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The United States finished on top of the wrestling medal board at the Tokyo Olympics thanks to a silver and bronze earned in the final three events of the meet.
Kyle Snyder earned the silver medal in the men's freestyle 97kg competition, and Sarah Hildebrandt added to the haul with a bronze in the women's freestyle 50kg event.
Snyder and Hildebrant's finishes gave the United States nine total medals from the 18 weight classes contested at the Olympic level.
The United States won all nine of its medals in the freestyle discipline. The American men did not win in any of the six Greco-Roman events.
Japan won two of the three gold-medal bouts contested on Saturday to finish with the most victories from the wrestling events.
Five of the seven medals earned by the host nation were golds, including the ones won by Takuto Otoguro and Yui Susaki on the final day of competition.
Saturday Medal Winners
Men's Freestyle 65kg
Gold: Takuto Otoguro, Japan
Silver: Haji Aliyev, Azerbaijan
Bronze: Bajrang Punia, India
Bronze: Gadzhimurad Rashidov, Russian Olympic Committee
Otoguro won Japan's first gold in the men's freestyle events.
Prior to Saturday, all of Japan's gold medals in wrestling came from the women's freestyle weight classes. The host nation picked up a silver and a bronze in the men's Greco-Roman competitions.
Otoguro, who was the 2018 world champion at 65kg, won a tight gold-medal bout over Haji Aliyev of Azerbaijan by a 5-4 score.
Otoguro won each of his last two bouts by a single point. He knocked out Gadzhimurad Rashidov from gold-medal contention with a 3-2 semifinal victory.
Rashidov from the Russian Olympic Committee and Bajrang Punia of India shut out their opponents in the bronze-medal bouts.
Men's Freestyle 97kg
Gold: Abdulrashid Sadulaev, Russian Olympic Committee
Silver: Kyle Snyder, United States
Bronze: Abraham de Jesus Conyedo Ruano, Italy
Bronze: Reineris Salas Perez, Cuba
Snyder did not defend his gold medal from Rio de Janeiro, but he did come home with a silver to add his decorated trophy case.
The three-time NCAA champion and two-time world champion lost by points to Abdulrashid Sadulaev of the Russian Olympic Committee. The Russian athletes are competing under that name because the flag and national anthem were banned as punishment for a doping scandal.
Sadulaev was the gold-medal winner at 86kg five years ago in Brazil. He moved up a weight class and won two world championships in 2018 and 2019.
The 25-year-old Russian completed his recent dominance of the weight class with a 6-3 victory over Snyder.
Snyder's silver medal was the fifth earned by the Americans in freestyle wrestling. Gable Steveson and David Taylor won gold medals, while Kyle Dake and Thomas Gilman came home with bronze medals.
Women's Freestyle 50kg
Gold: Yui Susaki, Japan
Silver: Yunan Sun, China
Bronze: Sarah Hildebrandt, United States
Bronze: Mariya Stadnik, Azerbaijan
Hildebrandt completed the American medal haul in wrestling with a bronze in the women's 50kg freestyle weight class.
Hildebrandt used a 12-1 victory over Ukraine's Oksana Livach to secure one of the two bronze medals handed out in the event. The other one was earned by Azerbaijan's Mariya Stadnik.
Hildebrandt was relegated to the bronze-medal bout following a 10-7 semifinal loss to China's Yunan Sun.
The Chinese wrestler ended up taking silver behind Yui Susaki, who finished off Japan's dominance of the female weight classes.
Susaki earned a 10-0 victory in the gold-medal bout to become the fourth Japanese woman to win wrestling gold.
Japan finished with seven total medals in the sport, which was two behind the United States and one back of the ROC.
Mandakhnaran Ganzorig's Mongolian wrestling coach was so unhappy with a decision that gave Uzbekistan's Ikhtiyor Navruzov a bronze medal in the men's freestyle 65-kilogram division Sunday that he stripped down to his underwear.
This is not a joke.
