have."
Meanwhile, Snyder is back on the mat for Ohio State, in pursuit of a second NCAA championship -- and third finals appearance -- this March.
J'den Cox with U.S. freestyle coach Bill Zadick (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)J'den Cox, now in his senior year as a wrestler at the University of Missouri, had never wrestled in international competition until last summer. However, that lack of experience was not an impediment, as none of his opponents managed to score a takedown on him as he worked towards earning a bronze medal in men's freestyle at 86 kilograms/189 pounds during the 2016 Olympics.
The last match of the day for Cox, a 21-year-old from Columbia, Mo., had an ending that would have to rank as one of the strangest in seven days of wrestling in Rio.
In the bronze-medal bout vs. Reineris Salas Perez of Cuba, Cox had a 1-0 lead well into the second period and was placed on the shot clock with just over one minute to go. The Mizzou Tiger secured a double leg on the Cuban as the shot clock expired. Initially, Salas Perez was awarded the go-ahead point with six seconds remaining in the match. After an official review, Cox was awarded a takedown and a 3-0 lead. Salas Perez realized he was resuming the match with a deficit, and signaled he was not going to wrestle, despite pleas from his coach. He started down the steps off the raised mat platform. Because he did not finish the match out of protest, Salas Perez was disqualified. The final score was a win for Cox by disqualification at 5:54.
"It was awesome to know that I accomplished a great feat," Cox said after winning the bronze. "That wasn't my goal. I am not going to say that I accomplished my goal because my goal was to win gold. I am not bitter about it. I am happy. I accomplished a great feat, and so many people never get the chance to even come close to taste it. I got to taste it. I enjoy it and am very happy about it."
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