Lansing’s Kyle Dake prepares for Paris Olympics

Later this month, the top athletes from across the globe will convene in Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics. All throughout Tompkins County, there will be plenty of people glued to their screens in the hopes of seeing Kyle Dake go for the gold.

The Lansing native qualified for the Olympics back in April after defeating Jason Nolf in the 74-kilogram freestyle championship at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Dake will make his second appearance at the Olympics following his bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The significance of wrestling once again on the big stage isn’t lost on him.

“When I was young, I was told ‘Anybody can do it once, you gotta be able to repeat it,’” Dake said. “My goal this year was ‘Let’s go out and see if you can do it again…’ To be able to do it once was great, but to make the Olympic team twice has been pretty special.”

Things will be a lot different in Paris compared to Tokyo. Not only does Dake have three more years of experience under his belt, he will also be wrestling in a normal atmosphere. Due to the pandemic, the Tokyo Olympics were held with no spectators. This time around, he’ll be back to wrestling in a packed gymnasium with his family there to cheer him on.

“That was the only time that I really wrestled in the venue like that,” Dake said. “It was a little odd. So I think that the internal experience is something that I really value. I’m really excited to be able to go out and compete in front of a lot of people. I always feel like I tend to compete better when there’s big, shiny lights, and so I’m just really excited to go out there and be able to put my best foot forward and compute courage and score some points.”

Speaking of experience, Dake will enter the Olympics as the oldest wrestler on Team USA at 33 years old. That also means he could become the oldest American to win an Olympic wrestling title. It’s safe to say Dake has taken tremendous care of his body to be able to still compete at a high level.

“[It’s about] just simplifying things,” Dake said. “A lot of times, we try to overcomplicate things and sometimes we get in our own way. So [it’s] making things simple and just being positive about everything—everything happens for a reason, perfect timing—and some of those recovery things. I always cherished my sleep. I always did a really good job of making sure I was hydrated and doing things correctly in a way that will preserve my longevity in the sport.”

Keeping things simple will also be Dake’s mindset as he looks to improve on his third-place finish in Tokyo.

“I don’t even know who I’m wrestling in the first round,” Dake said. “I don’t know who I’m gonna wrestle in the second round. I have no idea what I’m facing out there. All I know is that I can control myself. I can control my body. I can control what I do. If I make sure that all of those things happen, I’m going to be happy. At the end of the Olympics, if I know that I put my best foot forward with the cards that I’ve been dealt, then that’s it. You play the hand you’re dealt, and that’s what you do.”

A lot has transpired in Dake’s life in the three years since his last venture to the Olympics, filled with many highs. He won his fourth consecutive world championship, becoming only the second American wrestler to do so. He moved to State College in Pennsylvania to join the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, where he would also co-found a wellness club. He also became a father of three.

But a low point came just nine days before the Olympic Trials when his father passed away. Doug Dake was an icon in the local wrestling scene. An All-American wrestler at Kent State, Doug was an assistant coach at Ithaca College and Cornell University before coaching in Lansing for over 20 years. He passed down his love of the sport to his two sons, Kyle and Corey (who also wrestled for Lansing and Cornell).

“I felt like my dad’s presence was there,” Dake said. “I felt him everywhere around me. I was always thinking about him. Before he had passed, he just kept telling me to go have fun and be grateful for the opportunity. After watching what he had to go through and then to go out and just wrestle… It was something that we shared, so it was a little sad that I couldn’t share it with him. But I know he was there with me. I just miss him dearly.”

The opening ceremony will take place on July 26. Dake will wrestle from August 9-10.