According to ESPN.com's Wayne Drehs, the coach was joined by another, who shed only his shirt. Together, they heaved their clothes at officials in protest:
Take a look at this play-by-play from Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post, who described the ruling as "incredibly shady":
The crowd loved it:
[Twitter]
Russia's Soslan Ramonov needed just over two minutes to maul his way to a technical win over Azerbaijan's Toghrul Asgarov, who had to settle for silver in freestyle wrestling after suffering an 11-0 demolition on the last day of the 2016 Olympics.
Ramonov rumbled his way to one of the easiest gold-medal wins in the 65-kilogram division in Rio de Janeiro, as he finished Asgarov before he even knew what hit him.
The greatest drama of Sunday's finals came in the bronze-medal deciders, though, after the coaches of Mongolian contender Mandakhnaran Ganzorig stripped in protest of their representative's defeat.
Ikhtiyor Navruzov of Uzbekistan trailed Ganzorig heading into the closing stages of their bronze decider, but an early celebration saw the Mongolian get penalised and thus lose, leaving his coaches to react harshly, per ESPN's Wayne Drehs:
Later on Sunday, Kyle Frederick Snyder secured gold for the United States in the men's 97-kg category after he defeated Khetag Goziumov of Azerbaijan, while Romania's Albert Saritov and Mamed Ibragimov of Uzbekistan each took bronze.
Read on for a recap of Sunday's wrestling final action and a roundup of the latest medal winners.
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's 65-kg | Soslan Ramonov (RUS) | Toghrul Asgarov (AZE) | Ikhtiyor Navruzov (UZB) and Frank Chamizo Marquez (ITA) |
| Men's 97-kg | Kyle Frederick Snyder (USA) | Khetag Goziumov (AZE) | Mamed Ibragimov (UZB) and Albert Saritov (ROM) |
Despite the short-lived action of Ramonov's quick win at Carioca Arena 2, all eyes were on the bronze-medal final between Mongolia and Uzbekistan after the bizarre finish to their historic clash.
Ganzorig's ill discipline with seconds of the bout remaining resulted in a violation, which awarded the 8-7 win to Navruzov. The Mongolian coaches didn't hold back their frustrations, per Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times:
Just what the coaches thought the result of revealing all on the mat would be is anyone's guess, and the ultimate impact was that it delayed the rest of the wrestling schedule by a few minutes.
Protest or not, Ganzorig's premature celebration saw him leave Rio 2016 without a medal, although the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore most likely won't remember the match for its wrestlers:
Speaking to the press after the controversy, Byambarenchin Bayarra, one of the Mongolian coaches involved in the undressing, elaborated on he and his colleague's reason for acting out:
This was a protest. There was a problem with the refereeing. The Mongolian wrestler won 7-6 and he lost because of this [judges' decision]. This is the only time in history of wrestling with point penalty.
The referees were not good. They only supported the Uzbek. After the challenge for five seconds we win, and we are very happy for this medal. Three million people in Mongolian waited for this bronze medal and now we have no medal.
Ramonov's victory in the 65-kg division saw him join compatriot Abdulrashid Sadulaev as a Russian gold-medalist at these Games, while Asgarov clinched Azerbaijan's first silver medal in men's wrestling.
Frank Chamizo Marquez of Italy defeated Frank Aniello Molinaro of the U.S. to seal a place on the podium in the other bronze final, completing the 65-kg medal lineup.
There was a distinct lack of gold medals for the United States until Snyder mustered a slim 2-1 victory over Goziumov in the 97-kg final, scoring the Americans their first freestyle wrestling medal above bronze at Rio 2016.
What's more, the Associated Press confirmed the 20-year-old's triumph as a landmark moment for the United States, not to mention an inspiration for any upcoming wrestling talents:
Each of the bronze medals beforehand proved somewhat more decisive for Saritov and Ibragimov, particularly the former, who decimated Georgia's Elizbar Odikadze en route to a 10-0 superiority win.
Ukraine's Valerii Andriitsev fell to Uzbek Ibragimov 6-4 in the other bronze final, with the veteran holding his foe at bay to match his bronze from Athens 2000 at 42 years of age.
