Spencer Lee

Spencer Richard Lee (born October 14, 1998) is an American freestyle and former folkstyle wrestler who competes at 57 kilograms. In freestyle, he earned a silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, and is a three-time US World and Olympic Team Member and three-time age-group world champion.

In folkstyle, Lee won the James E. Sullivan Award and the Dan Hodge Trophy twice, as well as three NCAA Division I national championships out of the University of Iowa. Lee was often considered one of the most dominant athletes in college athletics.

Career

Background Lee was born in Denver, Colorado, but grew up in Saegertown, Pennsylvania before moving to Murrysville, where he attended Franklin Regional High School.

While in high school, Lee became a three-time PIAA Class AAA state champion and recorded 144 wins before suffering his first and only loss in a dramatic upset while going for a fourth state title. The wrestler he lost to, Austin DeSanto, would eventually become his college teammate. In freestyle wrestling, Lee became a two-time U20 World champion and a U17 World champion during his high school years.

Before his senior year, Lee committed to wrestle at the University of Iowa. A multiple-time national champion in different tournaments, Lee was the top-ranked wrestler in the country at the time of his commitment.

College

2017–2018 Lee initially competed under a redshirt during his first year of collegiate wrestling, winning the UNI Open and placing sixth at the Midland Championships before having it pulled and competing as a true freshman instead.

During regular season, Lee recorded wins over NCAA champions and All-Americans, before placing third at the Big Ten Championships. At the NCAA championships, Lee had an outstanding run into the finals, where he defeated undefeated-in-the-season Nick Suriano to claim his first national championship.

Lee was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and closed out the year with a 22–2 record.

2018–2019 After an action-packed regular season, where he notably placed second at the Midland Championships, Lee placed second at the Big Ten Championships and headed off to the NCAA tournament. Lee captured his second-straight national crown after running through the bracket, defeating Jack Mueller in the finals and closing out the year 23–3.

2019–2020 In December 2019, Lee made his senior-level debut, becoming the US National champion in freestyle and qualifying for the US Olympic Team Trials with notable wins over eventual World champion Vito Arujau and NCAA champions Darian Cruz and Nathan Tomasello.

During his third season in college, Lee compiled an 18–0 record, grabbed his first Big Ten Conference title and was a favorite heading into the NCAA championships. However, the national tournament was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After the cut-short season, Lee was awarded the James E. Sullivan Award as the most outstanding athlete in the United States and the Dan Hodge Trophy as the best college wrestler in the country. He was also named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Year after outscoring the opposition 234 to 18.

The US Olympic Team Trials, where Lee was set to compete in, were delayed for 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2020–2021 Before folkstyle season started, Lee pinned four-time All-American Zach Sanders at the HWC 1 in freestyle.

Lee then pinned all of his opponents in the first period during regular season, grabbed his second Big Ten title and became a three-time NCAA champion, dominating everyone throughout the season. Lee later revealed he had torn his left ACL eight days before the tournament to match a torn right ACL suffered in the 2019 NCAA finals.

Lee was then named the Dan Hodge Trophy winner for the second straight time, along with Gable Steveson. He was repeated as the Big Ten Wrestler of the Year.

Lee was then set to compete at the US Olympic Team Trials in freestyle, however, he opted against participating due to his knee injuries.

2021–2022 Since the NCAA granted athletes an extra year of eligibility after the 2020 season was cut short, Lee was set to compete in his last year of collegiate wrestling. However, he achieved a 3–0 record before being pulled out of the season due to requiring surgery on both knees after recurring injuries, using a medical redshirt.

2022–2023 Lee started off his final year of folkstyle wrestling undefeated in dual action and claiming the Soldier Salute and Big Ten titles. At the NCAA tournament, where he was looking for a fourth national title, Lee cruised to the semifinals, where he faced Matt Ramos, whom he had previously pinned at a dual meet. After an electric match, Lee was defeated by Ramos in one of the biggest upsets in the sports' history, and proceeded to medical forfeit out of the tournament, placing sixth.

Lee graduated with three NCAA Division I National titles and Big Ten Conference titles, and a record of 95–6.

Freestyle

2023 In April, Lee wrestled in his first freestyle tournament since 2019, at the US Open National Championships. After three straight wins to reach the semis, where he was set to wrestle Nick Suriano, Lee forfeited out of the tournament due to his knee injuries, placing sixth.

Lee then competed at the Bill Farrell Memorial in November. He racked up dominant wins over the likes of Commonwealth Games medalist Muhammad Bilal and U20 World silver medalist Luke Lilledahl to make the finals, where he defeated NCAA and US Open champion Nico Megaludis to claim gold and qualify for the 2024 US Olympic Trials.

Despite having already qualified for the US Olympic Trials, Lee competed at the US Senior Nationals on December, where he once again defeated Megaludis and picked up a gold medal to extend his win-streak.

2024 To start off February, Lee competed internationally for the first time since 2016, grabbing a Pan American title with quick victories over 2020 Olympian Óscar Tigreros and multiple-time Pan American medalist Pedro Mejías.

In April, Lee competed at the US Olympic Team Trials, defeating NCAA champion Nico Megaludis for a third time and reigning US World Team Member Zane Richards to advance to the best-of-three finals, where he faced World champion and former teammate Thomas Gilman. He defeated Gilman twice in a row to become the US Olympic Team Member at 57 kilograms.

