Photo: Tony Rotundo
Spencer Lee won World gold at 57kg in Astana on Sunday, and afterward he revealed he did it on a torn ACL, the fourth of his career.
"I tore my ACL, again, for the fourth time, like three months ago. And I was going to concede the spot. And I go, you know, I've done it before. And I said, I'll just go win it anyways. So, here I am."
Lee said the injury happened in practice, and that he hadn't wrestled live in 16 weeks heading into Astana.
"I haven't wrestled in 16 freaking weeks, man. I came here, I didn't even know if I could shoot."
"I'm Going to Go Wrestle"
Lee said that on the day he tore it, he thought his career might be over.
"The day I tore it, man, I looked at my coaches and I was like, it's over. My career's over. Fourth one. What do you do?"
He said Iowa head coach Tom Brands asked him what he wanted to do, and his answer was simple: "I'm going to go wrestle." Lee also pushed back on anyone blaming Iowa's coaching staff for his injuries. "Just me, man," he said. "Something's wrong with me. I got bad knees, I guess."
Five Wins in Astana
- Round of 32: TF 11-0 over Edwin Segura Guerra (Guatemala)
- Round of 16: TF 12-2 over Milad Valizadeh (Iran)
- Quarterfinal: TF 11-0 over Abubakar Mutaliev (Russia)
- Semifinal: Fall over Islam Bazarganov (Azerbaijan), after trailing 10-5
- Final: TF 10-0 over Roman Bravo-Young (Mexico)
The semifinal was the closest call. Bazarganov turned Lee and built a lead, and Lee said he knew the move was coming because Bazarganov had hit it on him before.
"You turn me one time and you get greedy, I'll pin you. I've done it to all of my teammates."
He did exactly that. In the final, he finished Bravo-Young with a takedown and four leg laces in under 30 seconds.
What's Next
Lee, 28, said his body was failing him all week, including cramping that his doctors told him came from not having trained, not from cutting weight. He said he'll probably need surgery, and he isn't sure about his future.
"It's my fourth one. I'm 28 years old. You know, I don't got many more tears left in me. So, I don't know if I'll be back next year."
Lee's gold was one of five World titles for Team USA men's freestyle in Astana, where the U.S. won the World team title. Read our full 2026 World Championships breakdown, and subscribe on YouTube for our reaction on Basch & The Brain.