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Belgrade, Serbia– Let’s Talk Legacy. To be the best means going all in, going to the places in your psyche that others do not even know about, pushing yourself to near death and calmly walking back to the center of the mat.
Jordan Burroughs, the most transcendent talent of this generation, now stands alone as the greatest American wrestler in history. By defeating Nokhodilarimi (IRI), Burroughs claimed his seventh World and Olympic gold medal, surpassing the previous mark of six set by icon John Smith in 1992 and shared with women’s legend Adeline Gray.
Defining his greatness with relentless pace and superior will, Burroughs secured his first World title in 2011 at 74 kg in Istanbul, Turkey. In 2012, he reached the pinnacle of the sport by capturing the gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England. A year later, he joined the ranks of American greats by collecting his third consecutive title in 2013 at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Burroughs did not disappoint in his first World Championships hosted on American soil in 2015. He bounced back from a bronze medal finish in 2014 in a big way by securing his fourth World and Olympic gold medal, much to the delight of the home crowd in Las Vegas. Two years later, he led Team USA to unprecedented heights in Paris by winning his fifth World title and helping the team secure its first world team title since 1995.
One of the hallmarks of Jordan’s greatness is his ability to constantly evolve. In 2021, after transitioning to 79kg, he secured his first World title in four years and joined John Smith as one of two American men to win six World and Olympic gold medals.
By winning his seventh title Friday night in Belgrade, Burroughs has now firmly stamped himself as the greatest American wrestler of all time. Not only has he set the standard for individual success, but he continues to drive the resurgence of Team USA on the international stage.
Burroughs is a history maker, culture driver, program changer, and ambassador of the sport who embodies wrestling’s greatest virtues. In a way that only a wrestler can understand, a lifetime of work comes down to a few seconds of glory.
