With little fanfare . Sanderson2 celebrates golden accomplishment3
Gael Sanderson, who was a 159-0 as a college wrestler, capped a 5-0 run through the Olympic tournament with a gold medal victory Saturday night.
In keeping with his usual low-key4 style, he did neither a cartwheel5nor a back flip and was quick to say he wasn't flawless6.
"I didn't wrestle perfect here. I gave up a lot of points and made a lot of mistakes, but I was able to score and get the wins," the square-jawed, 25-year-old Utah native said after his 3-1 victory against South Korea's Eui Jae Moon7 in the final of the 185-pound freestyle8 class.
Wrestlers here have turned acrobats9 after winning gold. A champion from Egypt did a cartwheel followed by a back flip. Blowing kisses to the crowd and waving the national flag areroutine10.
" I didn't plan a celebration. I just want to get out of there before I made a fool of myself really," said Sanderson, whose initial reaction on the mat was to smile and raise his arms.
In the quarterfinals Friday night, Sanderson came from behind to earn a 6-5 victory in overtime against Majid Khodaei of Iran. He actually did celebrate that one by clapping his hands once, raising his arms with clenched fists and flashing a big smile.
"More emotion that I've ever seen him have," said his mother. "If he had lost, he would have been eliminated". It was a big round. He had less than a minute to score two takedowns, and that's pretty tough when you're wrestling a guy like that."12
Next up in Saturday morning's semifinals was former world champion Joel Ro¬mero of Cuba'3, who had been 2-0 in tight matches versus Sanderson.
Sanderson beat Romero 3-2. He wrestled a tactical'4 match early, avoiding giving up points on Romero's powerful counter moves. Then he got a couple of Sanderson-style takedowns in the second period to win.
On the medal podium, he had gold around his neck and a wreath'5around his head. Actually, he took the wreath off and on during the National Anthem.
"The nice gentleman that was putting it on my head thought it would stay, I guess," he said. "He doesn't know how big of a head I have. "
Sanderson's never been accused of having a big head as a wrestler. His ap-praisal of his performance was typically understated" : " It feels good. This is the toughest tournament17 in the world, and I'm glad that I had this opportunity and was able to do what I did and win it. "
Sanderson now wants to take some time off from wrestling, and spend time with his wife and family. After he won the Olympic trials'8this year, he was asked what he would do to celebrate. He said he'd buy some living room fur-niture. His wife read about that, and he actually had to buy some furniture.
How does he plan to celebrate Olympic gold?
"I don't know," he said. "I think I promised my wife many things if I won. ... I hope she forgot about everything. "
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