Jordan Burroughs makes American wrestling history with seventh World or Olympic title

On his knees at the end, Jordan Burroughs gave a little wave of his index finger, offering a small smile. When Burroughs jumped into the arms of his coach, more emotions started flowing. This had been hard, he said later. Halfway through, Burroughs even told himself, “It wasn’t supposed to be this hard.”

A South Jersey native, now training out of West Philly, a superstar around the world within his sport, had just become the most decorated American freestyle wrestler. With seven World or Olympic titles, he stands alone in history.

“You get in fight mode,” Burroughs said in a telephone interview a couple of hours later from the World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, describing those moments right after Friday’s victory. “Man, honestly, it’s hard to snap out of effort and fight and jump into joy and jubilation. Hard things aren’t always fun.”

Nothing came easy for this sixth world title. Maybe one moment of opportunity made the difference as Burroughs beat Iran’s Mohammad Nokhodilarimi for the second straight year, this time by 4-2, after trailing halfway through the match.

Burroughs, who lives with his wife and four children in Northern Liberties, called the American record “this ghost” that has hung over his career.

If he didn’t achieve it, he asked, would his career still be complete?

“Somebody is going to beat this,” Burroughs said. “But I’ll always be the guy who had this record.”

Even Iranian fans in the arena stood and cheered for Burroughs after his achievement. This was Old vs. Young, Burroughs now 34, while Nokhodilarimi is 21. But the most active wrestler out there was the old guy, as usual. A trademark Burroughs blast double takedown early in the second period was the difference.

“I think the first period, just candidly, he didn’t get his motion going well enough,” said Brandon Slay, now coaching Burroughs out of the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center. “But being down 1-0, that’s nothing. He didn’t get flustered. Nothing changed with the strategy, continue to float and move, keep his feet moving, looking for an opportunity to attack.”

Even if that opportunity opened just once, Burroughs seized it. By the end, it was his young opponent who had tired.

“I think that’s a testament to Jordan’s discipline, with his diet, his rest, how he takes care of his body,” Slay said. “He’s more disciplined than most humans I know.”

Burroughs now moves ahead of a couple of other American wrestling legends, John Smith and Adeline Gray, who each won six gold medals. He’s aiming to compete through the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“I’m going to try, I’m going to do my best,” Burroughs said of that aim. “If my body holds up, I’ll be wrestling.”

An Olympic gold medalist in 2012, Burroughs now has won six gold medals in world championships, which are held in all the non-Olympic years. His titles span from 2011 to 2013, ‘15, ‘17, and 2021. That makes this the first time in almost a decade Burroughs has won World/Olympic titles in back to back years.

Burroughs, who grew up in Sicklerville, graduated from Winslow Township High, won two NCAA titles at Nebraska. After training for years in Nebraska, Burroughs had decided to come home last year to train for this late stretch of his career, working out of the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center based at Penn and Drexel, moving up one weight class to 170 pounds for the last two years.

“Honestly, it was a new beginning,” Burroughs said. “I feel stronger. I bring a new enthusiasm each day.”

He’s not claiming he’s found some fountain of youth.

“I feel older,” Burroughs said over the phone. “I don’t feel young. People say, ‘You look like you’re 24.’ I don’t feel 24. I feel like I’m savvier, have more perspective. Every practice is more deliberate. Every ounce of energy is used in a positive way.”

Not as much pre-match drama as last year, when Burroughs had torn a calf muscle three weeks before the world championships in the American final and had limped away from that event on crutches, told he would need eight weeks to recover. He also was present for the birth of his fourth child just two days before leaving for last year’s matches in Oslo, Norway.

It’s not like his career has been all highs. There have been lows. An upset loss in the quarterfinals at the 2016 Olympics. Missing the 2021 Olympics by a whisker after nine straight appearances at either the Olympics or Worlds.

All that makes this recent run of top-level international success all the more astounding. It also explains the emotions as Burroughs hugged Slay, a Penn graduate and himself an Olympic gold medalist, now the head coach of the PRTC.

“If you don’t take care of these mall things, then this big thing is not going to happen,” Slay said of seeing the focus of Burroughs. “I could tell he was focused on small things. Then all of a sudden, you could see him think, ‘I can embrace this big thing.’ “

Slay added, “It is a big thing.”

Getting the best of maybe the top current rivalry in the sport, Penn State graduate David Taylor, the 2021 Olympic gold medalist at 190 pounds, now 31 years, took his second world title, beating Hassan Yazdani of Iran by 7-1.

Another Penn State grad, Zain Retherford, had reached the final at 143 pounds, also trying for his second world title, but lost 10-0 to Taishi Narikuni of Japan.

Right after Taylor’s match, there was the medal ceremony for Burroughs. As his introduction began, Burroughs gave a little smile. He took a big step onto the podium, waved with each hand, then put his hands behind his back as he received the medal around his neck.

In wrestling, you don’t just get a medal for winning a world title. You get a belt. Burroughs knew the drill, how to hold his arms out as the belt was adjusted around his waist. He then held up his medal and inspected it, front and back. He pulled his hood up on his warmup, and put his hand over his heart to hear the anthem of his country, again.

“You need those moments, where you need to make a decision,” Burroughs said over the phone about coming from behind to take this one. “Where you have this sense of urgency ... You might never get this chance again. I also wanted to see what was possible, to see what I can do.”