Nittany Lion Wrestling Club member Kyle Dake earns bronze medal from Paris Olympics
Everything had lined up perfectly for the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club’s Kyle Dake when the wrestling portion of the Paris Olympics got started. After all, he was tabbed the No. 1 seed at 74 kilograms, which gave him the easiest path to the finals.
However, his path for a gold medal was derailed in the semifinals Friday, where he suffered a 20-12 defeat to Japan’s Daichi Takatani, who was the No. 4 seed.
Still, Dake rebounded to secure a bronze medal Saturday by dispatching Serbia’s Hetik Cabolov, 10-4.
“I was really happy to come away with something,” said Dake, who joined the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club in 2022, to USA Wrestling afterward. “It’s a tough one to swallow, but it’s just wrestling.”
It was Dake’s second straight bronze medal after ending in that spot in the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Dake trailed 4-1 late in the bout after the match was delayed following a lengthy challenge request from Dake’s corner that was lost. He used that fuel to score nine unanswered points — a four-point throw in that sequence — for the win.
His Olympic tournament began well Friday as he showed why he was the No. 1 seed with early dominant performances.
Dake, who won four NCAA titles at Cornell from 2009-2013, opened his Olympics by hanging a 10-0 technical superiority on Venezuela’s Anthony Montero to start things off Friday morning. He then made the semifinals by pinning Iran’s Younes Emamichoghaei with 23 seconds remaining in their bout.
This story was originally published August 10, 2024 at 1:41 PM.
