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WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS


Amazing Burroughs wins 3rd gold in row


Lampe, Pirozhkova, Gray earn bronze medals to lead U.S. women’s team to 3rd-place finish


By Craig Sesker BUDAPEST, Hungary – The legend of Jordan Burroughs con-


tinues to grow. Not only did the unflappable Burroughs continue his incredible


run by winning a gold medal at the World Wrestling Championships. He did it on a left ankle that he broke less than a month


before the Worlds. Burroughs kept his composure in earning a gritty 4-0 win over


Iran’s Ezzatollah Akbarizarinkolaei in the men’s freestyle finals at 74 kg/163 lbs. on Sept. 18 at the Papp Laszlo Sports Arena. Burroughs captured his third straight gold medal after striking


gold at the 2011 Worlds and the 2012 Olympics. Burroughs turned in an amazing performance considering he


broke his ankle less than a month ago during a practice at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. He broke his ankle Aug. 22, had surgery the next day and said he didn’t resume live wrestling until arriving in Budapest less than a week ago.


“The doctor put five screws in my left ankle,” Burroughs said.


“I’m like Iron Man now. I was running sprints at the OTC and tried to jump off the wall to stop my momentum and snapped it. The doctor made it extra stable for me to be able to compete. He said he could do the type of surgery that would guarantee I would be able to compete. I was on crutches and I couldn’t walk for a couple weeks. I rode the bike and lifted and stayed in great shape when I couldn’t wrestle. I have only wrestled live once in the last four weeks and that was here. "It's definetly the biggest win of my career. It's special, real special."


Burroughs scored on pushouts in the first and second periods


to build a 2-0 lead against his defensive-minded finals opponent from Iran. He then spun behind for a huge takedown with 40 seconds left for the final margin. He outscored his five oppo- nents by a combined 34-3 total on Wednesday. “My ankle felt good,” he said. “I don’t have the full range of


motion. I was about 75-80 percent. I tried to compete hard and give my all. I believed I could do this. It’s a testament to my willpower. I knew I could compete at a high level.” Burroughs beat the Iranian for the second time this year after defeating him in the 2013 World Cup in Tehran, Iran. Burroughs is now a perfect 65-0 on the Senior level since starting his international career in 2011. He beat another


8 USA Wrestler


Jordan Burroughs won a World title despite breaking his left ankle and undergoing surgery less than a month before he competed in Budapest. Tony Rotundo photo.


Iranian, Sadegh Goudarzi, in the 2011 World and 2012 Olympic finals.


Burroughs becomes the first U.S. men’s freestyle wrestler to


win back-to-back World titles since John Smith in 1990 and 1991.


Burroughs becomes only the second U.S. men’s freestyle Continued on page 9


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