Russia won their third wrestling gold medal of the 2016 Rio Olympics on Saturday after Abdulrashid Sadulaev dominated Selim Yasar of Turkey to take the grand prize in the men's freestyle 86-kilogram division.
Although Sadulaev's win provided Russia with their third wrestling gold overall at Rio 2016, his was the first victory to come in the freestyle category.
Yasar was left to settle for a silver medal, while Sharif Sharifov clinched a third freestyle bronze medal of these Games for Azerbaijan. J'den Michael Tbory Cox snagged the United States their maiden medal in men's wrestling, earning bronze.
Turkey redeemed themselves in the final of the men's freestyle 125-kg division, however, when Taha Akgul beat Azerbaijan's Komeil Nemat Ghasemi to ensure Turkey finished with at least one gold to their name.
Read on for a breakdown of Saturday's wrestling medal results, complete with a recap of the day's action.
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's 86-kg | Abdulrashid Sadulaev (RUS) | Selim Yasar (TUR) | Sharif Sharifov (AZE) and J'den Michael Tbory Cox (USA) |
| Men's 125-kg | Taha Akgul (TUR) | Komeil Nemat Ghasemi (IRN) | Ibrahim Saidau (BLR) and Geno Petruasgvili (GEO) |
Having devastated Sharifov 8-1 in his semi-final outing, Sadulaev further demonstrated his grip over the 86-kg class despite only making his Olympics debut in Rio de Janeiro.
The 20-year-old wrestled like someone far beyond his years and handed Yasar a 5-0 defeat, which news outlet Track Wrestling examined as further evidence of his dominion over the sport:
Sadulaev rarely looked out of sorts en route to clinching his first Olympic gold, and it wouldn't be a major surprise to see more to follow in what's sure to be a long and prosperous career.
The Russian supporters on hand in Rio de Janeiro also paid tribute to their starlet following his gold-worthy display, per FloWrestling:
Further down the pecking order, Sharifov and Cox finished in the bronze-medal positions after defeating Pedro Francisco Ceballos Fuentes of Venezuela and Reineris Salas Perez of Cuba, respectively.
Cox's 3-1 victory over Fuentes secured a first men's wrestling medal of Rio 2016 for the United States, while Azerbaijan are now up to three bronze medals in men's wrestling at the Summer Games following Sharifov's win.
Akgul later mauled his way to a maiden Olympic medal at the age of 25, following up his two world championships in 2014 and 2015 with the top gong in Rio.
Collegiate wrestler David Taylor was among those taking in the men's 125-kilogram freestyle final, and needless to say the Turkish terror left his mark on his spectators:
Iranian star Ghasemi struggled to get on the board and eventually slumped to a 3-1 loss against local opposition, although his silver was an improvement on the bronze he won at London 2012.
Earlier in the evening, Ibrahim Saidau of Belarus beat Armenian Levan Beriandize by technical points to finish with a bronze alongside Georgia's Geno Petruasgvili, who hammered the United States' Tervel Ivaylov Dlagnev 10-0.
Note to all Olympic wrestling coaches whose clients win gold: Run.
On Thursday, Risako Kawai won her gold-medal match against Maria Mamashuk of Belarus in the 63-kilogram freestyle. The Japanese wrestler celebrated by slamming 56-year-old coach Kazuhito Sakae to the mat.
Then she did it one more time for good measure.
Bodyslamming a coach is as commonplace in Rio de Janeiro as spiking a football or flipping a bat. Earlier this week, Cuba's Mijain Lopez commemorated his triumph in similar fashion.
At least he can pretend his was a mishap. Kawi instead executed two fundamentally sound takedowns on Sakae, a retired wrestler who took the post-match antics in stride.
Afterword, they hugged and Kawi hoisted her coach on her shoulders.
Vladimer Khinchegashvili clinched gold for Georgia on Friday after he defeated Japan's Rei Higuchi in the final of the men's freestyle wrestling 57-kilogram weight class at the 2016 Rio Games.
