Canada's Jordan Steen unable to wrestle away upset in men's 97kg freestyle
Abdulhamid Ibrahim | CBC Sports | Posted: August 6, 2021 4:04 AM | Last Updated: August 6, 2021
30-year-old loses to reigning Olympic champ Kyle Snyder on technical superiority
Canada's Jordan Steen was unable to wrestle away an upset victory, falling to American Kyle Snyder 4-1 (12-2 technical points) in the opening round of the men's 97-kilogram freestyle event at the Tokyo Olympics on Friday.
The match was stopped early in the second period, with the call being a win by technical superiority, after Snyder, the reigning Olympic champion, scored a quick takedown to make it 12-2 on technical points.
Steen, of Tecumseh, Ont., managed to get Snyder down with a quick move to score the first two points of the match.
But Snyder turned it on from there, seamlessly scoring five takedowns in a row. The score at the end of the first period was 10-2 on technical points.
The loss doesn't end Steen's time in Tokyo just yet.
The 30-year-old will have a chance to compete again, if Snyder is able to make it to the final. Wrestlers who lose to a finalist are entered into the repechage.