Gable Steveson earned the opportunity to compete at this summer’s Olympic games in Tokyo, winning the 125 kg division at the US Olympic trials on Saturday.
Steveson won the division in dominant fashion, outscoring his opponents 42-4 in his four matches at the trial. Of those matches, Steveson won three by technical fall including a 10-0 win in the first match over Nick Gwiazdowski in the finals.
After a dominant performance in the opening match of the series, Steveson punched his ticket to Tokyo with a 10-4 decision in the second match.
.@GSteveson with a celebratory "I'm going to the Olympics" flip. đź’Ż@TeamUSA | @USAWrestling | #WrestlingTrials21
đź“ş NBCSN
🖥️ https://t.co/hPwx9ZOM8g pic.twitter.com/gG2vk71Ldy— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) April 4, 2021
The victory continues a whirlwind of a month for Steveson, who captured his first NCAA heavyweight championship last month and is a two-time Big Ten champion.
The 20-year-old is now the 11th Gophers wrestler to qualify for the Olympics and the first to do so in men’s freestyle. The 2020 Olympics will begin this July after being delayed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