Higuchi led 3-2 heading into the final stages of the medal decider, but a last-ditch penalty for passive performance saw Khinchegashvili draw level and top the podium on criteria.
Lower down the 57-kg pecking order, Azerbaijan's Haji Aliyev and Iran's Hassan Sabzali Rahimi claimed spots on the podium after winning their bronze-medal finals.
Later, Iran's Hassan Aliazam Yazdanicharati pulled off a courageous comeback to beat Russia's Aniuar Geduev in the men's freestyle 74-kg gold-medal final and win the top prize in his weight class.
The bronze medals in that category went to Jabrayil Hasanov of Azerbaijan and Turkey's Soner Demirtas, who defeated respective foes Bekzod Abdurakhmonov of Uzbekistan and Galymzhan Usserbayev of Kazakhstan.
Read on for a breakdown of Friday's wrestling final results, complete with a recap of the night's entertainment.
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's 57-kg | Vladimer Khinchegashvili (GEO) | Rei Higuchi (JPN) | Haji Aliyev (AZE) and Hassan Sabzali Rahimi (IRN) |
| Men's 74-kg | Hassan Aliazam Yazdanicharat (IRN) | Aniuar Geduev (RUS) | Jabrayil Hasanov (AZE) and Soner Demirtas (TUR) |
Youth got the better of experience in the gold-medal final of the 74-kilogram division after a bruised and battered Geduev couldn't survive a late assault from Iranian youngster Yazdanicharati.
The Russian had to be heavily bandaged up due to a head injury in the second period and ultimately let a 6-0 lead slip to draw 6-6 and see Yazdanicharati win by comeback.
The Iranian won by virtue of being the last wrestler to score in the final, and World Wrestling confirmed his victory after he trailed by six points to nothing at one point:
In the bronze-medal finals, Hasanov defeated Uzbekistan's Abdurakhmonov 9-7 to make his way onto the podium, and a 6-0 demolition from Turkey's Demirtas saw him to a one-sided win over Usserbayev.
After finishing with a silver medal at London 2012, Khinchegashvili went one better with his win over Higuchi—a win that almost evaded his grasp.
Japanese outlet Kyodo News Sports described the close manner of Higuchi's defeat, as he was in control of the fixture until the dying minutes:
The loss came as a bitter blow for Higuchi, too, who was within inches of taking home the top prize on his Olympic debut at just 20 years of age.
Khinchegashvili's gold brought Georgia just its second gold of Rio 2016, while Rahimi and Aliyev added to Iran's and Azerbaijan's tallies, respectively, with their bronze medals.
Rahimi was particularly dominant in his 9-0 thrashing of Yowlys Bonne Rodriguez of Cuba, while Aliyev edged his bronze-medal clash against Bulgarian Vladimir Vladimirov Dubov 5-4.
Aliyev defeated his foe by fall despite making a substantial weight cut to make the 57-kg limit, coming away from the 2016 Olympics with a bronze medal to show for it.
Day 13 of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games saw Jamaica's Usain Bolt cement his status as the world's fastest man delivered another blistering performance in the men's 200-meter race, marking his third consecutive gold medal in the event; his seventh career Olympic gold medal.
With three Olympic gold medals in both the 100-meter and 200-meter events, Bolt became the third athlete in Olympic history to win two individual events at three Olympics, joining the likes of Michael Phelps and Ray Ewry.
While clearly still the top sprinter in the world, Bolt has reportedly decided that the Rio Games will be his last Olympics.
According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, Bolt made his decision clear to reporters after the race.
Day 13 was a busy one, but for reasons other than Bolt.
