At the beginning of April, 29-year-old Marine Staff Sgt. John Stefanowicz won his Greco-Roman wrestling matches at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials to earn his spot at this year’s Summer Olympics.
The news was first reported by JD News.
Stefanowicz, who hails from York County, PA, won three consecutive matches on the first day of the Trials in Fort Worth, TX, then defeating Joe Rau twice in the “best two out of three” finals to claim victory in the 87kg division.
The huge win means that Stefanowicz will be the first U.S. Marine to wrestle in the Olympics since 1992. Per JD News, he was one of eight All-Marine wrestlers to compete in the Trials in Fort Worth. Captain Peyton Walsh also made it to the finals in his own 77kg division, ultimately becoming the runner-up after losing two of the matches in the finals.
Stefanowicz was a World Team member in 2019 and took home gold at the 2020 Pan American Championships.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will take place from July 23 to August 8, 2021. The wrestling portion of the event will begin on August 1.
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