Lee then competed at the World Qualification Tournament, in an attempt to qualify the weight for the United States and earn the right to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics. After a quick win over Morocco, Lee defeated U23 World medalist Zou Wanhao from China in a tight, high-scoring match to advance in the tournament. Then, he defeated European champion Vladimir Egorov from North Macedonia in a battle of continental champions, to make the semifinals, where he reigned over two-time Asian medalist Rakhat Kalzhan from Kazakhstan. This result made Lee a 2024 Summer Olympian.

In August, Lee made his Olympic debut at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. On the first day, he earned a rematch win over Zou Wanhao from China, as well as two technical falls over two-time U23 World medalist Bekzat Almaz Uulu from Kyrgyzstan and two-time Olympian Gulomjon Abdullaev from Uzbekistan, advancing to the finals and securing a medal. On the next day, he contested the gold-medal match against Olympic silver medalist and World champion Rei Higuchi from Japan, losing in a tight bout and earning the silver medal after his first defeat on the senior level.

2025 To start off January, Lee claimed the gold medal at the Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane after earning five technical falls over foreign opposition. In February, he ran through the Grand Prix Zagreb Open, notably defeating European medalist Islam Bazarganov and two-time NCAA champion Roman Bravo-Young in a highly anticipated bout.

Lee then bumped up to 59.5 kilograms to meet 61-kilogram World Champion Masanosuke Ono on February 26, headlining FloWrestling: Night in America. He lost the bout on points, marking the second loss in his career.

As a returning Olympic medalist, Lee accepted his berth to June's Final X and defeated US Open champion Luke Lilledahl twice in a row in a best-of-three series to make his first world team.

Personal life Lee's mother, Cathy, was a French Olympic alternate judoka and his father, Larry, also practiced the sport. Lee is a Pokémon enthusiast.

Freestyle record

Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event Location

Win 55–5

Newark, New Jersey Win 54–5

Win 53–5

Louisville, Kentucky Win 52–5

Loss 51–5

Las Vegas, Nevada Win 51–4

Win 50–4

Win 49–4

Win 48–4

Tirana, Albania Win 47–4

Win 46–4

Win 45–4

Win 44–4

Zagreb, Croatia Win 43–4

Win 42–4

Loss 41–4

Chicago, Illinois

Loss 41–3

Zagreb, Croatia Win 41–2

Win 40–2

Newark, New Jersey Win 39–2

Loss 38–2

Coralville, Iowa

Win 38–1

Zagreb, Croatia Win 37–1

Win 36–1

Win 35–1

Nice, France Win 34–1

Win 33–1

Win 32–1

Win 31–1

Loss 30–1

Paris, France Win 30–0

Win 29–0

Win 28–0

Win 27–0

Istanbul, Turkey Win 26–0

Win 25–0

Win 24–0

Win 23–0

State College, Pennsylvania Win 22–0

Win 21–0

Win 20–0

Win 19–0

Acapulco, Mexico Win 18–0

Win 17–0

Win 16–0

Fort Worth, Texas Win 15–0

Win 14–0

Win 13–0

New York City, New York Win 12–0

Win 11–0

Win 10–0

Loss

Las Vegas, Nevada Win 9–0

Win 8–0

Win 7–0

Win 6–0

Iowa City, Iowa

Win 5–0

Fort Worth, Texas Win 4–0

Win 3–0

Win 2–0

Win 1–0

NCAA record

Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event

Loss 98–6 Matt Ramos

Win 98–5 Anthony Noto

Win 97–5 Jack Medley

Win 96–5 Tucker Owens

Win 95–5

Win 94–5

Win 93–5

Win 92–5

Win 91–5

Win 90–5

Win 89–5

Win 88–5

Win 87–5

Win 86–5

Win 85–5

Win 84–5

Win 83–5

Win 82–5

Win 81–5

Win 80–5

Win 79–5

Win 78–5

Win 77–5

Win 76–5

Win 75–5 Brandon Courtney

Win 74–5

Win 73–5

Win 72–5

Win 71–5

Win 70–5

Win 69–5

Win 68–5

Win 67–5

Win 66–5

Win 65–5

Win 64–5

Win 63–5

Win 62–5

Win 61–5

Win 60–5

Win 59–5

Win 58–5

Win 57–5

Win 56–5

Win 55–5

Win 54–5

Win 53–5

Win 52–5

Win 51–5

Win 50–5

Win 49–5

Win 48–5

Win 47–5

Win 46–5

Win 45–5

Win 44–5

Win 43–5

Win 42–5

Win 41–5

Loss 40–5

Win 40–4

Win 39–4

Loss 38–4

Win 38–3

Win 37–3

Win 36–3

Win 35–3

Win 34–3

Win 33–3

Win 32–3

Loss 31–3

Win 31–2

Win 30–2

Win 29–2

Win 28–2

Win 27–2

Win 26–2

Win 25–2

Win 24–2

Win 23–2

Win 22–2

Win 21–2

Win 20–2

Win 19–2

Win 18–2

Win 17–2

Win 16–2

Loss 15–2

Win 15–1

Win 14–1

Win 13–1

Win 12–1

Win 11–1

Win 10–1

Win 9–1

Win 8–1

Win 7–1

Loss 6–1

Win 6–0

Win 5–0

Win 4–0

Win 3–0

Win 2–0

Win 1–0

Stats Season Year School Rank Weigh Class Record Win Bonus 2023 Senior++

1 (6th)

20-1 95.24% 85.71 2022 Senior+ DNQ 3–0 100.00% 66.67% 2021 Senior 1 (1st) 12–0 100.00% 91.67% 2020 Junior 1 (COVID) 18–0 100.00% 88.89% 2019 Sophomore 3 (1st) 23–3 88.46% 73.08% 2018 Freshman 3 (1st) 22–2 91.67% 75.00%