CHROMEBIRD

Fair point, I hear you. The freestyle attrition will likely happen either way, though. An equally important goal might be to get more kids to give wrestling a try. If MMA can help get more kids in the door, I'd be okay with that. If MMA could give college wrestlers more NIL deals and help fund more programs, even better. Last one is a bit of a stretch right now, though!

Photoshop the Nike swoosh on Romania's shoes!

Which style is better suited for wrestlers who want to compete in MMA down the road? Intuitively, developing the muscle memory and skill to control & ride your opponent seems more advantageous for MMA than avoiding back exposure or forcing step-outs. I really don't know, but just something to consider.

Rudis should license the photo and make their own Wimps Need Not Apply poster. It is spectacular!

What are you talking about? I wasn't talking about changing college to freestyle, I was talking about changing freestyle to freestyle.

We may have gotten a little spoiled from the last several results at Worlds. It's not like our wrestlers were getting tossed and teched like crazy in Paris, though. Re-wrestle the brackets 10 times and I'm sure you'd get 10 different results, including one where the US takes home a bunch of gold. Thin margins and such.

What's the best high-res, close up photo you've seen of it? I hope her opponent is okay, but the throw was so iconic. It's giving Wachsmuth Wimps Need Not Apply wrestling room poster vibes.

Ouch! Maybe she should've done it in Paris, and the sport should've owned it! I feel like the Mongolian underwear coaches were ahead of their time. If only Tik Tok had existed then.

Imo, freestyle would be a better product with OT. Criteria is confusing to casual fans, and we've even had instances of wrestlers thinking they were up on criteria during a match when they weren't. The pacing of international tournaments already incentivizes wrestlers to take care of business as quickly as possible without sapping themselves in long OT matches. No need for criteria.

That Australian breakdancer is EVERYWHERE. If all publicity is good publicity, who wants to take one for the team and break the internet for wrestling?

Was there any mention of a golden goose?

Looked like her routine was inspired by Louden Swain

Based on the draws, who has the best odds of making the finals? I like Blades' chances even though her half looks tough. It also looks like Gomez caught a brutal draw.

Ozaki and Susaki tho

Hard to blame Spencer for feeling the way he does right now. How many times is he going to steamroll everyone in his path only to come up a little short on the biggest stage? That has to eat away at your humanity. Meanwhile, most of us would kill to have Spencer's record. Wrestling is just a really really tough sport. I hope he takes some time to get himself sorted and that he's got some mileage left for an LA run. Maybe winning a World title in the meantime will lessen the sting. I hope he's still got the fire going.

It was the first time I'd heard Mrs. Lee speak. I knew she was French, but I didn't realize she was French French

I mean, we all saw the product he put on the mat at Pan Ams. No one should be surprised.

NBC did a nice segment on the Lee family during last night's prime time broadcast. Good coverage, especially after the media did Mrs. Lee dirty at NCAAs. Apparently, Spencer has a bit of a following in France!

No argument here, I'd much rather see her rack up wrestling hardware. Rhonda Rousey has said that MMA can be a good stepping stone, not career destination, for women to get into the entertainment industry but I can't really think of many former MMA women who are now actresses or broadcasters. (I also don't follow MMA closely so idk)

Can't forfeit when you've been disqualified from participating. Apparently, she over ate and over-hydrated on the first day. The team doctor said she could consume 1.5kg of food & fluids after weigh-ins on Tuesday, plus "maintenance" levels of water after her matches but after semis she was a bit more over the weight than expected. It's just crazy to miss weight by 100g (3.5oz), about the same weight as a deck of cards. Her coaches cut her hair and her clothes and she still couldn't get to 50kg. I wish Vinesh could have gone home with the silver, but the rules are what they are. The Olympics has not been kind to her. Knee injury in Rio 2016 and upset in Tokyo 2021, then she finally gets the chance to take home a medal and it slips out of reach. Plus, the stuff with Singh. That's rough. She announced her retirement from the sport, saying "wrestling has defeated me, I lost. Forgive me, your dream, my courage is all broken, I don’t have any more strength now."

I figured with her BJJ background and ties to Sara McMann she'd go the Cejudo route after Paris. Probably more upside in terms of revenue opportunities and having a next big challenge to tackle. Hope I'm wrong, though. I wanna see Elor around for a few more cycles, at least.

No idea what the IOC does with undistributed medals, but it would be kinda wild if months from now some kid in Angola or something is walking around in a San Francisco 49ers 2024 Super Bowl Champions t-shirt and a 50kg Olympic silver

Yeah, that was a bit shocking

Agree that comparing across sports doesn't make sense. It's just a little annoying how Phelps and Biles are treated like Olympic royalty (deservedly so) and will be heavily featured in future broadcasts for the foreseeable future while Lopez, who is equally accomplished and has done great things for the sport & Olympic movement, will likely be yet another forgotten Olympics alum.

Maybe she discovered the chocolate muffins in the cafeteria