PARIS – Former University of Iowa All-American and three-time National Champion Spencer Lee won a silver medal Friday at the 2024 Paris Olympics, becoming the 11th Hawkeye wrestler in school history to medal at the Olympic Games.
Lee fell to top-seeded Rei Higuchi of Japan in the gold medal match, 4-2. Lee earned two push out points in the first period to lead 2-0 at the break. A scramble led to a Higuchi takedown to tie it at 2-2 and give the Japanese wrestler the lead on criteria. Higuchi countered a last second attack from Lee with a takedown to make the final 4-2.
The last Hawkeye to medal at the Olympics was Thomas Gilman who won bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Games.