Olympic medalist Spencer Lee is all set to make it count in the 2025 season. The American wrestler recently shared a glimpse of a grueling training session with former Olympic champion and Japanese wrestler, Takuto Otoguro.
Lee uploaded photos and a video of his training session with Otoguro from his alma mater, the University of Iowa. The 26-year-old wrestler wrote in the caption:
"Life lately. Looking forward to what’s next! Don’t worry @01096taku took it easy on me 😂"
Even Otoguro couldn't but cheekily respond to the post. He wrote in the comment section:
"Not true 😂 You're the best player🔥"
For the unversed, Takuto Otoguro has won almost every major wrestling tournament for Japan in his brief but impressive wrestling career. After winning the World Wrestling Championships in 2018, Otoguro established his supremacy in Asian wrestling, before winning the Olympic gold medal for men's freestyle wrestling [65 kg.] at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Meanwhile, Spencer Lee hasn't won a major NCAA tournament since 2023. He had won three NCAA titles for the Iowa Hawkeyes between 2018 and 2021. Lee last won the Big Ten Championships at Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2023.
Spencer Lee reveals what made him lose out on the Olympic gold medal at Paris Olympics
![Spencer Lee in action during the Paris Olympics finals against Rei Higuchi of Japan [Image Source: Getty]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/4343e-17422641786493-1920.jpg?w=190 190w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/4343e-17422641786493-1920.jpg?w=720 720w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/4343e-17422641786493-1920.jpg?w=640 640w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/4343e-17422641786493-1920.jpg?w=1045 1045w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/4343e-17422641786493-1920.jpg?w=1200 1200w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/4343e-17422641786493-1920.jpg?w=1460 1460w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/4343e-17422641786493-1920.jpg?w=1600 1600w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/4343e-17422641786493-1920.jpg 1920w)
After missing out on the Tokyo Olympics, Spencer Lee made his Olympic debut at the quadrennial edition held in Paris. The 26-year-old wrestler overcame most of the wrestlers with ease until he met Rei Higuchi of Japan in the finals. Despite his best efforts, Lee missed out on the gold medal by a whisker, settling for silver.
In an interview with FloWrestling last month, Lee talked about what went wrong for him. He replied [2:19 onwards]:
“Yeah, absolutely. I definitely was overthinking in Olympic finals. I mean I was worried about him dragging me off of like a bad shot or something [Rei Higuchi] he's really good there. I think that definitely made it, so that I didn't really do anything offensively. I think when you overthink like that, you slow down. If you're thinking in a match, you're not wrestling very well so I think a lot of that attributes to that.”
Only hours after he clinched the silver medal, Lee had expressed his thoughts on Instagram. He wrote in the caption:
“I was disappointed yesterday in not bringing home the gold for the United States. I am however proud to bring a silver medal back to the United States and the University of Iowa…To see so many fans travel for team USA and myself was an honor.”
Spencer Lee recently contested against world champion wrestler Masanosuke Ono from Japan at FloWrestling: Night in America. The American was no match for Ono, who comprehensively defeated him 38-2.