Former Hawkeye Spencer Lee secures Olympic wrestling berth

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Former University of Iowa national wrestling champion Spencer Lee has qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.

Lee, a three-time NCAA champion for the Hawkeyes, went 4-0 at the World Olympic Games Qualifier.

Lee defeated Ben Tarik of Morocco by technical superiority in just 22 seconds, securing a takedown before locking up four exposures in a leg lace to put the match away.

Lee then toppled top-seeded Wanhao Zou of China, battling back from a 6-2 deficit with a takedown and three leg lace exposures that gave him a 10-6 lead at the break. Zou got a push-out point and a late takedown with 12 seconds remaining, but Lee held off the comeback attempt in par terre to win, 10-9.

In his third match, Lee needed just 53 seconds to secure the technical superiority over Vladimir Egorov of Macedonia, 12-2.

In the qualification match, he defeated Rakhat Kalzhan of Kazakhstan in just 36 seconds. Lee used a takedown and turned Kalzhan four times to secure his spot at the Olympics.

Lee will become the 20th Hawkeye to be an Olympian when he competes in Paris. The most recent former Iowa wrestler to compete at the Olympics was Thomas Gilman (Tokyo, 2020). Gilman won bronze for the United States.