ITHACA, N.Y. — Kyle Dake has a memory with his grandfather from years ago. He was 6, maybe 7, and his grandfather, Bob, was a wrestling coach at Lansing High School. Kyle always tagged along for practice, so Bob decided to put him to work.
Bob Dake sometimes brought oranges to give his wrestlers after their workouts. Kyle was charged with peeling them. When practice ended, he watched the high-schoolers swarm to the oranges.
“It was such a small reward, but the guys thought they were the best oranges in the world,” Kyle Dake says now. “I did, too. I was like, ‘Grandpa, you find the best oranges.’
“I’d ask him where he got them, but he never told me. He’d say, ‘It’s a secret. Maybe when you’re older, I’ll tell you.’”
American wrestler Kyle Dake will compete at the Tokyo Olympics in freestyle
Bob Dake was the founding father of Lansing wrestling. He started the high school program in 1963 and coached on and off for nearly four decades. His son, Doug, also coached after becoming a collegiate All-American. Together, they instilled a passion in Kyle, who used those lessons to author his own sensational wrestling career.
The next chapter will be written over the next few days in Tokyo, at the Olympic Games. Kyle Dake is a member of the U.S. men’s freestyle team, and is considered a gold-medal contender at 74 kilograms (163 pounds). He’ll open the Olympic tournament Thursday.
Not a fan of Dake as a person. Huge fan of his ability and especially his positional acumen. A genuinely great wrestler worthy of an Olympic title. Great weight class. Winning it would be huge.
If you saw him in the qualifiers for the Olympics you wouldn’t be surprised about the outcome. He ran through everyone. He’s Russian but competing for Belarus.
