Dake earns bronze at Tokyo Olympics

Kyle Dake has returned home to Lansing with hardware, claiming a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Dake won his final two matches in the tournament after falling in the second round to eventual silver medalist, Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov from Belarus. He had a strong rebound on the second day of the tournament, shutting out both of his opponents, including two-time world champion Frank Chamizo to win the bronze medal.

Dake had his sights set on a gold medal during his first trip to the Olympics after winning the last two World Championships. The Cornell University alum hinted at an injury prior to his loss but did not go into any details, calling it a “little snafu before the Games” that was fixed by doctors before his success on the second day.

“It’s a little bittersweet,” Dake said. “Going out there with expectations of being a gold medalist and I prepared as best I could. … Obviously, I have a couple things I would improve on, but overall, I still feel pretty happy to have wrestled as well as I did on day two and be able to bring home hardware. Winning a medal at the Olympic Games is no easy feat. Having been able to do that and add it to my resume is pretty cool.”

Dake’s loss was unprecedented in the scope of his career. It snapped a streak of 49 straight victories, and it was his first loss by technical fall — when a wrestler is outscored by 10 or more points — since 2015. Dake did not let that bring him down, though.

“It is a testament to the way I was raised,” he said. “My parents and the way I was coached as a kid from all the way up into and through college. No matter what happens, keep moving forward and go get the best thing that you can. The best thing that I could have gotten this weekend was a bronze medal after I lost. I just did my best. Every time I stepped out there, I tried to do my best and tried to persevere through the struggles.”

Dake detailed his mindset after the loss further.

“I’m definitely proud of the way I wrestled back,” Dake said. “I could have shifted in. I could have just decided this is already lost. It’s just kind of that mentality and that way of thinking like, ‘what was the next best thing? Why are you doing it in the first place? Are you doing it only for the gold medal, for the glory? Are you doing it because you really love sports and you like wrestling?’ It was an easy answer for me. I wanted to just go out and be able to wrestle again and put that match behind me.”

The gold medal was claimed by Russia’s Zaurbek Sidakov, a two-time world champion with whom Dake has yet to cross paths. Sidakov recorded an impressive 7-0 win in the gold medal match over Kadimagomedov, and Dake was watching closely.

“I learned that I really want to wrestle those guys,” Dake said. “I’m hopeful that both of them go to the World Championships in October because I’ll be there. They’ll be in Oslo, Norway. [I’m looking forward to] getting another opportunity.”

In Dake’s corner in Tokyo was Cornell wrestling head coach Mike Grey, who has been alongside Dake throughout his rise to the top.

“I’ve known Mike for a long time,” Dake said. “He’s always been there for me. He’s a brand-new head coach, and I know he’s really busy. To take three weeks away from his job, his family and all his own goals to help me pursue mine was something pretty special, and I can’t thank him enough. He’s been with me this whole time, and anything I need, from the smallest thing to the biggest thing, he’s willing to make it happen.”

One positive takeaway from the Olympics being pushed back one year is that the 2024 Olympics in Paris are just three years away. Dake is wrestling at as high a level as ever at 30 years old and plans to keep it that way heading into the next Olympic Games.

“There are several things that I look at from a wrestling standpoint,” Dake said. “There are a lot of things like, ‘I’m pretty good here, so let’s shift the focus. Instead of focusing on this area of my game, let’s try to open it up a little bit.’ I’m really just excited to be able to continue to compete into my 30s. I’ve put in the work to be able to do that.”

Dake returned from Tokyo still in pursuit of his ultimate goal, an Olympic gold medal.