'I’m so ecstatic': Thomas Gilman becomes latest Hawkeye wrestler to win Olympic medal

Hawk Central

Thomas Gilman's relentless style has paved the way to his wrestling stardom.

The Council Bluffs native developed a reputation as a takedown machine, an approach that led to four state titles at Omaha Skutt Catholic, three All-American finishes as a lightweight linchpin for the Iowa Hawkeyes, and a freestyle world silver medal in 2017 for the United States.

Those same tireless wrestling tactics also helped Gilman secure the biggest piece of hardware of his wrestling career.

Gilman won a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games, posting a 2-1 record at 57 kilograms (125 pounds). Between Wednesday night and Thursday morning (CDT), he won twice to earn a podium finish inside Makuhari Messe Hall in Chiba, Japan.

“It’s an amazing experience to be here,” Gilman told the USA TODAY Network, “and, really, the best wrestling of my life has come through at the most amazing time, and that’s right now.”

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After Gilman dropped his Olympic opener in heart-breaking fashion, a last-second 5-4 defeat to Russia's Zavur Uguev, he pulverized his next two opponents — an 11-1 technical fall win over Uzbekistan's Gulomjon Abdullaev in the repechage, then a 9-1 win over Iran's Reza Atrinagharchi in the bronze-medal match.

Both matches were masterclass examples of Gilman's long-established physical wrestling style.

Against Abdullaev, he turned a 1-1 tie into a 9-1 advantage when he converted a double-leg takedown that fed into a leg lace. He added another takedown for the technical fall in just 2 minutes, 7 seconds.

Against Atrinagharchi, Gilman compiled four more takedowns, two in the first period for a 5-0 lead, then two more in the second to ice a bronze-medal effort. Between both matches, he scored six takedowns and allowed none.

“When I was out there I was just worried about getting to my shots and pushing and pulling and doing the things I do best," Gilman said. "Obviously, it worked out.”

Gilman's only loss came to Uguev in the opening round. He employed a similar gameplan in that match. He led 4-3 late and nearly pulled the upset — Uguev won world titles in 2018 and 2019 — but Uguev scored a takedown with five seconds left to snatch the victory, 5-4.

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Uguev won twice more to reach the finals. He needed another late score to beat Abdullaev, 6-6 on criteria, in the quarters, then produced a decisive 8-3 victory over Atrinagharchi in the semifinals. He later prevailed in the gold-medal match, 7-4 over India's Ravi Kumar Dahiya.

But his berth in the finals is what revived Gilman's medal hopes.

At the Olympic Games and world wrestling championships, there aren't traditional consolation or wrestleback matches. Once the two finalists are decided, the wrestlers they beat along the way are the only ones eligible to compete for bronze in what's called the repechage.

That's where Gilman landed as a result of Uguev reaching the finals, and he took advantage. He is now the 10th former Hawkeye wrestler to win an Olympic medal, and the first since both Terry Brands and Lincoln McIlravy won bronze in 2000.

“Could I have wrestled a little bit better through some of these positions in the last 45 seconds of one match? Of course,” Gilman said. “But I’m so ecstatic about the way I wrestled. … I had to get my act together, come back, and compete to the highest level I possibly could.

“God didn’t put me here to pout and moan because I lost to a two-time world champion. What do you do when someone punches you in the mouth and you fall down? You get back up and you keep fighting. I got up, kept fighting, didn’t think too much, and just did my thing.”

Iowa native Thomas Gilman celebrates after defeating Iran's Reza Atrinagharchi during the men's 53kg Freestyle wrestling bronze medal match on Thursday at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Gilman’s bronze medal ensures a few things. For one, a nice payday. A few years ago, USA Wrestling established the “Living The Dream Medal Fund,” which awards stipends for podium finishes at the world championships and Olympic Games. Gilman earned an additional $25,000 for his bronze-medal finish (Olympic silver nets $50,000; win gold, get $250,000).

Two, Gilman’s bronze-medal finish means he’s automatically earned Team USA’s spot at 57-kilos for the 2021 world championships, set for Oct. 2-10 in Oslo, Norway. Should he decide to compete, that’ll force the rest of the United States’ 57-kg wrestlers to have to bump to 61-kg for next month’s 2021 world team trials event in Nebraska.

Three, this particular piece of hardware is a physical representation of Gilman’s growth over the last year — on the mat, for sure, but also between the ears.

The story is well-known by now. After nearly eight years in Iowa City, first as a Hawkeye wrestler then as the leading member of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club, Gilman left to join the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, housed at Penn State. His wife, Melissa, is from Pennsylvania, and before the Games, they announced that Melissa is pregnant, with a girl due in December.

The move humbled Gilman, both as a competitor, training in a new environment with new coaches and teammates — “I used to talk crap on these guys,” Gilman said. “Killing Nittany Lions was the only hunting I liked to do” — and as a man, building a new life in a new state after growing up in Middle America.

The transition forced Gilman to develop mental fortitude that he didn’t have previously. He’s still the same ornery guy that Hawkeye wrestling fans came to know and love, but he’s dialed some of that back, even if only a little. After the medal ceremony in Japan, he talked of how he grew spiritually and emotionally as much as he did as a wrestler over the last year.

“It hasn’t been an easy road,” he said. “I’ve taken my bumps and bruises along the way and kind of was down in a little ditch, but now we’re back up out of it … some people will say, ‘Oh, you didn’t win gold, it didn’t pay off,’ and I can tell you that you’re wrong.

“Whether I walked away here with a medal or not, the progress I have made in my life, emotionally, spiritually, with my wife and daughter on the way, I can’t put into words how grateful I am for the opportunity that was given to me.”

That newfound peace helped Gilman bring out the best version of his psychically-imposing wrestling style.

Back in April, at the U.S. Olympic Trials, his weight included a Senior world bronze medalist, another world-teamer, a Junior world silver medalist, two NCAA champs and three more All-Americans. He won handily, outscoring his opponents 34-6. He swept Cornell wrestler Vito Arujau in the best-of-three finals series with a torn lisfranc ligament, he later revealed.

“God willing,” he said. “Sometimes you have to suck it up and get tough.”

Gilman's relentless wrestling style has brought him all kinds of success over the course of his 27 years — state titles, All-American honors, world team berths and international hardware. Now he is an Olympic medalist, a line on an already-decorated résumé that will stand up and stick out forever.

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.

Thomas Gilman of the United States celebrates on the podium after winning the bronze medal for 57kg freestyle wrestling at the Summer Olympics on Thursday in Tokyo.

Iowa Hawkeye wrestlers at the Olympic Games

Thomas Gilman became the 10th former Iowa wrestler to win a medal at the Olympic Games. Here is a list of the others:

Terry McCann, 1960, gold
Ed Banach, 1984, gold
Lou Banach, 1984, gold
Barry Davis, 1984, silver
Randy Lewis, 1984, gold
Chris Campbell, 1992, bronze
Tom Brands, 1996, gold
Terry Brands, 2000, bronze
Lincoln McIlravy, 2000, bronze
Thomas Gilman, 2021, bronze