Because Spencer Lee’s 57 kilos bracket is one of five Olympic weights not yet qualified for the Olympics, his U.S. trials win Saturday isn’t an automatic ticket to the Summer Games. He still has to qualify the United States at that weight in Istanbul, Turkey on May 9-12 by placing among the top three at the World Olympic Games Qualifier.
Standing between Hawkeye wrestling icon Spencer Lee and his long-sought Olympic dreams today is fellow former Hawkeye Thomas Gilman, who made his Olympic debut three years ago in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, bringing home a bronze medal.
A stacked 18 brackets of the country’s best wrestlers over the next two days will grapple for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team in Paris later this summer, including 14 who identify as Hawkeyes in some capacity – either past, present, or professional.