Former Gophers heavyweight wrestler Gable Steveson announced his return to the amateur wrestling competition Tuesday evening with his registration in the U.S. Open, which will begin on April 26.
Steveson will return to action as a representative of the Gopher Wrestling Club (GWC), Minnesota’s regional training center for international styles. He will be competing alongside fellow GWC athlete Hayden Zillmer, the 2022 World Team member at 125 kilograms.
Steveson is looking to get a spot on the 2023 World Team, and a win at the U.S. Open guarantees him a spot at the Final X competition, which will determine the 2023 U.S. Senior World Teams.
As rumors arose of Gable’s potential return, the U.S. Open seemed to be the first event in which Steveson could come back to the mat. The U.S. Open acts as the first step in qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials, which take place next summer.
This will be Steveson’s first freestyle competition since his thrilling last-second win in the 2020 Olympic finals over three-time World Champion Geno Petriasvili. Stevenson still trains periodically with the GWC and Zillmer.
While competing for the Gophers, Steveson compiled an 85-2 career record with 60 bonus-point victories, collecting two NCAA titles, three Big Ten titles and two Dan Hodge trophies.
Steveson will return to the sport after a 13-month break. His last matchup was during the NCAA Championships in March 2022, where he left his wrestling shoes on center mat, a rich tradition in wrestling signaling the end of a competitor’s career.
