Rulon Gardner was in another Olympic wrestling upset -- his own.
One of the biggest stars of the 2000 Summer Games, the American was thrown to the mat in overtime yesterday by Kazakhstan's Georgi Tsurtsumia and lost 4-1 in his Greco-Roman semifinal match. He was to wrestle for the bronze medal later in the day.
PHOTO: AP
Gardner was as surprised as anyone when Tsurtsumia somehow pulled off the winning 3-point move in their 120kg match, especially after spending much of the match visibly wearing down the younger wrestler.
Tsurtsumia looked up at the scoreboard, still unsure for just a moment that he'd won, then jumped jubilantly into his coach's arms. Gardner seemed confused, too, searching for an explanation as he turned toward his corner and US coach Steve Fraser.
Just like that, Rulon's remarkable comeback from injuries and misfortune was finished.
"It's over, it's done -- beyond that, I wasn't even tired," Gardner said.
Gardner showed almost no emotion after losing. He later said he had gone aggressively at Tsurtsumia, trying to take the early lead against a tiring opponent, but left himself unguarded and Tsurtsumia stepped around and took him to the mat.
"One throw and that's the whole match," Gardner said. "One mistake, it was probably a difference of three inches for me ... three inches make the whole difference in the world."
Gardner wound up on top of Tsurtsumia once they struck the mat, but neither Gardner nor Fraser argued the scoring -- even though Gardner briefly hoped he would get credit for the reversal.
"Look, these guys are good -- he was third in the world last year," Gardner said. "They watch hours of film, their coaches are back there yesterday, yelling, teaching, coaching them, telling them everything to do out there."
Gardner now plans to retire and leave his shoes on the mat after the bronze medal match, the traditional sign of a wrestler leaving the sport.
Gardner went from obscurity to celebrity after his stunning upset of the once-invincible Alexander Karelin, generally considered the greatest wrestler of all time. But Gardner has fought through a long succession of physical ailments -- one life-threatening -- since Sydney.
He lost a toe -- and nearly his life -- after a 2002 snowmobiling accident.
He survived a motorcycle crash earlier this year and severely dislocated his right wrist while playing basketball.
Despite being 10 years younger than the 33-year-old Gardner, Tsurtsumia appeared to be tiring halfway through the match.
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