"Maybe it's a retirement angle" - Spencer Lee takes a sweep at fan questioning his form since Paris Olympics

Spencer Lee responded to fans who claimed that his form hasn't been as great against medal contenders since his silver win at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Lee specializes in the 57kg category and dominated both freestyle and folkstyle domains alike.

Spencer Lee, inarguably one of the most prominent wrestlers in the NCAA, bagged three titles in the 125-pound division in 2018, 2019, and 2021. His folkstyle record book also contains three Big Ten titles. Continuing his form in freestyle, the 26-year-old claimed the US title and booked a seat at the US Olympic Team Trials the year he made his senior national debut. He earned another National title in the 2023 edition.

Having made his Olympic debut in 2024, he had a strong campaign until losing to champion Rei Higuchi and settling for silver. He started the 2025 season with two Grand Prix wins in Nice and Zagreb, but fell in the FloWrestling: Night in America. Spencer made his first World Team after his Final X heroics, but lost to Arsen Harutyunyan by technical fall in the quarterfinals.

Referring to his trajectory, one fan claimed that Lee hasn't been great against men who wrestled for medals in 2023, 2024, and 2025.

"Including and since the Olympics, Spencer Lee is 3-3 against guys who wrestled for medals in 2023, 2024 and 2025."

Lee made a robust comeback, asserting that perhaps it was time to retire if his form was no longer what it once was.

"According to facts maybe it’s a retirement angle right !"

While the fan denied suggesting a forceful retirement, Lee referred to the previous claim and asserted that it was exactly what he meant.

"haha I aint putting you out to pasture," the X user wrote.

"U sure? Every stat I see shows someone else might be better for the job," Spencer Lee responded.

Spencer Lee once revealed that he only cares about gold

Lee at the Olympic Games Paris 2024: Day 14 - (Source: Getty)

Lee has been in his best form since the beginning of his career, especially at the collegiate level. He vied to make the Olympic team in Tokyo 2021, but knee injuries sidelined him. The 26-year-old posted great wins against Olympic and World champions in the Paris Games, but couldn't move past Higuchi, losing his only chance of winning the gold medal.

In a September 2025 interview, Lee expressed that silver medalists are not remembered as much as champions.

“I could have probably named every Olympic gold medallist at my weight class since like 1936… I couldn’t tell you who the silvers were. That’s not me crapping on myself, it’s just the reality of life. People want an Olympic gold medallist, not a silver medallist," said the Olympian. (via Olympics.com)

Lee medaled in the U20 and U14 World Championships, winning golds in the 50kg in consecutive years, 2014, 2015, and 2016.

About the author

Agnijeeta is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda. She holds a Master’s degree in English and has worked as a school teacher, a blogger, a content writer and a sports writer over the past 5 years. A lover of high-adrenaline track and field events, she was also a sprinter during her school days.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone happens to be her favorite Olympian, and the athlete’s feat of breaking four records within 13 months inspires her, apart from the American's body language on and off the track. Grant Hackett swimming with a partially dysfunctional lung and winning gold in Athens is her all-time favorite Olympic moment.

Agnijeeta believes that deriving of unique angles from podcasts and interviews carried out by Olympics.com, along with hype-building of potential Olympic events on social media can help fill the coverage gap during the off season.

When not at her work desk, Agnijeeta likes to sing and paint. She also plays string instruments like guitar and ukulele and is an avid player of word puzzles.

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Edited by Agnijeeta Majumder