Defending Olympic Gold medalist Jordan Burroughs, the American who dominated freestyle wrestling over the past four years, fell in an upset Friday morning in a chippy 74kg quarterfinal match against Aniuar Geduev of Russia, 3-1, at the Rio Games.
In addition to winning gold at the 2012 London Olympics, Burroughs, 28, won world championship titles in 2011, '13 and '15, but Geduev, 29, was able to build a 3-0 lead and hold off his decorated U.S. opponent, handing him only his third loss in international competition.
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Early on, the two wrestlers got into a shoving match, as tempers flared, forcing referee Uwe Manz to step between the two.
Burroughs later had to be tended to when he and Geduev butted heads, drawing blood that trickled down the American's forehead.
The match ended with Burroughs, atop Geduev, vainly trying to score the needed point or points, ending Burroughs' hopes of becoming only the fourth USA wrestler to win multiple Olympic gold medals.
Burroughs scored 2 technical points to Geduev's 3.
Burroughs could be drawn back into bronze medal competition via repechage, a second chance for wrestlers who lose inside the round of 16 to an eventual weight-class finalist.