There were other medals handed out in track and field on the day while the United States eclipsed 100 total medals for the Games. The medal count for each country can be seen below:
In total, Day 13 had 23 events that handed out medals. Each event can be seen individually below:
| Medal | Athlete | Country | ||
| Gold | Misaki Matsumoto/Ayaka Takahashi | Japan | ||
| Silver | Christinna Pedersen/Kamila Rytter | Denmark | ||
| Bronze | Kyung Eun Jeng/Seung Chan Shin | South Korea |
| Medal | Athlete | Country | ||
| Gold | Alison/Bruno Schmidt | Brazil | ||
| Silver | Paolo Nicolai/Lupo Daniele | Italy | ||
| Bronze | Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen | Netherlands |
| Medal | Fighter | Country | ||
| Gold | Julio Cesar La Cruz | Cuba | ||
| Silver | Adilbek Niyazymbetov | Kazakhstan | ||
| Bronze | Mathieu Bauderlique | France | ||
| Bronze | Joshua Buatsi | Great Britain |
| Medal | Athletes | Country | Time | |
| Gold | Max Rendschmidt/Marcus Gross | Germany | 3:10.781 | |
| Silver | Marko Tomicevic/Milenko Zoric | Serbia | 3:10.969 | |
| Bronze | Ken Wallace/Lachlan Tame | Australia | 3:12.593 |
| Medal | Athlete | Country | Time | |
| Gold | Yuriy Cheban | Ukraine | 39.279 | |
| Silver | Valentin Demyanenko | Azerbaijan | 39.493 | |
| Bronze | Isaquias Queiroz | Brazil | 39.628 |
| Medal | Athletes | Country | Time | |
| Gold | Saul Craviotto/Cristian Toro | Spain | 32.075 | |
| Silver | Liam Heath/Jon Schofiled | Great Britain | 32.368 | |
| Bronze | Aurimas Lankas/Edvinas Ramanauskas | Lithuania | 32.382 |
| Medal | Athletes | Country | Time | |
| Gold | Danusia Kozak | Hungary | 1:52.494 | |
| Silver | Emma Jorgensen | Denmark | 1:54.326 | |
| Bronze | Lisa Carrington | New Zealand | 1:54.372 |
| Medal | Diver | Country | Score | |
| Gold | Qian Ren | China | 439.25 | |
| Silver | Yajie Si | China | 419.40 | |
| Bronze | Meaghan Benfeito | Canada | 389.20 |
| Medal | Country | |||
| Gold | Argentina | |||
| Silver | Belgium | |||
| Bronze | Germany |
| Medal | Athletes | Country | ||
| Gold | Hannah Mills/Saskia Clark | Great Britain | ||
| Silver | Jo Aleh/Polly Powrie | New Zealand | ||
| Bronze | Camille Lecointre/Helene Defrance | France |
| Medal | Athletes | Country | ||
| Gold | Sime Fantela/Igor Marenic | Croatia | ||
| Silver | Mathew Belcher/Will Ryan | Australia | ||
| Bronze | Panagiotis Mantis/Pavlos Kagialis | Greece |
| Medal | Athlete | Country | ||
| Gold | Peter Burling/Blair Tuke | New Zealand | ||
| Silver | Nathan Outteridge/Iain Jenson | Australia | ||
| Bronze | Erik Heil/Thomas Ploessel | Germany |
| Medal | Athlete | Country | ||
| Gold | Martine Grael/Kahena Kunze | Brazil | ||
| Silver | Alex Maloney/Molly Meech | New Zealand | ||
| Bronze | Jena Hansen/Katja Steen Salskov-Iversen | Denmark |
| Medal | Fighter | Country | ||
| Gold | Jade Jones | Great Britain | ||
| Silver | Eva Calvo Gomez | Spain | ||
| Bronze | Kimia Alizadeh Zenoorin | Iran | ||
| Bronze | Hedaya Wahba | Egypt |
| Medal | Fighter | Country | ||
| Gold | Ahmad Abughaush | Jordan | ||
| Silver | Alexey Denisenko | Russia | ||
| Bronze | Joel Gonzalez | Spain | ||
| Bronze | Lee Dae-Hoon | South Korea |
| Medal | Athlete | Country | Time | |
| Gold | Kerron Clement | United States | 47.73 | |
| Silver | Boniface Mucheru Tumuti | Kenya | 47.78 | |
| Bronze | Yasmani Copello | Turkey | 47.92 |
| Medal | Athlete | Country | Score | |
| Gold | Ryan Crouser | United States | 22.52 (OR) | |
| Silver | Joe Kovacs | United States | 21.78 | |
