THE LAST WORD
performance at the 2013 World Championships when Burroughs won a gold medal less than a month after breaking his ankle. Now he’s added another amazing chapter to his remarkable
legacy.
Burroughs, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist and two-time World champion, injured his knee early in his first-round match of the 2014 World Championships. And it didn’t look good. At all. Burroughs called for injury time and walked off the mat, and actually was penalized a point for the timeout in what was a ridiculously stupid call by the referee. Burroughs came back to edge a surprisingly tough opponent, Augusto Midana of Guinea Bisau, 4-3 in the opening bout at 74 kg/163 lbs. Burroughs said after the competition that he had a sprained
Medial Collateral Ligament in his left knee. Hopefully, it’s nothing worse than that after his doctors back in the U.S. have an opportunity to check him out. Burroughs came right back, with nearly his entire left leg
heavily wrapped, to win his next two bouts to reach the semifi- nals.
Cleary not 100 percent physically, Burroughs dropped a 9-2 decision to two-time World champion Denis Tsargush in the semifinals. Burroughs had beaten 2009 and 2010 World cham- pion Tsargush in the 2011 Worlds and 2012 Olympics. It would have been fun to see a healthy Burroughs compete
against the Russian who is now a three-time World champion. Burroughs then came back in typical Burroughs fashion, earn-
ing a first-period fall over Ukraine’s Rustam Dudaev in the bronze-medal bout. He gave up the first takedown, but then showed he still had some of that trademark power and explo- siveness in earning the impressive win. It was one of the best performances you will ever see. That injury would’ve likely knocked a lot of wrestlers out of the tour-
Burroughs adds to legacy T
ASHKENT, Uzbekistan – The legend of Jordan Burroughs continues to grow. Even when he doesn’t win gold. A year ago, everyone was talking about the incredible
nament. But not Burroughs. He’s one of the toughest, most determined wrestlers you will ever see. He’s obviously very gifted physically, but he’s also very smart, he’s coachable, he’s a workhorse in the room and he’s extremely tough mentally. That’s why he’s 92-2 on the Senior level. That’s an unbelievable record. Just over three years ago,
Craig Sesker
when he stepped on the mat for his first World Championships in 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey, Burroughs was fresh out of college with virtually no freestyle experience on the Senior level. He’s done amazing things in a very short period of time. Burroughs is a special athlete who is already a legend in our
sport for all of his tremendous achievements. But he’s also a class act who handles himself with dignity. He
is articulate, engaging and funny. He has a strong faith. He’s a great ambassador and representative for the sport who made great contributions in the 2013 fight to keep wrestling in the Olympic Games. You don’t hear about Burroughs ever getting in trouble off the
mat. He’s an Olympic athlete who is an excellent role model who people can definitely look up to. It was obvious that Burroughs was hindered by his injury in
Tashkent, but during his post-match interview he offered no excuses. He credited and congratulated Tsargush. He’s very adept with interviews and handling the media. He’s a husband, and now he’s a father to a baby boy he was
eager to spend time with during a well-deserved break. Burroughs treats people well and is very respectful. He’s an
even better person than he is a wrestler. I can’t wait to see what happens next in his storybook career. No matter what he does from here, Jordan Burroughs is one
of the greatest wrestlers in American history. He didn’t win a gold medal in Tashkent, but he will always be a champion in my book.
42 USA Wrestler
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