NBC Olympics.com – U.S. wrestler Jordan Burroughs, the reigning Olympic champion in the men's freestyle wrestling 74kg division, lost his quarterfinal match with Russia's Aniuar Geduev and has been eliminated from gold medal contention.
Geduev, the world No. 2, was considered Burrough's biggest obstacle in the 74kg field. The random draw conducted on Thursday slotted them on the same side of the bracket and set up an early meeting in the second round of the tournament.
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Burroughs was placed on the shot clock in the first period but failed to convert, giving a point to Geduev. Geduev extended the lead to 3-0, and although Burroughs got a late takedown to bring the score closer, time ran out before the American could score again. The match ended with a 3-2 advantage for Geduev.
Burroughs is currently still in contention for a bronze medal. If Geduev wins his semifinal bout and advances into the gold medal final, Burroughs would be pulled into the repechage. If that happens, he would need to win his repechage match in order to move into one of the bronze medal bouts.