Former World Champion Jason Nolf reveals the hardest part about wrestling Kyle Dake before his Final X appearance

World Cup-winning wrestler Jason Nolf has opened up about his former teammate and Olympic medalist Kyle Dake. Dake will aim to seal his berth for the World Championships at the upcoming Final X wrestling tournament, which will commence on June 14.

In an excerpt from his interview with Flowrestling, which was posted on its official Instagram page, Nolf opened up about the hardest part of wrestling with Dake. He maintained that unless someone caught hold of his feet mid-air, Dake was literally invincible.

"I think uh, it's just really his defense. I think that, but people understand that, but it's like hard to like, as a wrestler, like you don't know, until you actually wrestle him [Dake]. It's like such a different feel than uh anybody I've ever wrestled. I think that uh there are a lot of great wrestlers, but defensively, he is probably the GREATEST defensive wrestler," Nolf said.

Nolf also talked about Dake's offensive skills, adding:

"He does have some offense too, like when he wants to, but I'd want to say that his main strength is his defense, and his chest lock is just super strong."

Kyle Dake and Jason Nolf have clashed with each other on multiple occasions, especially during the Olympic trials. Dake defeated Nolf comprehensively in the finals of the US Olympic trials for the Paris Olympics held last year, following which Nolf announced his retirement from international wrestling.

Kyle Dake opened up after losing the US Open Wrestling Championship title

Kyle Dake talks about his title loss at the US Open Championship Finals [Image Source: Getty]

Kyle Dake opened up about his loss at the US Open Championship finals. The Olympic bronze medalist lost to Zahid Valencia after an intense competition in the 86kg freestyle finals, where Valencia overcame his challenge by 8-4.

Shortly after the loss, Dake posted a picture of himself in a wrestling kit on his Instagram profile. He extended his gratitude to his followers, writing:

"Thanks to my family, all my coaches, teammates, sponsors, and friends! Couldn’t be doing this without you all! I love what I do!"

Kyle Dake increased his weight to 86kg. He represented the USA in the men's 74 kg freestyle wrestling category at the Paris and Tokyo Olympics. If he wants to represent the USA once again at the World Wrestling Championships, the wrestler will now aim to overcome Valencia in the best-of-three challenge at the Final X tournament.

About the author

Animesh Pandey is a seasoned content writer at Sportskeeda with over eight years of experience, having previously worked as an intern for Follow Your Sport before joining SK as a columnist in 2017. A graduate with a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing, he also worked at TFI Media Private Limited and contributed as an intern for the movie website Nettv4u.

He has extensively covered events from World Championships to the Olympics, providing insights and analyses that resonate with his audience. His belief in mastering the basics and delivering accurate, relevant, and ethical information through thorough research is reflected in his work.

He was notably invited to the National Sports and Adventure Awards 2018 at Rashtrapati Bhavan after winning a MyGov quiz on Indian Sports, where he engaged with celebrated athletes such as Rahi Sarnobat, Hima Das, Jinson Johnson, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, and Subedar Neeraj Chopra, who also happens to be his favorite Olympian.

Despite being a field hockey enthusiast, Animesh's most cherished Olympic moments include Wayde Van Niekerk's unexpected world record in the 400 meters at Rio and Chopra's historic gold medal in Tokyo.

When not immersed in writing or watching the Olympics, Animesh indulges in his love for movies, embracing quality cinema regardless of the language.

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Edited by Samya Majumdar