| Bronze | Tomas Walsh | New Zealand | 21.36 |
| Medal | Athlete | Country | Score | |
| Gold | Sara Kolak | Croatia | 66.18 | |
| Silver | Sunette Viljoen | South Africa | 64.92 | |
| Bronze | Barbora Spotakova | Czech Republic | 64.80 |
| Medal | Athlete | Country | Score | |
| Gold | Ashton Eaton | United States | 8893 (OR) | |
| Silver | Kevin Mayer | France | 8834 | |
| Bronze | Damien Warner | Canada | 8666 |
| Medal | Athlete | Country | Time | |
| Gold | Dalilah Muhammad | United States | 53.13 | |
| Silver | Sara Slott Petersen | Denmark | 53.55 | |
| Bronze | Ashley Spencer | United States | 53.72 |
| Medal | Athlete | Country | Time | |
| Gold | Usain Bolt | Jamaica | 19.78 | |
| Silver | Andre De Grasse | Canada | 20.02 | |
| Bronze | Christophe Lemaitre | France | 20.12 |
| Medal | Athlete | Country | Time | |
| Gold | Alistair Brownlee | Great Britain | 1:45:01 | |
| Silver | Jonathan Brownlee | Great Britain | 1:45:07 | |
| Bronze | Henri Schoeman | South Africa | 1:45:43 |
| Medal | Athlete | Country | ||
| Gold | Helen Maroulis | United States | ||
| Silver | Saori Yoshida | Japan | ||
| Bronze | Natalya Sinishin | Azerbaijan | ||
| Bronze | Sofia Magdalena Mattsson | Sweden |
| Medal | Athlete | Country | ||
| Gold | Risako Kawai | Japan | ||
| Silver | Maryia Mamashuk | Belarus | ||
| Bronze | Yekaterina Larionova | Kazakhstan | ||
| Bronze | Monika Ewa Michalik | Poland |
| Medal | Athlete | Country | ||
| Gold | Erica Elizabeth Wiebe | Canada | ||
| Silver | Guzel Manyurova | Kazakhstan | ||
| Bronze | Fengliu Zhang | China | ||
| Bronze | Ekaterina Bukina | Russia |
While Bolt dominated the track and field headlines with his performance, the United States had a very successful outing as well.
Ashton Eaton tied the Olympic record in the men's decathlon with another historic performance to add to his resume, earning gold in the event for the second straight Olympic Games.
Eaton made history, but Dalilah Muhammad made some history of her own.
Muhammad, 26, never looked like giving up her lead in the women's 400-meter hurdles as she rounded the corner and jumped over the last hurdle. Her performance marked her first medal of the Games and her first career Olympic medal.
Moving from the track to the beach, the men's beach volleyball tournament saw the host nation, Brazil, win the gold with a 2-0 set victory over Italy.
Alison Cerutti and Bruno Schmidt gave their fans something to cheer about on Day 13 and the celebrations were just as epic as one could imagine.
For complete coverage and live results, stick with Bleacher Report throughout the 2016 Games in Rio.
RIO DE JANEIRO — Daniel Dennis will never forget that long, lonely drive across the United States, pulling out of Iowa City, Iowa, in the spring of 2013 and cruising onto an endless ribbon of road. Only now can he see that those first few miles in the dusty Midwestern countryside were the beginning of his Olympic odyssey.
The two-time college All-American wrestler was in the $500 pickup he had just purchased off Craigslist with his life savings. He rolled down the window and—for minutes, hours, days—listened to nothing but the wind, as if it spoke secrets. Dennis was on his way out west to Utah, where he planned to live out of his rattletrap 1986 Ford, climb rocks during the day and clear his head at night.
"I didn’t even turn the radio on when I drove," said Dennis, now 29. "When it’s quiet, I can think. And I had a lot to think about it."
