LONDON – Jake Varner dreamed of winning Olympic wrestling gold when he watched Cael Sanderson do it in 2004. He fed off Sanderson’s coaching tutelage at Iowa State and followed him to Penn State. He drilled with Sanderson before the Olympics. And he gave Sanderson a mighty hug Sunday after making his own climb to the top of the podium.
“It’s awesome. He’s an Olympic champion. I’m an Olympic champion now. I’m still not sure if I’m in his league, but it’s awesome,” Varner said after he beat Valerii Andriitsev of Ukraine 1-0, 1-0 in the final of the 211.5-pound class of freestyle wrestling. Continue reading at www.usatoday.com