Spencer Lee wrestles for Olympic gold Friday in Paris

PARIS — After being a training partner in Rio, and injured and unable to compete in Tokyo, 25-year-old Spencer Lee finally made his Olympic debut on Thursday.

Following three convincing victories, the three-time NCAA champion for Iowa will wrestle for a gold medal at 57 kg (125.5 pounds) on Friday.

“I think I wrestled all right,” said Lee, who proudly still uses a black-and-gold Hawkeyes mouth guard. “I think I was composed, wrestled smart. I think I let maybe some of the pressure of the Olympic Games get to me.

“I think I should open up a little more and just be a little smarter, but I think I wrestled three pretty diligent, smart matches.”

His opening match of the day in the Round of 16 was his toughest, facing sixth-seeded Wanhao Zou of China — the wrestler he defeated, 10-9, at an Olympic qualifying event he had to win earlier this year to get to Paris.

After a scoreless first couple of minutes, a takedown and a shot clock point put Lee up 3-0. Zou scored two points late, but Lee comfortably ran out the clock.

“That guy, he probably would have lost to my next two opponents, to be honest,” said Lee, who won three age-level world titles before he graduated from high school. “It’s just the way he wrestles that he’s dangerous. I kind of gave him a lot of respect, because he kind of blasted me in Turkey twice, so I was kind of waiting for him to do something, and he really didn’t.

“I think he was tired, cutting weight, and nerves, and then I was hanging on him, moving a lot, scoring early, so I would like to wrestle him a little more open next time, but maybe not at the Olympic Games.”

In the quarterfinals, the five-time All-American and two-time Hodge Trophy recipient quickly cruised past Bekzat Almaz Uulu of Kyrgyzstan, a former U23 world championship bronze medalist, winning on a 12-2 technical fall. After Lee gave up the first takedown, he had two takedown-and-turns, plus a four-point takedown.

His evening semifinal was just as straightforward, a 14-4 technical fall over seventh-seed Gulomjon Abduallaev of Uzbekistan. Lee quickly registered two takedowns, followed by two turns, for an 8-0 lead in the early stages of the matchup.

Up next: Spencer Lee wrestles for gold Friday

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In the final at approximately 12:35 p.m. (CT) Friday, he will face Rei Higuchi of Japan, who made quick work of each of his Thursday opponents as well. He won the 2022 world championship, took bronze in 2023 and had a silver medal in the 2016 Olympics.

“When he took silver, he was a young, young lad,” said Lee, who has spent a lot of time himself in Japan and has a great affinity for the country and its wrestling culture. “I know for him it was really hard to take silver, and he pretty much didn't compete for a long time. And I know he got married and his wife helped him to get here, and he’s really excited as well, and I know he doesn’t want silver.

“But I don't want silver either, so we’re ready to go out there and do our best to put on a show, hopefully.”

Lee said the team arrived in France — where his mom was born, parents met and maternal grandmother still lives — on July 23. After a first couple of days that was “pretty much just a lot of Team USA stuff and not a lot of training,” the wrestlers went to Normandy, and he loved his time there.

“France is very kind to allow us to train in one of their training centers, a great facility, it was awesome,” he said, noting that the team arrived in the Olympic Village on Aug. 5. “We got to the village, training right away, so (it was great to get) right into it.”

Admitting the Olympics are a “big stage,” the 20th Hawkeye wrestler to compete in the Olympics also emphasized it is far from too big for him, though.

“Now, I've always thought every tournament is the biggest tournament, it’s just how my mind works, so I was like kind of joking with coaches ‘this is the Olympics, right?’ I just don't feel like it’s any different than any other tournament,” he said. “Every tournament is the biggest one, because it’s the next one, and I have said that in a lot of interviews. I'm sure that's pretty annoying to hear, but it also helps you prepare for situations like this.

“I’m kind of joking and laughing, speaking in French to some people, like in the line right before I go out (to the ring), because they find out that I’m half French, so I’m like just joking around, messing around, and then oh, (all of a sudden), it’s time to go. Then you go out there and you do your thing, right? So, I think it helps a lot (that) this is my mother's home country, which is really cool. I love France, I’ve been here a lot, and I'm really excited tomorrow to do my best.”

He added that the one person making it even more special is his grandmother.

“She’s so proud, she’s so excited,” he said. “She says I remind her of her daughter, my mom, so I think that’s a pretty good compliment.”