Iowa Hawkeye Alumni Goes for Wrestling Gold in the Paris Olympics [UPDATE]

Update: Spencer Lee will officially wrestle for the gold medal! He won his 3rd match of the day and will wrestle tomorrow (August 9) at 12:35 p.m. our time.

Iowa wrestling fans are familiar with seeing the color gold at the Summer Olympics. Spencer Lee, who sitting on the chair in the featured photo, hopes to add his name to the University of Iowa alumni who have won gold medals.

The 3 time NCAA champion is also planning to bring some Iowa with him, even if it's only in spirit. According to KCRG, Lee is excited to represent Team USA, he's also excited to represent the state of Iowa, and he doesn't think there's too much extra pressure.

"Absolutely of course. I feel like that no matter what (Iowa) is part of me, part of who I am. It’s where I train, it’s who I’m coached by. It’s typical for me. I always feel that way. I’m trying to be the best in the country or trying to prove that you’re the best so you can represent in the future."

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During his wrestling career at the University of Iowa, Spencer Lee finished with a career record of 98-6, with an incredible 57-6 record against ranked opponents. According to the Des Moines Register, Lee never lost a match when wrestling at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. He went 26-0 when wrestling in front of Hawkeye fans. He is also only 1 of 6 college wrestlers in history to have won the Dan Hodge trophy more than once.

Olympics

As wrestling has begun at the Olympics in the early morning hours here in Iowa, Spencer Lee is off to a great start. According to We Are Iowa, he's won his first two matches today (August 8) and has advanced to the semifinals, where he will face off against Uzbekistan's Gulomjon Abdullaev at 11:20 a.m.

Lee is competing in the 57kg/125-pound freestyle weight group and is also making his Olympic debut.

Lee is officially the 20th Hawkeye wrestler to compete at the Olympics and the 23rd Hawkeye to become an Olympian. Medal matches take place tomorrow (August 9) beginning at 1:30 p.m. in Iowa. Could we see Lee taking home some hardware? We'll find out more this afternoon if he advances to the medal rounds!

For a full list of the Olympic Wrestling schedule, visit the Olympics website.