Canada's Jordan Steen unable to wrestle away upset in men's 97kg freestyle
30-year-old loses to reigning Olympic champ Kyle Snyder on technical superiority
Canada's Jordan Steen was unable to wrestle away an upset victory, falling to American Kyle Snyder 4-1 (12-2 technical points) in the opening round of the men's 97-kilogram freestyle event at the Tokyo Olympics on Friday.
The match was stopped early in the second period, with the call being a win by technical superiority, after Snyder, the reigning Olympic champion, scored a quick takedown to make it 12-2 on technical points.
Steen, of Tecumseh, Ont., managed to get Snyder down with a quick move to score the first two points of the match.
But Snyder turned it on from there, seamlessly scoring five takedowns in a row. The score at the end of the first period was 10-2 on technical points.
[À REVOIR] <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lutte?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Lutte</a> 🤼♂️ : dès les premiers instants de la 2e période, l’Américain 🇺🇸 Snyder met un terme à son combat contre 🇨🇦 Jordan Steen, qu'il remporte 12 à 2. <a href="https://twitter.com/WrestlingCanada?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WrestlingCanada</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Tokyo2020?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Tokyo2020</a> <a href="https://t.co/0sxKukrNzW">pic.twitter.com/0sxKukrNzW</a>
—@RC_SportsThe loss doesn't end Steen's time in Tokyo just yet.
The 30-year-old will have a chance to compete again, if Snyder is able to make it to the final. Wrestlers who lose to a finalist are entered into the repechage.
