Jordan Burroughs golden again at wresting worlds

American Jordan Burroughs claimed a fifth world wrestling title Monday (4 October) at the 2021 World Wrestling Championships in Olso, Norway. The victory comes just months after the 2012 Olympic gold medallist missed out on a berth to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

In the final, Burroughs overcame Iranian Mohammad Nokhodi, 5-1. Nokhodi won the silver medal, while Radik Valiev of the Russian Wrestling Federation and Nika Kentchadze of Georgia shared the bronze.

The gold medal ties Burroughs with John Smith’s U.S. record of six World and Olympic gold medals combined. Burroughs previously won world titles in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017, in addition to his Olympic triumph in London.

But more that than, the win showed Burroughs' resilience. After missing out on a trip to the 2020 Games, many speculated that the 33-year-old might retire. Instead, he doubled down: moving from the 74kg weight class he had previously competed in to the 79kg division.

That paid off this week in Oslo.

"We didn’t come to play," Burroughs wrote on Twitter earlier in the week.

In the 96kg division, 2016 Olympic gold medallist Kyle Snyder of the United States advanced to Tuesday's (5 October) final, setting up a match up with 2020 Olympic champion Abdulrashid Sadulaev of the Russian Wrestling Federation.

Iran's Kamran Ghasempour held off the Russian Wrestling Federation's Magomed Kurbanov to win gold at 92kg. There was a tie for bronze between American J'den Cox and Azerbaijan's Osman Nurmagomedov.