Olympic gold medalist and NCAA wrestling champion Gable Steveson has decided to retire after a highly successful college and Olympic wrestling career. 

Steveson’s record was 35-2 his freshman year, 15-0 his sophomore year, 17-0 his junior year, and 18-0 his senior year, making his overall record 85-2. Gable could have also had the opportunity to wrestle for a third national championship his sophomore year if the tournament had not been canceled due to Covid-19.

 He took gold in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and he won his second NCAA title, after this win, the Minnesota wrestler did his beloved celebratory backflip and walked off the mat, leaving his shoes to announce his retirement. 

Junior Ryder True said, ”It is sad that he is retiring from the NCAA because he was always fun to watch and made the heavyweights actually fun to watch cause he wrestled like a 125 ponder at 250, that was just really fun to watch and I am going to really miss is backflip after winning the NCAA’s. He was just awesome to watch and brought a lot of excitement to the sport.”

After the match Steveson said, “I did what I came to do. I was going to win the Olympic gold and win the national tournament again,” and he feels that he has proved himself to the world. Steveson won his last 54 matches and finished as a two-time national champion.

Steveson told the cameras that his family and the support of good people around him have taken him to this level and that he has matured as a man and a wrestler throughout his career. Steveson isn’t done with wrestling as a whole, however. 

Sophomore Jackson Tribbet said, “It was really cool to follow Gable’s college career. He ended on top, which is every wrestler’s dream.”

He announced that he has signed with the WWE because he is interested in being a professional wrestler. He signed a three-year contract and also said that he would attend Wrestlemania in April. Steveson said that he hopes to gain more fans and explore another option.