At the University of Iowa, Dennis wrestled at 133 pounds. In the 2010 NCAA championship bout, he faced Minnesota’s Jayson Ness. With 20 seconds left, Dennis held a 4-1 lead. Dennis tried to stall by retreating, but Ness caught him and threw him on his back with seven seconds left. Dennis lost, 6-4.
"After the match, Daniel was crawling on his hands and knees and shrieking he was in so much emotional pain," said Tom Brands, his coach at Iowa who is also an assistant coach on the Olympic team. "Those shrieks came from deep in his soul. He was devastated."
"Losing that match was a life-changing moment for me," Dennis said. "It was hell. I felt like my world had crumbled."
As he spoke, Dennis was standing just outside the Olympic Village, less than half a mile from where he will begin competition in the 57-kilogram (125.5 lbs) class on Friday—his long-awaited moment of reckoning on the mat.
He then closed his eyes and replayed it all again from the grainy film of his memory, the story of how he became an Olympian. It began on that road out of Iowa City.
In the spring of 2013, he reached Indian Creek in Utah, a hot spot for sandstone crack climbing. Dennis' body was broken down from wrestling—he had neck and arm injuries—but he was still strong enough to rock climb.
In the mornings, he’d meet up with friends, hike to the base of a mountain and then scale the faces of rocks for hours. In the evenings, he’d cook his meals outside his truck, rinse off in a solar-powered shower and then read as he stretched out his 5'4" frame in the cab of his truck.
Other nights, he’d meet strangers and together, under a big sky of twinkling stars, they’d share stories from their life and times.
"You’d meet up with a group of people and you’d sit around the campfire until 3 a.m. with a guitar and just drinking beer," Dennis said. "Just living life."
He moved to different campsites throughout the West, often going days without cell service. Sometimes he’d have as many as 100 text messages and voicemails when he returned to civilization, many of them from coaches and former teammates urging Dennis to come back to Iowa and train for the Olympics.
He ignored their pleas. He earned money coaching at different wrestling camps, working at a gas station and working as a roofer. After five months of living out of his truck, he bought a 26-foot-long fifth-wheel trailer for $2,500.
Alone at night, with no electricity and no internet in his trailer, he’d replay the national championship match from 2010. He never experienced a white-light epiphany, but in his own way, he grieved the loss. For two years, as he lived in that trailer in California, time healed.
"We don’t reflect much in our society, and I needed to reflect," Dennis said. "What brought me back to wrestling was a lot of friends telling me I should come back. I was being pestered almost nonstop, but it was good to know I had so much support. They were on my side."
His mind and body in order, Dennis returned to Iowa City in April 2015, a substantial beard cascading from his face. He began practicing with his old coach at Iowa. Within weeks, the wrestling magic was back. He qualified for the Olympics by defeating 2014 NCAA champion Tony Ramos in the wrestling trials in April 2016—one year to the month after his return from the wilderness.
"Daniel is a better wrestler now than he was before he went out west," said Brands, his personal coach. "There is peace in his mind. He won’t ever panic, and he’s capable of scoring against the best in the world. He’s dangerous here in Rio. Daniel has now made pain part of the journey. He laughs at pain and believes he can take any amount of pain."
Brands points into the distance at Dennis, who is working out at the Team USA wrestling practice facility in a Rio outpost. Dennis is pushing himself hard. He quickly moves from lifting free weights to running on a treadmill to doing pull-ups on a rusted soccer goal. His first Olympic match is eight days away, but there already is a wild-eyed intensity flashing in his eyes.
"Daniel has this look of pure fire in his eyes," said J'den Cox, a U.S. Olympic team member who wrestles at 86 kilograms (189 lbs). "He goes hard after his opponent, like he will keep up a pace that others choose not to. He’s out there on the mat to show you what kind of man he is."
Dennis kept pushing himself at the practice facility, running, jumping, lifting himself up on the soccer goal—over and over. He was doused in sweat. He was breathing hard. His eyes were afire.
The man who recently found peace looked ready for violence.
