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American wrestler Yianni Diakomihalis is back in action with a victory at the US Open Championships. However, the journey was far from smooth for him, and he once felt frustrated and demoralized regarding his future in the sport.
In a recent conversation on the 'Baschamania' show, the 26-year-old wrestler opened up about his experience post the US Olympic trials. He also talked about how he didn't let the negative thoughts override him completely.
"This might have been the longest I've gone not competing since I was, like, a five year old, who started wrestling. Yeah like a full year of doing nothing, and in some ways it was good," said Diakomihalis. [4:00 onwards]
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The World Championships silver medalist further added,
"I feel like after the trials, I was really demoralized and like physically beaten up, mentally beaten up, and I kind of had this you know overwhelming feeling of doom like, 'Am I really done?' I was kind of really frustrated."
Yianni Diakomihalis had coached the gap year students at the RTC in his spare time. After winning big at the US Open, the 26-year-old wrestler said that even though he hasn't thanked his students enough, he actually owes his success to them.
Yianni Diakomihalis talks about the possibility of entering MMA
![Yianni Diakomihalis in action at the NCAA Championships 2023 [Image Source: Getty]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/04/97802-17459770490330-1920.jpg)
A couple of months ago, wrestlers Kyle Dake and Yianni Diakomihalis were involved in an Instagram live session through Wrestlers Grind, where they were asked various questions, including the possibilities of joining the MMA.
Diakomihalis replied that it would be hard to make a living that way. In his words,
"No. I'm not gonna fight. I feel like fighting one time would be cool but it's hard to make a living getting punched in the face. I'm really handsome, I probably have to fight around two or five."
Dake, who went on to win a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, didn't rule out the possibility immediately. However, he did agree to the fact that MMA demands a lot from the competitors.
"Me fighting, I thought about it for a little bit. I think I'll be pretty good at it if I spent some time training just because wrestling is such an X factor. That would be something I consider but it would take a lot."
Yianni Diakomihalis is a two-time cadet world champion [65 kg], as well as a two time Pan-American champion in the men's 65 kg. wrestling. He won a gold medal in the 2019 US Open Championships [65 kg], before upgrading himself to 70 kg and winning another gold medal 6 years later. The 26-year-old wrestler also won four championships for the Cornell Big Red University team at the NCAA Championships from 2018 to 2023.
